TV’s Golden Boy: Matteo Guidicelli

Gods, even demigods, may live immortally and savor innumerable birthdays, but that doesn’t mean they enjoy them any less with every year that passes. With every year added, there are people, successes, graces to give thanks for. Every year, the humility and wisdom to acknowledge that you’ll always have something to learn, room to mature, and good things to accomplish grow with you.

For Matteo Guidicelli, turning a fresh 26 years this March, these are all lessons he’s begun to master.

He strides into the shoot, greeting everyone with the warmest of smiles, causing PeopleAsia’s Monica Tiosejo to remark, “he should change his name to Apollo, like the Sun God. He’s just so radiant!” In local showbiz, Matteo Guidicelli is a demigod. The former racing enthusiast left the tracks for showbiz, and then he got hooked on the tri-life.

Iron man with a heart of gold

He admits that he can’t train for his triathlons as much as he wants to, because of his busy schedule. “My first priority is my job, especially my teleserye. When I have a project, my tri-lifestyle changes. My last race was the Ironman in Subic (Olongapo) and I was not training as much as I want to, but I reminded myself that I am not a professional triathlete or anything.”

He says that he has a new team called Ford Forza, which he formed together with his dad Gianluca and sister Georgia. They created this group to support their advocacy of helping local athletes. “It started out as a group of friends who liked to do triathlon. We were looking for a sponsor, and it so happened that Ford wanted to connect. Their tagline is ‘Go Further,’ and it really fit what we wanted to do.” Among the athletes that they are helping out is Elmo, a jeepney driver who drives around Cebu from seven to 11 p.m. and trains bikers in the day. “He now lives in my home and helps train me and the other members of the team.”

His dad now organizes a biking event in Bohol, called Gyro d’Luca, where cyclists ride around the island for three days. “It’s hard, but it’s a fun ride. We are all there to enjoy the Bohol countryside and each other’s company.”

Action man

He is wrapping up his ABS-CBN fantaserye Inday Bote, which he really likes doing because it has been years since he has done a primetime soap. Coming next is an action film called Tupang Ligaw. “What does it mean?” the Cebuano asks and laughs.

As for his action star idols, he recounts watching Jean Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Steven Seagal when he was growing up, and says he watches movies starring Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx. “Actually, when I was a kid, I wanted to be Tarzan!” he reveals. “I wanted to do something outdoors, involving the jungle, the ocean, trees, mountains, things like that.” He also recently did a stunt for Head and Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo that required him to bike underwater — pretty dangerous stuff, considering the possibility of his lungs bursting if he surfaced too quickly.

He hasn’t done kontrabida (villain) roles yet; the most he has done was to show a dark side in an indie movie, Saturday Night Chills. “It was super different from anything I have ever done. It was about these guys who had just finished college and were bumming around until they got into drugs and illegal activities. I enjoyed it a lot because it was so cool and liberating; winning Best Actor for this felt like a bonus.” He also has a show called Wheels TV on the same channel, which brings him back to his first love, motoring.

Love and lightness of being

Speaking of love, showbiz is abuzz about his relationship with actress-singer Sarah Geronimo. Their blossoming romance sends fans into swooning frenzies, and Matteo glows when he talks about her. “My dream is to be able to go to a store and just buy something with her. I also want to be able to sit somewhere quiet where we can just look at the stars.”

Everything seems to be coming up roses for him, but he politely disagrees. “I wish it were,” he laughs. “Everyone seems to see the roses and the tulips, but there are always challenges,” he admits. What he does is to focus on the positive side of things instead of the negativity. “If we are to talk about my challenges, I could speak the whole day,” he teases.

“Kapag negative ka (When you’re negative), all you get are eye bags. I just surround myself with positive people. I get energy from the people around me. I can’t be with people who are negative or heavy. That will just get me tired.”

He claims that he hasn’t changed much from the Matteo who grew up in Cebu. “I still get together with my friends there. The only difference is that I now speak Tagalog,” he grins. “It is important to have other stuff outside of work. I have my tri, family, girlfriend and my friends. This helps to let out steam and take it easy. It is important to have people remind me that it is okay to sit down and chill. If I do nothing, I feel like I am wasting a day.”

This demigod is grounded all right. Before the interview started, the hotel room’s phone rang, and he picked it up himself — the caller having no idea that it was the actor he was talking with.

When asked about his future plans, he lights up once more. “I can’t wait to get older. I am now 25, and when I was 23, I was different from what I am now. My base is the same, but the way I look at life is different. I got wiser, I guess. So from 25 to 27, we will see. I am so excited for it.”

Text by MAAN D’ASIS PAMARAN

Photography by DAN YUSAY HARVEY

Styling by ERIC PE BENITO

Grooming by PEPS SILVESTRE

Editor’s note: The original article featuring these excerpts was first published in PeopleAsia’s June – July 2015 issue where Matteo was a recipient of PeopleAsia’s “Men Who Matter” award. 

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