Mikael Daez: Man in motion
It takes courage to follow your mind. But it takes EVERYTHING to follow your HEART! — a Facebook post of Mikael Daez
MANILA,Philippines - In the movie The Philadelphia Story, jaded, cynical wannabe fictionist-forced-to-be-a-tabloid-hack Macaulay Connor (James Stewart) says, “The prettiest sight in this fine, pretty world is the privileged classes enjoying its privileges.” Of course, he intones their line with a voice dripping with irony and just a touch of derision. Well, without any irony and with a genuine dose of respect, I have to say that the most inspiring sight in this youth-obsessed world of ours is seeing that the youth is certainly not wasted on the young. These past few years of meeting, interviewing and working with rising stars, almost stars, bona fide stars and fading stars have shown me that, though the older generations love to talk of “the glory days,” the young people of today have the advantage of both foresight and hindsight. They know that youth is not forever, and they take advantage of this multimedia world to do as much as they can while they are still hot and happening.
Model turned actor, blogger, STAR Entertainment columnist, and now celebrity endorser Mikael Daez, 24, is an ideal ambassador of his generation. A true blue Atenean, from grade school to college, Mikael was intelligent enough to get into and complete the Management Honors program and if you know any Ateneans, they will tell you that the difference between the Management and the Management Honors majors is a giant dose of math skills. The grandson of jeweler Ameling Daez and son of former model, the late Leo Daez and the ever lithe and lovely Monique Banson Daez (who has kept her enviable sylph-like figure even after eight kids), and nephew of architect and Fully Booked owner Jaime Daez, Mikael actually envisioned a future with the Asian Development Bank. “I really wanted to join ADB. I was already imagining my expat benefits without having to leave the country!” he admits with a hearty laugh.
But fate had something else for him. Right after graduation from college, some friends were planning a last summer fling in Boracay. His mom wisely told him that since he was already a graduate, she would no longer give him an allowance. “My friend told me about Philippine Fashion Week, and I could make with one day around two months of my allowance,” he reminisces. “So I agreed to be in a (fashion) show so that I could go to Boracay.” That one stint led to more modeling jobs, the most visible being his Jollibee Champ ad, where he sits behind a large desk and proceeds to savor a giant burger, bite by glorious bite. He then landed a prime role as one of the men in the remake of Temptation Island, and soon after he became Marian Rivera’s leading man in the epicserye Amaya, playing the Chieftain Lumad. When that ended, he again was cast as the third wheel in the Dingdong Dantes-Marian Rivera soap My Beloved. And just this month, he now headlines his own soap, Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga, a remake of the Dingdong Dantes and Tanya Garcia hit series which was shown 10 years ago.
Mikael has just been named the new face of Centrum, following in the athletic footsteps of Piolo Pascual. Like Piolo, he likes to join a race or two but makes it clear, “I am no marathoner!” He has been obsessed with sports all his life. He joined the Eaglets, as his childhood dream was to be the local version of Michael Jordan but says candidly, “I was too lazy back in grade school to really take it seriously.” He has tried football, badminton (“I played with my mom”), tae kwon do, cycling and now does running and weight training as his schedule is so busy now, he can’t commit to a full basketball game with friends. But when he did get to shoot a few hoops during the pictorial for this story, he made sure that those precious moments were immortalized on his phone. “I want to prove to my friends that I can still shoot a basketball!”
It’s become a cliché of celebrity profiles to write that the subject is so much better looking, charming and down to earth once you meet him in person, so I won’t get into that. But I will say that Mikael showed up at the shoot without an assistant or a handler; he didn’t complain when the photographer asked him to get down and do pushups, though we were shooting on the street; and never stopped smiling whether in front of the camera or not. When I did the research for this story, I found myself quite entertained reading his blog (called Running on Fumes and Passion) on mikaeldaez.com. In one post entitled “Me+Writing=Incompatible,” he posts his Third Year High School Aptitude test where he scored 99 for Science and Math, but a mere 58 for Verbal Skills. He then writes, “Take that, Aptitude Test! I now have a blog!” He clearly has a passion for travel and writes of his trip to Shanghai: “The French Concession area that is full of laneways and old architecture was one of my favorite areas! The beauty of the area is the way they were able to retain the old-style architecture. All the establishments would light up and it felt as if I were in a movie as I navigated my way.” In a later post still about Shanghai, he goes on to write a step-by-step guide on “How to eat Xiao Long Bao.” Interspersed among the posts are videos he has named the Uncut series of famous people just talking into the camera, and he does all the conceptualization and production work.
