Kiko & Gil on their biggest fear and greatest pleasure

Currently airing on GMA before Eat, Bulaga! is the musical rom-com My Guitar Princess with Julie Anne San Jose in the titular role as Celine, torn between two men played by Gil Cuerva and Kiko Estrada.

Directed by Nick Olanka, the series is inspired by the 2017 animated film Coco. Dubbed by her home network as “Asia’s Pop Sweetheart,” Julie Anne easily identifies with her character Celine who dreams of nothing but a life of music.

My Guitar Princess is the second TV starrer for Gil after his 2017 debut in My Love From the Star (with Jennylyn Mercado).

“My character is named Elton Smith, a Fil-Canadian rising pop star who spent his childhood years in the Philippines before moving to Canada for his teenage years,” Gil told Funfare. “He’s childhood best friends with Celine whom he calls Tabs and is eventually able to reconnect and catch up with her after he turns to the Philippines to pursue a career in music. He is also the first person to teach Celine how to play the guitar and is the one who helps ignite Celine’s passion for music as well. Later on in the story, Elton develops feelings for Celine but is not alone in pursuing her as she also has another suitor.”

The other suitor is Justin Garcia played by Kiko.

Gil shared that after My Love From the Star, he has continued with the workshops provided for him by GMA Artist Center under New York acting coach Anthony Vincent Bova, facilitated by Ana Feleo.

“I am still undergoing these workshops since it’s Mr. Bova’s goal (along with us artists as well) to develop our talents throughout the year through monthly assignments and scheduled workshops,” added Gil. “These workshops and assignments help me hone my craft and in effect help me prepare for my upcoming projects and roles as well.”

Gil’s role in My Guitar Princess requires him to sing, so he’s also taking voice lessons under Thor Dulay.

“From time to time,” said Gil, “other voice coaches come in and help me improve on my voice. Admittedly, singing is not my forte and singing is a completely new and different field for me.”

Meanwhile, Kiko, seconded what Julie Anne said that they would start the shoot “having fun and end it having more fun.”

In Funfare’s “Complete the sentence” game, Gil and Kiko reveal their “biggest fear” and “greatest pleasure”…and much more.

GIL

• I hate people who are…rude. A good example would be rude and insensitive tourists who aren’t responsible for the way they act towards another country’s culture.

• I avoid people who…cause a lot of stress.

• My greatest pleasure is…playing basketball.

• My worst moment…was when I lost confidence and respect for myself. I didn’t think I was better than the person I thought I was.

• My biggest fear is…failure. And I think I can avoid that by working hard.

• I pray for…a lot of blessings.

• The most important person(s) in my life are…my parents.

• If I were to be reincarnated as an animal, I would be…a lion. I want to be as brave and as ferocious as a lion.

• My most traumatic experience…has not yet happened.

• I deal with gossip by…not taking it too seriously.

• The one thing I can‘t do without is…drinking coffee while working.

• The type of girl that turns me on is…someone who has an endearing personality.

• The type of girl that turns me off is…someone who is very insensitive.

• My philosophy in life is…to always learn and grow from a mistake.

• I lose my temper when…I lose my things.  I’m a very forgetful person. I memorize my lines but I can’t memorize where I put my stuff.

• When I am alone in my room I fantasize about…stories. I like to create stories in my head, and I like to imagine certain situations.

• If I were somebody else, I would be…Kobe Bryant, my all-time favorite person. He inspires me in so many ways.

• I’m happiest when…I’m doing what I love.

• I’m saddest when…I feel like I’m not good enough.

• My ultimate goal is…to be contented with my craft, to be happy with what I’ve done and the work that I’ve put out, and to be happy of who I am.

• What I like about myself is…I’m able to articulate my thoughts well.

• What I don’t like about myself is…I have no sense of time. I get too caught up with my thoughts sometimes and I lose track kung ano ‘yung nasa paligid ko.

KIKO

• I hate people who…are late.

• I avoid people who?are boastful.

• My greatest pleasure is…being in love.

• My worst moment is...?when I can’t eat because it doesn’t help me focus on my work.

• My biggest fear is...?being rejected.

• I pray for…happiness.

• The most important person in my life is...?my mom (Cheska Diaz).

• If I were to be reincarnated as an animal, I would be…a wolf.

• My most traumatic experience was...?seeing a loved one deteriorating.

• I deal with gossip by…not giving my two-cents’ worth.

• The one thing I can’t do without is...?movies/TV series.

• The type of girl that turns me on is…smart.

• The type of girl that turns me off is...?someone who can’t express herself well.

• My philosophy in life is...?to give more love than hate.

• I lose my temper when…I talk to someone who is unreasonable and unwilling to compromise on a given situation.

• When I am alone in my room, I fantasize about…Scarlett Johansson.

• If I were somebody else, I would be…my Lolo Paquito (Diaz). I want to experience filming with FPJ and filming in the glory days of Philippine Cinema.

• I’m happiest when…I’m with my loved ones and I see them happy. I have simple joys in life and seeing my loved ones happy is happiness to me.

• I’m saddest when…I feel alone.

• My ultimate goal is...?to have complete peace and a happy life.

• What I like about myself is…I guess I don’t quit when I want something.

• What I don’t like about myself is…a lot of things. That’s why I want to improve and to get better.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)