But fame was not given to him on a silver platter, he had to work for it. As an Ilonggo who grew up in Bacolod, he went to Manila to pursue a career in the airline industry. Unfortunately, three batches were retrenched and he was among them.
He met some directors who asked him to try out for some commercials.
"At first, it was so disappointing. I was doing a lot of VTRs, siguro around 30-50 VTRs a month, but I never got a job!" he shares.
So, he thought he might as well go back to Bacolod, since he could not get a job in Manila to support an urban lifestyle. He stayed in Bacolod for the next eight months. He got another invitation to do a fashion show, but he thought that it was just a waste of energy. He declined the invitation, but as fate would have it, the show was in Cebu and coincidentally, he was also in Cebu at that time.
"I was asked to go back to Manila after that show, and then it was really a complete turnaround. I was getting a lot of projects, such as print ads, like Nova chips and Smart. PLDT was my eighth commercial," he remembers.
Ah, the famous PLDT commercial!
He adds, "Actually, I did not know what the storyboard was. They just said they needed someone with a provincial accent. I thought that this was just going to be one of those commercials."
That "just another commercial" turned out to be a hit that had everyone mimicking the commercial’s tagline "Suportahan ta ka." Christian’s face became quite popular, especially in magazine glossies. When he went back to Bacolod after that, he felt queasy because people at the airport recognized him. Friends were telling him about the commercial, but he only saw it on TV two weeks after it started airing.
More projects came pouring in after that and he noticed that he was getting a whole lot of attention, especially when he went out at night. He was overwhelmed by the attention, and admits that it was easy to fall prey to being overconfident, arrogant and extravagant. But he remembered that this was not the way he was raised and that he was not being true to himself.
"I want my friends to know my true personality," he says.
So, Christian makes sure he treats people, especially those he works with, with respect. He is proud to say that he is never late and is more punctual than the production staff.
He is getting his feet wet in the industry by trying different avenues, such as appearing in soaps like Sa Dulo Nang Walang Hanggan and Kahit Kailan, sitcoms, such as Ok Fine, Whatever and the defunct Atta Girl. He has also dabbled in movies, such as Pagdating Nang Panahon, starring Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla, 9 Mornings, with Donita Rose and Piolo Pascual, Jologs and the recent Bridal Shower with Dina Bonnevie, Cherry Pie Picache and Francine Prieto.
Christian is also best known in the industry as a bona fide hunk. I asked him about his diet and he shares that there was a time that he was down to 3.8 percent body fat! He did not eat rice, only had vegetables for carbohydrates and only ate tuna – the plain one, not even in brine! He used to end his meal with slices of apple.
However, he has gone back to a more balanced and, well, saner diet. He can eat anything he wants and even indulges in pizza and his lola’s lechon paksiw. He also cooks now – he comes from a family of good cooks. His dad is very good with Chinese food, his lola on his dad’s side specializes in Spanish, and his lola on his mother’s side makes great Pinoy dishes. His cooking skills were honed during his boy scout and camping days, when he cooked sinigang na bangus and pochero. Today, he shares with us his recipes for chicken teriyaki and drunken shrimps.
1-1/2 cup Chinese wine
1 8-oz. bottle Sprite
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 Tbsp. iodized salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. oregano
Marinate shrimps in Chinese wine and a bottle of Sprite for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper. In a pan, sauté garlic in olive oil until it becomes light brown. Add the shrimps. Reserve the marinade. Cover the pan for five minutes. After, add the marinade. Cover the pan for two minutes. Add oregano for flavoring. Simmer on low fire. Serve while hot.
2 Tbsps. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1-1/2 chopped onions
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup sake
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 cups chicken stock, or 1 chicken cube
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup shiro mirin (optional)
cornstarch to thicken
For the chicken:
1 kilo chicken breast
1 Tbsp. ginger
1 Tbsp. garlic
1 Tbsp. onions
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsps. vinegar
sugar to taste
4 calamansi
salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce:
Heat oil. Add ginger, garlic and onions and cook till golden brown. Add sake and mirin, then reduce the flame. Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil. Thicken with cornstarch.
For the chicken:
Marinate chicken with all the ingredients and set aside for an hour. Make the sauce. Place the chicken on a grill and cook till well done.
To assemble:
Prepare barbecue chicken teriyaki by cutting the chicken into strips. Pour the sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and parsley