I had high hopes going into this interview, and am happy to report that Mikael exceeded my expectations.
PHILIPPINE STAR: You’ve just clinched your first major endorsement. How does it feel?
MIKAEL DAEZ: Well, for one, I am so honored that Centrum is a multinational brand so that is a big deal. And in college, I took an elective class in nutrition because it’s one of my passions. Anything related to food, whether it is trivia or scientific, I am interested in knowing about it. And I’ve loved sports forever, so I know just how important it is to get the right vitamins. Especially with the schedule I have now, having the right vitamins is that important. And I remember that when I was a kid, my dad would take Centrum, and I would be the one to open the bottle and give him the vitamins so I am really familiar with the brand.
Just as Centrum is a multivitamin, you are quite multi-talented, juggling modeling, hosting, acting and now blogging, along with some production work for your video series Uncut. How do you stay centered and grounded?
Well, I see it all as work. Maybe that’s where I can put my management background to work. I see that the money that GMA has put into me as an investment and that the best way that I can help them return that investment is to add value to myself and add to my core skills. The most basic of the skills is acting, so when I was starting out, I asked around who gave the best acting workshops. I found out it was direk Laurice Guillen. Eh, mahal! But I put together a group so that I could work with her. The hosting, the mall shows, those are all parts of the acting, as well as the writing and blogging.
You do acting, hosting, modeling.Which do you enjoy most?
It’s all about the feeling of being fulfilled. So it’s everything, there is just no time to slack off. They’re all difficult in their own ways, but very fulfilling. What I’m looking for are the moments. For example, when I first got Amaya, I really hadn’t done any acting. But there was this scene, and my character Lumad had lost everything, his village, his loved ones, and he was just looking back on everything that had happened to him. No words, no nothing. When the scene ended, my director told me that I had done well, and that’s when I began to think, “Hey, I can do this.”
My three main interests in life are health, education and travel. And all those three can come together in this new career.
You’ve said that your main workout now is the weight training at the gym, running and basketball. How did you streamline all the sports you’ve tried into his basic routine?
Well, basketball was there since I was a kid, so that was my first love. I first had to run to help with my basketball, and I could see that extra punch that running gave me, in view of overall conditioning and fitness. And when I run, I will do weights, that’s a given na. I wish I had more time to play basketball, and I catch games on YouTube. I took an elective class in nutrition, and that led me to do more research. There are so many misconceptions out there, such as “just give up carbs and you’ll be fine,” but it’s more about the kind of carbs you take in and the ratio of proteins to carbs. I could really talk about this stuff the whole day.
What would be your own personal definition of a complete man?
I’m a reflective person. I like to think back on what’s happened so that I can learn. A man is complete if he knows what he loves, if he knows what can make him feel significant, and he has found the work where all this can come together.
Though you’ve got a full plate right now, is there anything you’re still raring to do?
Well, tackle dancing. That’s not really my strength, so maybe do a few dancing workshops. On the travel front, I’d love to see more of Asia, maybe Vietnam, go to Cambodia and see Angkor Wat. And I’ve already told my brother that I want to see Mt. Pulag, Luzon’s highest point. When I see the photos of people, and the clouds are under them, I get so excited. Pang Nat Geo na siya! I’d love to go there, with a chopper cam. Wow, that would be so great!
With your current soap, you are recreating a role first done by Dingdong Dantes, and now with your endorsement of Centrum, you are following in the footsteps of Piolo Pascual, two very established and respected actors and you’ve just been in the industry for about two years. Does that put pressure on you?
I know that it’s rare, how fast it’s all happening, and I’m just not taking it for granted.
