Lykke til, Rafael! - DIRECT LINE by Boy Abunda

Asked for three words to discribe himself, ABS-CBN Talent Center’s newest find Rafael Rosell IV answers, "I’m child-like, adventurous and family-loving." But when asked again for three words on how his mother would describe him, he flashes a megawatt smile and replies. I don’t think my mom would use those words. She’d probably describe me as makulit, hard-headed and hopefully, responsible."

Rafael’s sensuality is the kind that bothers the prude and innocent. He has a cocky charm that can make him a star. With his stints in commercial modeling and TV guestings (Keep On Dancing, Tabing Ilog, Arriba! Richard Loves Lucy, ASAP etc.), Rafael has already created a buzz in the industry.

David Fabros, ABS-CBN Talent Center Development Manager and Rafael’s "unofficial" discove-rer confirms this and relates that "Rafael has a quality that makes people take a second look. He has an aura that stirs a certain interest. We got hold of his picture naked from the waist-up doing a push-up last year and I placed it on my table for about a month. People who pass by my table would notice the photo and ask me who he was. That’s when I thought na may dating talaga siya. I think he’ll be the Brad Pitt of the Philippines, without the butt-baring of course! Ha ha!"

Indeed, Rafael isn’t ready to bare his, uhm, ass-ets. At least not yet. He thinks there are bold actors to do that. "In choosing a role, I consider two things. One is if it will do well for my career and two, if it won’t ruin me as a person. And how do I know if an offer is right? I rely on my gut-feel."

In fact, it’s Rafael’s gut-feel that led him to pack his bags and leave his home country of Norway. "I already got e-mails and phone calls from Talent Center about the possibilities of making it here but they kept telling me, Rafael, we’re not guaranteeing anything," remembers the 18-year old talent. "But I felt it in inside. I really thought of it long and hard and I just said to myself I’ll just give it my best shot."

And so far, Rafael’s shots are right on target. He has been touted as the most promising among members of Star Circle 9, having bagged a lucrative deal with a leading toothpaste ad. He also got a role as Kaye Abad’s urbanite-balikbayan suitor in the top-rating weekly drama Tabing Ilog where Oliver (Rafael’s role), had to eat dried tuyo using his hands to impress Eds, the charming lass played by Kaye. "I had fun doing that. That was indeed something new for me – eating with my hands!"

Asked what else has he done with his hands to impress a girl, Rafael blushed a little and relates how he wrote a poem for this girl back in Norway. "After writing the poem, I biked toward her place at 4 a.m. changed to a suit on the road and serenaded her." And speaking of multi-talented hands that can eat dried fish and write romantic poems, Rafael can hand-juggle three balls at the same time.

Definitely, Rafael has come a long way from his younger days when he used to fantasize over Rambo movies and danced along to Michael Jackson songs. But Rafael hasn’t forgotten his roots. This month, he plans to go back to Norway to visit his parents and brothers. For his pasalubongs, he plans to buy beaded ornaments for his family and friends "because they’re very expensive there." And as I was about to ask what present would he bring for his special girl, he equipped, "No. There’s no girl waiting back home for me."

In an industry fixated on the latest, not necessarily the best, Rafael should remember that only a handful of young actors who rise to the top of the heap stay there for long. It takes talent, determination, looks, will, resilience and sheer luck to prevail over bad projects in an industry caught in a tumultuous economy and a volatile political situation.

And if there’s one good thing about Rafael it is that he has yet to explore his range as an actor. He is bent on doing so even if times are not so good.

Lykke til (good luck), Rafael!