That Christian spirit: Happy but not gay
Because he is so credible in his portrayal as Barbs, the happily gay friend of Best Actor awardee Paolo Ballesteros in Die Beautiful, those who have seen the movie were convinced that Christian Bables (pronounced Bab-Les) is one in real life. Christian is so beking-beki (very gay), from his nuances to his facial expressions to the fluid way he sways his hips that the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) board of judges validated his work with the Best Supporting Actor award.
Die Beautiful was the top grosser in the just-concluded MMFF. The final ranking (shown in boxed below) covered only the 14-day screening in Metro Manila and not the provincial run which some of the entries are still enjoying.
Thursday last week, we interviewed Christian at the lobby of the Imperial Palace Suites on Timog-Morato Rotunda, Quezon City. From where we were seated near the glass wall, contributor Celso de Guzman Caparas, STAR photographer Ver Paulino and I closely monitored Christian’s movements as soon as he and his mom, Bing Urbano, alighted from their car, walked across the door, greeted and made beso-beso, and took a seat. No tell-tale signs to confirm what most people have been suspecting.
But still, to be very sure, we asked Christian, “Are you gay?” Breaking into a what-a-nice-question smile, Christian said, “No, I’m not.” Relieved, we congratulated Christian for being such a good actor that he even “fooled” his own mom. “I didn’t recognize him in the movie,” admitted Bing. “He was really transformed. I didn’t see a trace of Christian, my son; all I saw was Barbs na beking-beki ang dating.”
Mother and son just came from the nearby ABS-CBN Studios where Christian shot his guesting stint on the network’s mid-morning show Magandang Buhay (hosted by the riot trio of Jolina Magdangal, Melai Cantiveros and Karla Estrada). Christian, whose spirit has been soaring since the awards night, still had make-up on but that didn’t feminize him at all unlike in Die Beautiful where he wore heavy make-up.
Said Christian, “Aside from the award, my very first ever, what makes me very happy is napasaya ko ang maraming tao, especially the members of the LGBT community. I really prepared for the movie. I observed the LGBT, I interviewed people, pinag-aralan ko talagang maigi.”
Christian is one of Bing’s two sons by her second (late) husband. The first husband of Bing (she hails from Escalante, Negros Oriental, also the hometown of James Yap) also died and she’s now on her third marriage. Christian, 24, finished grade school and first/second high school in Escalante, and third/fourth year in Cavite where the family now resides. Christian holds a ComArts degree from La Salle Dasmariñas. After graduation, Christian tried the corporate world to please his mom. “But I wasn’t happy because my passion was really for acting. Scriptwriter Rahyan Carlos (nephew of the late director Luciano “Chaning” Carlos), was my professor in Scriptwriting and he made us act out a screenplay that he had assigned us to write. Sir Rahyan told me, ‘Anak, mayroon ka.’ That’s how I felt that my heart was in acting. He brought me to Star Magic to attend an acting workshop.”
While at the workshop, Christian was tapped to play a gay role in the Kapamilya soap Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita. That was in 2015. After that, nothing. “Natengga ako. But I wasn’t discouraged. I kept on studying acting. I am the type who, when I want something, I go for it, I work for it, and nothing or nobody can stop me, not even my mom. I received harsh words, masasakit na salita, and I was rejected again and again but I persisted. I know deep inside me what I want. Kapag ginusto ko, talagang pinaninindigan ko.”
Then last year, he auditioned for...you guessed it...a gay role as the friend of Kiray in Regal Films’ I Love You To Death (the follow-up to Blind Date, also starring Kiray who turned out to be a shooting star).
“The audition was held at the Valencia St. house of Mother Lily,” related Christian. “I was not happy with my performance, feeling ko kulang, parang matigas ang dating. I felt that I wasn’t ready because I learned about the audition only the day before. I was about to board a taxi when Jun (Lana, director of Die Beautiful) called me back. Pina-arte niya uli ako. I did my best this time. Pinalambot ko ang acting ko. I would learn later that direk Jun was eyeing me for a role in Die Beautiful, not as Barbs but as one of Paolo’s friends (with IC Mendoza and Cedric Juan taken in later).”
During the MMFF Gabi ng Parangal, Christian wasn’t expecting anything, thinking that either of his two co-stars would be “it” — Joel Torre as Barbs’ homophobic father and Lou Veloso as the swishy owner of the funeral parlor where the wake for Paolo’s character is being held...a scene-stealing performance, Lou, take a bow! As Christian accepted the award in copious tears and choking with emotion, there was no trace of Barbs at all. He was his real self...a real man.
Asked how his girlfriend reacted to Die Beautiful, Christian, “I don’t have a girlfriend now. So far, I have had six girlfriends. I started early. High school pa lang, nanliligaw na ako.”
Has he had any close encounter with the third kind?
“No,” was Christian’s quick reply. “Once, when I wasn’t in showbiz yet, I was walking when a car passed by. The driver rolled down the window at sinitsitan ako, ‘Pssst, isang libo!’ I wanted to kick the car.”
After his landmark victory with Die Beautiful, now recognized as an actor that Christian is, do you think anybody will dare make him the same offer?
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)
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