Host With More

When the much-awaited Philippine Idol goes on the air tonight, it’s not only the contestants who will be scrutinized and judged by the viewers. Host Ryan Agoncillo will be up for scrutiny too, and comparisons with the "other" Ryan–American Idol host Ryan Seacrest–are inevitable. Will this Ryan make the grade?

Listed by Chalk magazine as one of the 50 Hottest Guys of 2004, Ryan Agoncillo has his plate full as model, director, writer, photographer, and record producer.

He has done modelling for television and print, endorsing products like Penshoppe, Greenwich, and Sprite. His soft-drink ad popularized the line, "Magpakatotoo ka!" He hosts TV talk shows, acts in telenovelas and movies, goes diving, writes "Last Say," a regular photo-essay column in Chalk magazine, pens a review column for Scoop, shoots stills, directs short films, digital films and music videos, and owns the 6 Underground Bar in Makati. The bar used to be part of a larger business, which included a bar, record production and digital production outfit specializing in directing corporate videos. In order to simplify things, Ryan decided to retain only the bar.

He’s also directing Umaaraw, Umuulan, a digital tribute to the late Luigi Santiago, the director of ABS-CBN’s Nginig.

Only recently, Ryan released a double-disc album, Lovespeak, which is part of Vicor’s 40th anniversary releases. In Lovespeak, Ryan expresses thoughts on life and love with love songs performed by Judy Ann Santos, Basil Valdez, Martin Nievera, Sharon Cuneta, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Raymond Launchengco, Tux, Aiza Seguerra, Nyoy Volante, Panjee Gonzales, Paolo Montalban, Rowell Santiago, Ric Segreto, Pops Fernandez, Gary Valenciano, and Side A.

Now, Ryan Agoncillo hosts the new series on ABC 5, Philippine Idol, a franchise of the global phenomenon American Idol, a singing competition. On top of all this, Ryan dreams of managing an office for photography, mounting his own art exhibition, publishing his own coffee-table book of photos, and putting up a diving resort.

All that and he’s just 27 years old.

His goals in life are precisely the reason he’s always on the go, accepting showbiz offers he finds attractive, each lucrative job a mere stepping stone towards achieving his dreams. For him, car eer is a means to an end, and whatever he does "has to mean something in the whole scheme of things…I’ve learned the value of surrounding myself with the right people…I give 100% to my job, but when I pack up, I drop everything. I am not my job."

Ryan wanted, as a high school student, to become a doctor, which, he avers, is an "uninformed choice." At 16, he took the University of the Philippines College Aptitude Test (UPCAT). He passed the exam for Medicine, but since he was to go to a campus he didn’t choose, he enrolled at the De La Salle University instead, taking up Corporate Communications. In the future, maybe he’ll finish his thesis plus several subjects and get his degree, because he wants to teach.

So, how did he become a model? At 14, Ryan was informed by his Christian Values teacher that Penshoppe was searching for a model, and he might want to apply so that he could develop his personality. After all, modelling wasn’t entirely strange to him, for Ryan used to tag along with his only sibling Dondee, nine years his senior, who did modelling stints.

When Ryan was turning 20, his good friend Paolo Bediones invited Ryan to try out for GMA 7’s Unang Hirit when Paolo left the morning show. That year, 1998, Ryan entered television in order to gain credibility for his company, as he was into digital production. He stayed at Unang Hirit for two years.

He joined ABS-CBN’s Studio 23 in 1999, where part of his task was directing shows like one for Pops Fernandez. In 2001, he hosted TV Talk; in 2002, Magandang Umaga, Bayan; and in 2003, Studio 23’s Kiss the Cook, a show for kitchen neophytes or non-cooking people.

He has anchored Y Speak since 2004, which tackles issues affecting the youth in the form of a debate between two groups. Y Speak won for Ryan the 2005 KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) Golden Dove Award as Best Television Talk Magazine Show Host, and the "Anak TV Seal Award" from the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children and Television.

As an actor, Ryan appeared in Whattamen for ABS-CBN. He also appeared in a Maalaala Mo Kaya episode called "Rosaryo," starring Judy Ann "Juday" Santos. His stints in telenovelas include Krystala, as Miguel, opposite Juday; and as Nico Escobar in Bituing Walang Ninging.

This "reluctant actor" got his first movie role in 2005 as Carlo in Jose Javier Reyes’s Kutob. Ryan has just finished Star Cinema’s Kasal, Kasalo, Kasali, an entry to the forthcoming 2006 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film, directed by Joey Reyes, is based on a script by Mary Ann Bautista, which won in the Film Commission scriptwriting contest some years back. Starring Juday and Ryan, the film is about a young couple about to get married.

Outside of hosting and acting, Ryan considers photography his true work, and motorcycles his passion. He rides a motorcycle and two bicycles, depending on the occasion. "I’m not necessarily a speed freak," he muses, "but it’s nice to go really fast, but you know when it’s time to go really slow."

His acting assignments enable him to invest in photography equipment. He claims that what he now earns out of photography is net of expenses. Photography was Ryan’s hobby in college. As a professional photographer, his photos have appeared on billboards, album covers, publicity pictures, and in magazines.

Ryan regards Bien S. Bautista, known for advertising and travel photography, as his influence and mentor. Ryan also admires, among others, Rey Salvacion, Jun Bautista, Paolo Pineda, and Jake Verzosa.

Ryan’s one frustration is that he hasn’t yet done his coffee-table book. He was inspired by "Women before 10 am", a photography book by Veronique Vial.

Things seem to be going great for Ryan, so when is he tying the knot with girlfriend Juday?

"I was offered a movie (Luv Text) with her when I was starting in showbiz," relates Ryan. "I turned it down, because I was not ready to act. Then, I saw her in a photo studio. I assumed that she knew me. I walked up  to her and said, ‘Hi!’ Another time, I saw her in a hair salon. Finally, we were formally introduced to each other when I interviewed her on my TV show." There were no sparks, and no chemistry, however.

A serious relationship developed on the set of Krystala, where they led the cast. They became friends, became very close, became "mag-on" a year ago. They appear to be opposites–Juday, diminutive in height and with distinctly Filipina features, which make her a hit with the masses; and Ryan, a clean-cut, bespectacled mestizo English-speaking coño kid. But in love the "bull" Juday and the "ram" Ryan are.

Is Ryan the jealous type? "I’m very protective," he says. "Konti lang ang meron ako sa buhay–toys, piling-piling friends, family. Don’t mess with my friends, because if you do, you deal with me. I don’t want people to take advantage of Judy Ann. She deserves more credit than you think for being smart. If you say pinagbabawalan ko siyang makipag-kissing scene, that’s undermining her intelligence. I told Tita Carol (Juday’s mother), ‘Tita, I’m really protective of my loved ones.’"

Ryan is excited about his hosting Philippine Idol, which has its initial telecast today. "It’s a local franchise that will be seen in many countries," gushes Ryan. He took a dinner break from a taping of Bituing Walang Ningning and went to the ABC 5 studio in Novaliches to audition. "I was very nervous," Ryan admits, but seven years of TV hosting and experience doing his own spiels, plus a natural gift of gab, helped him beat out dozens of others.

It’s hard to be compared to Ryan Seacrest, host of American Idol, but Ryan is confident he can meet the challenge as solo host. He was present in all the screenings in Manila, Davao, and Cebu. "For the 80 auditioners, I’m their friend through it all," he says. "You have 80 different personalities with different reactions. I’m very excited. I’m tired at the end of the day, but you look forward to the next day. The staff is great, everything is high energy. I’m looking forward to defend a competitor against the judges."