IN the months that And I Love You So was on air, much has been written about its female stars. And why not? Julia Barretto is beautiful. Miles Ocampo is blooming. Dimples Romana is reliable. Angel Aquino is fierce.
Now that it’s airing its finale episode today on ABS-CBN’s afternoon block, I believe it’s a good time to focus on the men of the soap.
First up is Kenzo Gutierrez. With his brooding eyes and buff body, it is no surprise that showbiz took notice of him during his stint as one of the teen housemates in the recent installment of Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Teen Edition.
While he didn’t win, he was immediately cast in And I Love You So—in a major role no less. I met him late last year, during the launch of Star Magic’s Stellar. He was introduced to me, and he was a respectful gentleman. Not that I expected him to molest me or anything, but his eyes were smoldering and it was as if he was undressing me.
We got into talking and he revealed to me that he’s always been interested in acting but didn’t do much about it pre-PBB, since he was also into sports. After being given the opportunity to make the foray into showbiz, he said that he’s willing to learn and do anything—as in anything—to succeed. Propriety stopped me from following up with proposing something indecent to him. Propriety and me not having the resources actually.
And so now I’m glad that he was given the break to showcase what he can in And I Love You So. His costars Julia and Miles are unanimous in heaping praises on him, considering Kenzo is a newbie, and for that, he is grateful to them.
Meanwhile, Iñigo Pascual also took a big step forward in his career with the show. Not because it’s his first regular TV show, but it’s because his poppa Piolo wasn’t even involved behind the scenes, or in the cast (not like with his debut movie Relaks It’s Just Pag-Ibig). When I met him, he said his experience on And I Love You So has just been amazing. He’s learned so much and made him appreciate the business even more. Of course, his papa Piolo was a big help. The elder Pascual would visit and watch his son on- and offcam, and the way Piolo would focus on his role and get into character were the best hands-on lessons Iñigo got.
But the young man is quick to point out this is the only way he will “use” his father to make his showbiz dreams come true. He insists on making a name for himself and not just be known as the son of Piolo. “I want to get what I learned from him but at the same time, come up with my own way of acting and handling showbiz,” he told me.
Well, Iñigo can really learn a lot from his father. For starters, Piolo is very professional, hardly late and just quietly keeps to himself in one corner, focusing on the task at hand. Piolo also is also a very grateful person. To this day, anything I write about him, he will text me to say, “Thank you.” He is not like a lot of young actors nowadays. Many of them think it is our privilege to write about them. Not Piolo. He knows that we can do much better things with our time, instead of writing about him, so he goes out of his way to express his gratitude.
Many people say Iñigo has Piolo’s eyes or mouth or eyebrows or whatever. All I can say is that Iñigo’s got Piolo’s charm—and the son’s is as infectious.
It also helps that the young man is always smiling. You can always see this smile in his eyes. It’s like he is so in love with showbiz and with what he is doing, that I’d be not surprised if one day showbiz loves him back profusely.
Just like how it fell in love with his father, and how his father loved it and continues to love it back.