MANILA, Philippines — Actor Zaijian Jaranilla is all grown up and ready to break free from his child star image.
Zaijian, who we met a decade ago as orphan boy Santino in his breakout teleserye “May Bukas Pa,” is now 19 years old.
He has since dedicated his talents to nailing his first-ever lead role as the titular star of “Boyette: Not a Girl Yet.”
In the Star Cinema comedy film, Zaijian plays college freshman Boyette who pretends to be straight to get closer to his crush.
The actor accepted the challenge of playing a gay character to demonstrate his range.
“I agreed to do the project because I wanted to change my image. I want people to know that I can portray different roles. Boyette has given me an opportunity to prove myself to people,” Zaijian told Philstar.com and other media during a recent virtual conference.
He said he is grateful for his roots as an actor, but maintained that he has matured since then.
“It’s just Santino that got stuck in the minds of people... That was a long time ago. Zaijian is different now. I’ve done so many other projects,” he said.
To immerse himself in the role, Zaijian would consult director Jumbo Albano on his character, as well as his gay co-stars to adopt certain mannerisms.
He took cues from the late comedy legend Dolphy by adapting relevant elements of the film "Facifica Falayfay."
“I’m capable of doing so much more,” Zaijian said, with his new film as a testament to his growth.
“Boyette: Not a Girl Yet” streams worldwide beginning today for only P150 pesos through KTX.ph (ktx.ph), Iwant TFC(tfc.tv), IPTV, Cignal PPV (my.cignal.tv) and Sky Cable PPV (mysky.com.ph).