Jay Manalo takes two steps forward

Jay Manalo is one year shy of 30 but he still maintains a body that is undeniably attractive and at the peak of its abilities. And to think that Jay doesn’t spend long hours in the gym.

"I barely have time nowadays," Jay explains over bibingka and brewed coffee at the Taste of L.A. in Quezon City, where we had our one-on-one, one late night recently. His tone is somewhere between enervated and conspiratorial, but he makes it clear he’s definitely not complaining.

"Me complain?" he says "With the kind of enthusiasm I have now as far as work attitude is concerned and the number of good projects I get? No way!"

Oh yes, Manalo is aware he has become one of the most sought-after sexy actor in the market. He knows that with that comes the responsibility of continuous self-improvement on the physical front–which still remains the most important gauge in casting for projects.

"But I cannot push it too far if time won’t permit, because I believe there are other more important aspects of being fit and looking good aside from a strict workout regimen," he explains. He enumerates sleep hours, positive outlook and balanced diet as the three more important factors that make a person truly fit and healthy.

Some people might think he should put in more body mass, in the league of Carlos Agassi and Carlos Morales, but Manalo says he’s okay with his body. After barely an hour of eye-to-eye contact, I reckon it is his not-so-studied negligence that is appealing, the what-me-worry nonchalance and his being so comfortably at home with himself that make him look more desirable on and off screen.

Contradictions swirl around Manalo like moths to a flame. When we first met last year prior to the showing of Hubog, he was clad in a mega-macho jacket and was almost overpowering in his supreme self-confidence. But up close, he is an almost indecently good-looking man who doesn’t really believe it when he’s told precisely that.

Despite the image, Manalo is a sexy star who doesn’t go all the way to expose his manliness on screen. Manalo still goes through the rigors (and pains, if you know what I mean) of putting on leucoplast everytime a sex scene is required.

How does he feel everytime he has to shed his clothes and make love in front of the camera? "Oh, I still feel nervous, but I guess that helps in a way because I am constantly reminded this is only a scene from a movie, hindi ito libog sa totoong buhay," he straight-forwardly describes the "must-have" sequences producers insist, which, in all fairness, he is beginning to be very good at.

Manalo’s sexy star status has this kind of clarifying purity to it, which is my polite way of saying it has not always been easy for him in his rise to the top. My point is, he certainly had his share of movies that bombed, and those times when some of his films scored overwhelmingly at the tills, he’s had plenty of help with the likes of Assunta de Rossi, Rica Peralejo and Joyce Jimenez, who are all incidentally, his female counterparts. But it is the survivor in him that keeps him at bay.

Before completing about two dozen films, Manalo spent a brief time bussing tables and cleaning toilets in a popular burger joint to see him through school. He also played ball for the varsity team of one of the University belt colleges just to make sure he’ll have no problems with the next enrollment season. Until he was lured by advertising and fashion before plunging into mainstream entertainment.

Now, after almost nine years of struggle, Manalo is reaping the fruits of his labor. Although he’s had his chances of lead role movies, it is only this year when his talent is being noticed. "They say I’m under-rated so I’m working very hard to be recognized. It’s very important to me," he says, adding that he has an insatiable desire to bag an acting award.

With Eric Matti’s Prosti and Joey Reyes’ Masikip, Mainit (Paraisong Parisukat) showing almost simultaneously, Manalo takes two big steps forward and inches closer to the realization of his dreams. If he was good in Prosti, those who have previewed Paraiso say he’s brilliant because his character is, to put it simply, so like Jay Manalo.

"It’s a privilege to work with truly intelligent directors, yung hindi lang puro attitude and clout. Nakaka-inspire," he muses. But just how far this unexpected stardom will take him, he has no idea. In fact, he’s already foreseeing a sedate future in other aspects of a film career. "I want to finish school, and get myself ready to play other roles behind the camera," he says.

In the meantime, Jay Manalo makes the most of this ‘downpour of good offers’ in his career. Strike while the iron is hot, they say, and no doubt about it, his rod is sizzling hot!