Right role lures Edu back to TV

Most of us might know Edu Manzano as a veteran actor with mestizo good looks but he is really more than that. Aside from having exemplary hosting skills, he is also an astute businessman.

Edu took a break from tinseltown for 12 years during which he became a restaurateur. He is now part of four restaurants including Lucky Rainbow Seafood Restaurant and Black Sheep.

When he’s not busy, he heads to Nasugbu in Batangas where the “little fish farm” he owns is located.

His interest in restaurants can be traced back to his initial forays into discos and bars. “I was part of a number of entertainment endeavors but I’ve always liked being in the service industry,” Edu said.

He admits to being very hands-on as a businessman. “I always wanted to be there and run the restaurants.”

Twelve years might seem like a long time for a break from showbiz but Edu never really disappeared completely. One could say he was just waiting for the right role to be offered to him.

Earlier this month, he began appearing in Someone to Watch Over Me, the new primetime TV series on the Kapuso Network. Edu is part of an ensemble cast that stars Tom Rodriguez, Max Collins and Lovi Poe. In the inspirational drama, Tom is TJ Chavez, a young married man suffering from early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Playing TJ’s father, Buddy Chavez, is Edu.

“Tanggap ko na iba na ang level ang pag-atake sa mga roles, mas mataas ang sense of maturity na nilalaman ng mga characters. I’m enjoying (taking on different roles) because I get to explore new levels of my person and the characters I’m portraying,” he said.

Two roles he is interested to play include that of the president of the Philippines and someone who undergoes a reversal of fortune.

“I’d like to play someone with great authority, someone who has to make tough decisions, someone who is in conflict with himself over what is right and what should be done.

“I would also like to play someone who starts from a high level or position (but goes) from riches to rags so there will be both character and physical transformations.”

Edu will no doubt succeed in showing physical transformation if a role calls for it since he keeps fit with a combination of right diet and exercise.

“It’s hard work. It’s not just all exercise. There are studies that say it should be a combination of 70-percent diet and 30-percent exercise,” he said.

Edu eats fish, chicken and vegetables although admits to indulging once in a while. He tries to stay away from anything stronger than wine but believes in the saying, “Everything in moderation.”

“I’ve come to realize as I mature that all of this is going to fade eventually so I have to work on my inner personality as well. I’d like to have a cheerful disposition.”

Catch Edu and the cast of Someone to Watch Over Me, Mondays to Fridays after Descendants of the Sun on GMA Telebabad.

With the other cast members (from left) Jackielou Blanco, Lovi Poe and Tom Rodriguez