MANILA, Philippines — His pleasant demeanor, plus the height, and gift of the gab make Gil Cuerva an easy candidate and eventual choice to host a lifestyle show or a beauty pageant. He has already proven his worth in this entertainment area. But Gil sees himself more in acting.
“Yeah… I take pride that this is my job, this is my work. This is what I want to continue doing,” said the Sparkle GMA Artist Center talent when The STAR inquired him if essaying roles remains his showbiz career’s primary focus in a virtual press conference. “But aside from that, (you know) I’m not a singer, I’m not a dancer. I don’t sing, I don’t dance. But I also tried to host every now and then. Recently, I was able to host a pageant, it was my first time ever hosting a pageant,” added Gil, who also hopes to secure more hosting opportunities in the future with the help of GMA and Cornerstone Entertainment, which also oversees his career.
Again, acting is what keeps him busy these days. Gil forms part of the ensemble cast of Underage, a GMA Afternoon Primetime series, which premieres tomorrow, Jan. 16, at 4:25 p.m.
“It’s a different timeslot, it’s a different genre. This one (Underage) is more heavy drama. Love You Stranger is more of a mystery romance,” the actor shared and compared his acting experience in the drama series to Love You Stranger, which starred Gabbi Garcia and Khalil Ramos.
As for his Underage character named Lance, Gil said, “You know (he’s) a bit of a different character. I actually had to play a younger character. I tried to cut my hair in a way na, you know, mas batang tignan (that would make me look younger). Every taping, I had to basically shave kasi, you know I had to look young. I tried my best to be younger, whereas from Love You Stranger, from the get-go, you know, Tristan (my character) was more mature, more of an alpha jock type of guy. I tried to do a bit different with this one (Lance).”
Actors like Gil are thrilled when their role challenges them to look the part and capture the character’s personality.
“It really gives you something to think about when you’re attacking (approaching) the character,” said he. “And this was something that was already told to me beforehand when I got the role, they told me you’ll be playing a guy in his 20s, like 20 years old. So, I already took that into consideration. I did enjoy the process of it because it makes you think when you’re reading the scene, you have to read in a way na parang you’re thinking like a 20-year-old.” The emotions that a typical Filipino guy of age 20 feel should also manifest in his dealings with people that surround him. Gil had also to take note of it.
“Even the dynamics, the relationship between me (my character) and (his) mom, played by Ms. Snooky (Serna) and my brother, I had to act a bit younger,” added he.
The afternoon series’ director Rechie del Carmen was also there to remind Gil that his character had to regard his mom with so much respect, added he, who also aspires to do more diverse roles both on TV and in film.
“I hope to have a film one day,” said Gil. “I haven’t been ever in a movie. Hopefully, 2023 or 2024 could be the year or whatever year it is, it’s OK, but you know that’s still on my bucket list as an actor.”
At this point in his career, with the pandemic-times-to-the-new-normal backdrop, Gil is happy and grateful to have work, and still show his mettle in acting, if one may add. According to him, every project or show that comes his way is an opportunity for Gil to show “directors, the staff, producers and program managers” more reasons to consider him in another project and prove that he can bring something to the table.
In Underage, Gil’s Lance looks up to his politician father, shared the actor, and the character tries to do good things all the time.
“What he represents I guess is… the very idealistic kids, they really think of the world in an ideal way. They think the world should be in a certain way that when they’re faced with the harsh reality that the world is, you know, a bit of a messed-up place, they tend to be naïve and think, you know, that the world can still be like this,” said he.
Following Gil’s train of thought, one could say that Lance is a good contrast to those characters who are realistic in making sense of the world. As the narrative progresses, Gil’s character will meet the Serrano sisters, played by young actresses Lexi Gonzales, Elijah Alejo and Hailey Mendes.
Also joining Gil in the show are Sunshine Cruz, Snooky, Jean Saburit, Yayo Aguila, Christian Vasquez, Jome Silayan, Smokey Manaloto, Vince Crisostomo and Nikki Co.