Maymay and Edward: Onwards and upwards

MANILA, Philippines — Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber, both off the Pinoy Big Brother circuit, are the newest talk of the town. Both known for their equally cheerful demeanor, the two gravitated towards each other in the Big Brother house and formed a rather unique friendship. Both have had dreams of becoming real actors, and this past week sees it come to fruition with the release of their first film, Loving In Tandem, a feature debut they share with first-time film director Giselle Andres. Their chemistry is unmanufactured, in that they clearly enjoy each other’s company and consistently josh around. But to love them in tandem, so to speak, one first has to know them separately.

Entrata is your classically beloved home girl hailing from Cagayan De Oro. She is God-fearing, loyal to her family, endearing in every possible way, and overflowing with good vibes. (During the photo shoot, she would strike the fiercest of poses and then crack herself up, unable to take herself seriously. She’d make funny faces and then say, “Okay, sorry, pwede na.”) She’s straightforward, funny, and extremely sweet without being pa-sweet. Her sincerity runs through every interaction quite clearly, and it is the key to her charm.

Yet even with such a bubbly persona, breaking into show business turned out to be quite tough for Entrata. “Bata pa lang ako gustong gusto ko na mag-acting. Noon pa lang, nag-aaudition ako kung saan saan, basta matanggap lang ako,” Entrata says with a laugh. She’s auditioned for anything and everything since she was 14, for reality shows and singing contests (the girl has quite a voice). At 20 years old, she emerged the winner of Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7, having faced six years’ worth of rejection and heartache to get to where she is now.

Her thirst for growing in her craft, however, is undeniable. She’s known for sending messages to more established stars for advice. (She earned a reputation on PBB for being the “National Fangirl.”) Her admiration for talented actors is so high that she says she doesn’t mind being a background talent, sweeping floors, just to be able to see how these people work. Huge talents like Yeng Constantino, Sarah Lahbati, Angel Locsin, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla and Enrique Gil have all dispensed their own advice to the hungry Entrata. But one piece of advice she holds most dear is from none other than Liza Soberano, who told Entrata, “Huwag na huwag kang magsisimula hangga’t hindi mo pa nahuhuli yung emosyon.”

Barber, on the other hand, is a 17-year-old who packed up his life in Germany and moved to Manila to start a career in local entertainment. He talks about the three major criteria in becoming a local star: singing, dancing, and acting. He says he isn’t much of a singer and never claimed to be. He manages the dancing to a decent extent. But his great love is really acting, and it is the very reason he’s here. “I’d have no reason to stay in this industry if I didn’t have acting. This movie was really the biggest thing that could’ve happened to me,” says Barber. (Funnily enough, he also says that he never really set out to be the main guy, but rather the “hype man” type of best friend to the main guy. “I wanted to be the guy who was like, ‘Just do it, bro! Stop being stupid and talk to her!’”)

There is a decisiveness about him and a sort of wisdom that isn’t largely common in boys his age (or even beyond, if we’re being honest). He is not of the quiet, brooding sort, but there is a clear depth to him that cloaks his cheery disposition in a healthy measure of mystery. He confesses to being something of a writer, telling us that he carries with him little notebooks where he jots down ideas, character points and plot lines for different stories of different lengths. Entrata says that he’s allowed her to have a peek and says that he is quite brilliant, that his imagination goes to places hers would never dare to go and dreams up worlds that she would never have thought possible.

Right now, everything to them is still new, and their biggest hurdle is getting used to the run of the mill. Their projects and taping days have been back to back to back, and the days have begun to blur together. “We had four days where we were working every day — rehearsing, shooting, dubbing. Someone told me it was Sunday, and I was like, ‘It’s Sunday?!’,” Barber laughs. “I’ve never worked harder on anything in my life.” Entrata adds that the sleep deprivation was starting to get to her, but it was Barber and the people around her who also remind her how hard she fought for what she has. She jokingly says, “Akala ko pag nakita ko yung mga artista sa TV, nagme-makeup lang, ganito lang trabaho nila. Kaya gusto ko mag-artista kasi madali lang. Ngayon na nandito na tayo, gusto kong bumalik!”

Their gratitude for their present circumstances, however, is shared and it runs deep. Barber recalls his last day of shooting, saying, “I was there until 5:20 in the morning, and I got to the car, and I sat there and I thought, ‘I just finished a movie.’ It sounds cheesy, but I never thought I would actually get to do this. It was a thing I joked about with my friends and now it’s coming true.” Entrata says that no matter how difficult it’s been getting here and no matter how difficult the job has turned out to be in comparison to her fantasies, every single thing is worth it. “Worth it lahat lahat lahat ng sakripisyo, yung sobrang pagod, yung oras, yung minsan lahat nang maibigay mo, may maibigay ka lang. Kung wala akong pangarap, madali na lang siguro sakin mag give up. Pero may pinaglalaban ka, may pangarap ka eh, kaya tuloy ka lang.”

Photo by Regine David

Produced by DAVID MILAN