SAM MILBY exploded in the local showbiz scene more than a decade ago. With his classic handsome looks and singing talent, he was destined for stardom—which he, happily enough, achieved. Endorsements, TV shows and films pepper his résumé. Pinoys couldn’t get enough of Sam.
He’s got the looks and the star power alright, but one thing that Sam has had to prove was his acting chops. Acting-wise, his first outings were not that spectacular actually. He struggled with the language and it was obvious he really needed lessons—in
acting for the technical aspects and in life to get depth. In his early projects, Sam relied on his looks and coasted through the murky waters of showbiz on sheer gorgeousness.
Unfortunately, that’s what some people still think of Sam.
But I beg to disagree. In fact, I saw his acting potential as early as seven years ago in the movie Forever and a Day. To refresh your memories, the movie was a popcorn romance film directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina. It starred Sam and KC Concepcion and was shot in Bukidnon. Sam plays a guy who wants to forget about work and in his travels, he meets KC’s character and falls in love with her. But Sam’s character is rejected as she realizes that things wouldn’t work out for them. The film is actually a decent attempt at exploring love in other ways but my problem with it is that it goes through the whole nine yards of formula, and there’s a whole lot of predictability sprinkled all over the film. Anyway, in the big scenes of the film, Sam holds a candle with costar KC, but it’s actually in the quiet scenes that Sam shone and made me notice that he can indeed become a profound dramatic actor. It was in that movie that I saw enormous growth and depth in Sam, and wished that he would be given more projects to showcase this.
Hopefully, with this soon-to-premiere ABS-CBN primetime show, titled Halik, Sam would finally get recognized for his acting. I think it will because, according to the show’s pundits, Halik is a “most daring teleserye.” Joining Sam are Jericho Rosales, Yam Concecpcion and Yen Santos.
Halik centers on Lino (Jericho), Jacky (Yen) and their star-crossed love for each other, which began when they were still children. Jacky’s parents disapprove of Lino as he is the son of one of their workers. Eventually, Lino decides to stay away to spare Jacky from getting more hurt.
In a twist of fate, the two meet again after years apart, but they are now married to other people. Lino is with Jade, an ambitious, headstrong woman, who finds a way to get what she wants; while Jacky’s husband is Ace, a rich man whose sweetness hides a secret. Now that destiny has given them another chance at being together, they must choose between fighting for the love they were deprived of and keeping their promise of forever to people who may not deserve it.
Also in the cast are Amy Austria, Alan Paule, Precious Lara Quigaman, Romnick Sarmenta, Cris Villanueva, Almira Muhlach, Christian Bables, Hero Angeles, Chai Fonacier, JC Alcantara, Jane de Leon, and Gab Lagman. The show is directed by Cathy Camarillo and Carlo Po Artillaga, under the business unit of Ruel Bayani.
Good luck and congratulations to Sam and the rest of the cast of Halik.
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EIGHT communities, including six from Mindanao, will get to jump-start their own projects such as ecotourism sites and heritage and wellness villages, to help uplift the lives of their people through “The Quest for Love,” a nationwide search spearheaded by Gina Lopez.
The winners are Lake Sebu Indigenous Women Weavers Association from South Cotabato which proposed to establish a heritage village for the T’boli tribe to drive economic development in the community; Health Futures Foundations Inc., also from South Cotabato, which wants to setup a wellness village for the Bla’an tribe; Zamboanga’s Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation, which presented an ecotourism initiative for the benefit of the Sama-Bangui tribe; Maguindanao’s Busikong Greenland Multi-Purpose Cooperative that will build a center for integrated organic farming to help reduce poverty in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; and Bukidnon’s Federation of KapeMaramag, which hopes to provide marketing and employment opportunities for Maramag coffee farmers.
Completing the winners’ list are Sorsogon’s Aggrupation of Advocates for Environmental Protection, which proposed various ecotourism projects like a marine sanctuary and beach park in Bulusan; Benguet’s University of Cordilleras, which seeks to promote sustainable agro-ecotourism for the community; and Tawi Tawi’s Mindanao State University, which intends to promote Simunul Island as a tourist destination.
The Quest for Love is a project of the Investments in Loving Organizations for Village Economies Foundation founded by Gina.
Filipinos can watch their journey toward bringing their dream projects to life soon on G Diaries.