He can love me today, he can love me tomorrow. He can love me anytime as long as it’s Piolo Pascual we’re talking about. With his newest hit Love Me Tomorrow that puts him alongside silver screen queen Dawn Zulueta and rising star Coleen Garcia, you’ll be delighted to learn that our Papa P isn’t quitting the biz any time soon.
By JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ
For two years now, the thought of fading back into the comfortable shadows of obscurity has haunted one of the most prominent heartthrobs of this generation. He cites many reasons —  prospective businesses, a well-deserved rest, valued time for his son. Yet the mere fact that this interview is taking place, preempts his final decision.
“Fatherhood has changed my lifeâ€
This, he says, when asked about his 18-year-old son Iñigo. Intriguingly, fatherhood was key in his decision to quit — and now, stay in show business.
Piolo’s philosophy on fatherhood seems much simpler. “I’ve always thought this whole fuss about fatherhood is overrated,†he laughs. “For me and my son, it’s just about bonding, doing as many things as we can together, with whatever time we have.â€
Simple but not easier, as Piolo quickly admits, adding that the physical distance between him and Iñigo is somewhat painstaking. “He’s busy with school; I’m busy with work. It is actually one of the reasons why I’d like to quit showbiz, so we could spend more time together,†he reveals.
Roles and reinvention
Piolo — the male starlet from That’s Entertainment in the early ’90s and the spare lover in Judy Ann Santos and Wowie de Guzman’s hit TV series Esperanza before the turn of the millennium — has undeniably climbed the Olympus of celebrity. His star has outshone many of the personalities he met on his ascent, both in terms of sparkle and longevity. Yet, even at 39 years old, he often speaks of reinventing the stardom that has been with him for almost two decades.
“Finding my target market would’ve been hard. Fortunately, I have ABS-CBN working with me and I was able to reach people who would support me. Ngayon, medyo the older ones na (It’s the older ones, this time),†he admits with a hint of bashfulness. At the time of the interview, Piolo had just gotten back from a successful US concert, where a majority of his fans fell under the more “crooner-loving and mellow†age group.
Piolo’s star as an actor truly shone when he played the supporting role of an underground activist in Dekada ’70, where he swept the FAMAS, Metro Manila Film Festival and almost every other award-giving body in 2003; and as the idealistic cop in On the Job, which was recognized by critics, both locally and abroad, in 2013.
“It’s always worth the wait,†he says. “I’ve always wanted to do something different. For On the Job, I persisted because it was totally unconventional. I died in the end!†he continues like an excited, little boy. The movie, which cost around P48 million to produce, only yielded a little more than P13 million. “It was a given. Moviegoers prefer happy endings,†he opines.
“I’ve reached the point in my career where it’s not always about proving something in the box office. It’s also about doing something that excites you, something you haven’t done before. That’s why I try to do something different every once in a while, and balance it with more commercial choices.â€
Glare of stardom
From his leading ladies to the most respected entertainment journalists, all the way up to the legends who occupy the boardrooms of his home network, people who have worked with him swear that Piolo is a gem of a guy — kind, down-to-earth, professional. At the same time, he has been the subject of reckless hate, a target of scandalous rumors that have maimed many unfortunate careers, before. But not Piolo’s.
Piolo is careful to a fault when it comes to responding to haters and bashers, critics and cynics. Like clockwork, he would say that he has accepted how it’s part of the job. “I know myself better. And it’s part of the deal. No matter what business you’re in, there will always be people who want a piece of you.â€
Yet his eyes, those hazelnut windows to his soul, betray him. Something inside him flinches at the mere mention of “rumors.†He hurts, but he doesn’t let such hurt control him. Instead, he devotes his attention to more pertinent pursuits. “You can’t say you’re unaffected, but it’s best to shrug it off and move on,†he says.
When times are tough, Piolo turns to wise counsel. He names ABS-CBN’s pillars of entertainment (Johnny Manahan, Charo Santos-Concio, Cory Vidanes and Marrioll Alberto) among his trusted mentors — people who, with brutal honesty, readily point out what’s going right (or wrong) with his movements as a star.
Piolo fondly speaks of a moment he shared with Charo more than a decade ago. Back then, he asked the ABS-CBN president, “Tita, how long do you think I will last in this business?â€
“It all depends on you,†she replied.
Only recently did Piolo truly understand what she meant. “You can be here for as long you want to create a path for yourself. Do your homework. Do not shortchange your destiny,†he says.
So, how would Philippine cinema fare without a certain, Papa P? Like everything else on earth, it will move on. He is after all, but one star, one that can be — and will need to be — replaced when the day comes. The real question remains, though. Where could one possibly find a star as bright, as lasting and as human as a Piolo Pascual?
(Photography by MAU MAURICIO of AT EAST JED ROOT)
Editor’s note: These articles were first published in PeopleAsia’s June – July 2014 issue. Piolo Pascual was given a PeopleAsia Men Who Matter award in 2014.
Piolo’s Love me Tomorrow co-star Dawn Zulueta also shares her thoughts on the industry, what she has planned for herself and life outside the limelight in this story.Â
Coleen Garcia is also making it big as F&C Jewelry’s newest ambassador for their newest collection designed for millennials just like her. Read about it right here.
