The youngest in a brood of six, most of whom now live in the US, Piolo started his showbiz career in That’s Entertainment when he was 15. When the show folded up, he took up Physical Therapy at UST and joined a theater guild where he met Director Wenn Deramas and actor John Lapuz, UST graduates now working with ABS-CBN.
"They took me to ABS and I was asked to take an audition. I passed it and I was included in ABS Star Circle Batch 3. I was given a small role in the movie, Batang PX of Patrick Garcia in 1997, but I had to go to the US to get my green card so I lived with my mom in Pasadena, California for almost two years. My mom wanted me to just stay with her in the States. But I really wanted to pursue an acting career here, so after taking up some courses at Pasadena City College and joining an acting workshop, I told her I wanted to go home."
He returned at the time ABS was casting the 13-part mini-series of Director Olivia Lamasan, Sa Sandaling Kailangan Mo Ako. "I took the audition and got the role of Marvin Agustin’s best friend who becomes his mortal enemy. It was a villain role and my performance got noticed so I was also included in the show’s Book Two. From there, they included me in the cast of Judy Ann Santos’ soap opera, Esperanza. When it was turned into a movie, I was one of the cast members from the TV show who was retained in the big screen version."
For his first big movie, he was loaned to Crown Seven and played the title role of Lagarista, directed by Mel Chionglo, for which he got a Best Actor nomination. Then he was paired with Judy Ann in the hit romantic drama, Kahit Isang Saglit. When he was paired with Maricel Soriano in Mila as her drug addicted boyfriend, audience reception was lukewarm. But when he was reunited with Juday in Bakit Di Totohanin, the result was a big blockbuster.
Because of this, it was rumored that they were really going steady but Piolo says, that, at the moment, he prefers not to have a serious commitment because he wants to give his undivided attention to his career.
"There was a time I had five girlfriends all at the same time. In one occasion, I saw three of them there and it was embarrassing. I’ve since learned my lesson and I no longer have girlfriends nang sabay-sabay."
What would be his ideal woman?
"I want someone who’s simple, self confident and has deep faith in the Lord." His requirements seem to fit his leading lady in his new movie, Donita Rose, in Nine Mornings.
"Oh yes. But she is taken. Still, this did not prevent us from having a deep friendship while doing the movie. Actually, we’ve known each other since our days in That’s Entertainment. We both belong to the Friday edition. But I was then using the name PJ Pascual and I was so thin and not this tall yet. When Star Cinema told me I’d be doing a movie with her, I was elated because I really admire the way she handled her career. She’s well known all over Asia as an MTV VJ. Before shooting started, I saw her in a gathering and I told her we’d be making a movie together. She said yeah, yeah, but obviously, she didn’t recognize me. When I told her I was PJ of That’s, she was so embarrassed. Talagang hindi na raw niya ako nakilala because seven years have passed by since then. Donita is deeply religious and for my birthday, she gave me a Bible which I am now reading everyday. She really changed me, the way her character did in our movie."
In Nine Mornings, Piolo plays a hot-tempered events organizer who lost his religious faith after his girlfriend died in a tragic accident some years ago. He uses girls only as sexmates and for him, money is everything, which is why he was jubilant when learned that his lola, Armida Siguion Reyna, is leaving him all her wealth. But on the condition that he must complete all the nine early morning masses or simbang gabi of the Christmas season. It is in church where he meets the woman who’ll eventually change his life, Elise (Donita), a teacher in an orphanage who’s also nursing a broken heart.
The script of Nine Mornings is based on the screenplay of Antonio Sison that won second prize in the 1999 Film Foundation Scriptwriting Contest. Director Jose Javier Reyes has made some revisions to make this an even more heartwarming romance about a materialistic and cynical man and a deeply spiritual woman whose heart is full of love and compassion.
Nine Mornings is a very inspiring movie," adds Piolo. "And I enjoyed doing it with Donita because she is so humble despite her international success. She remains very friendly, down to earth, so devoted to her work, and obviously at peace with herself. Doing this film with Direk Joey is also a dream come true for me because after seeing his May Minamahal, I nurtured the idea of working with him one day in a romantic film like that. Heto, nagkatotoo na."
Piolo is the busiest actor at Star Cinema today. He also plays the eldest son of Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon in Dekada ‘70, directed by Chito Roño. Early next year, he will be doing a film with Regine Velasquez after their episode in Maalaala Mo Kaya hit number one in the surveys and is even nominated in the Star Awards for Television. Aside from this, he continues to be an active member of The Hunks, with whom he has done several shows abroad. Some say he should resign from the group because he can now go solo.
"I don’t consider my being a part of The Hunks as a hindrance to my career. The group has so many fans and it also helps us to gain more popularity. Besides, we still manage to maintain our own individual careers. Isa pa, enjoy naman ako sa company ng mga kagrupo ko. We have really bonded well and we’re now all good friends."
Piolo is also recording his first solo album, produced by Ogie Alcasid. "I have songs in the original soundtrack albums of some movies, like Sana Ikaw from Got 2 Believe, and a song for Himig Handog entitled Kung Ako Ba Siya. There’s a demand for me to cut my own album and I already have five songs composed by Ogie. I really like his songs because what he can sing, nakakanta ko rin, especially ballads."
Piolo is also putting up his own coffee shop along Morato Avenue called Mocha. "I won’t always be in showbiz so I want to invest my earnings wisely," he says. Clearly, aside from being a good actor and singer, Piolo is also wise enough to have foresight in preparing for his future.