John Lloyd Cruz & Bea Alonzo: If he were, If she were

If Jestoni Alarcon and Lara Fabregas had a daughter (which is impossible because they’re married to different partners, Jestoni to non-showbiz wife Lizette and Lara to Raymond Bagatsing from whom she’s separated), she would be, yes, Bea Alonzo.

That, I suppose, is the most graphic way of describing Bea who plays Katrina in the hit ABS-CBN soap Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, a cross between Jestoni and Lara. In short, very pretty.

And how would you describe John Lloyd Cruz, 19, who plays Yuri in the same soap (topbilled by Lorna Tolentino and, among others, Rica Peralejo)? Well, he’s very decent, very wholesome. He should have been a seminarian instead of an actor. Very saintly-looking.

No wonder Bea and John Lloyd blend beautifully together in Kay Tagal like two scoops of Magnolia ice cream, vanilla flavor, and tele-fans have been going gaga over television’s newest hit loveteam (coming after the likes of Kristine Hermosa and Jericho Rosales of Pangako Sa’Yo fame, etc.).

There lie the wonder and the magic of it all. If truth be told: John Lloyd has been going steady with Ciara Sotto for more than one year now; while Bea, although she looks mature, is barely out of her teens (age "confidential," according to Bea) and deems herself much too young to have a boyfriend.

And yet, they click as a loveteam even if the "love" between them is for reel, not for real. Which simply means that as Katrina and Yuri, they look good together and are convincing and credible as sweethearts. Ask avid followers of Kay Tagal.

Fifty-percent British and 50-percent Filipino, Bea is Fhylbert Angellie Fagestrom in real life and is not, contrary to what many fans believe, related to Chinggoy Alonso (with an "s"). She stands 5’7" and is a Scorpion (Nov. 17). Bea and her only sibling (a brother) grew up with their mom, Mary Anne Renollo, who broke up with her British boyfriend when Bea was four years old. She hasn’t seen her father since then.

Bea studied here (she has never been to England, her estranged father’s native country) and she’s now in third-year high school through the DECS home-study program.

"I have always wanted to be in showbiz," said Bea who was launched last year as a member of the ABS-CBN Talent Center’s Star Circle Batch 10 along with 23 other starry-eyed aspirants. "Although I was underaged, I joined the Miss Pasig contest last year, even if we’re living in Taguig, and I finished third runner-up."

That was her one-way ticket to showbiz. A talent scout spotted her and brought her to the Talent Center auditions. She barely made it to the deadline.

Although she has appeared in A.S.A.P., MTB and K2BU, Bea got her big break in Kay Tagal where she blossomed from a nerd (complete with thick glasses) into a head-turning charmer who initially wanted to take revenge on Yuri, a playboy-lawyer, only to end up falling for him – and vice-versa.

On the other hand, John Lloyd is a "veteran" of soap operas having done three (Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka, Tabing-Ilog with Kaye Abad who is his former girlfriend and Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan) before he was cast in Kay Tagal which is getting for him all the attention that the three other soaps have not. (He has done three movies, all for Star Cinema, which haven’t sufficiently tapped his acting talent – no wonder I can’t remember the title of even one of them).

A Cancerian (June 24), John Lloyd was a member of the Star Circle Batch 5, launched in 1997, along with Baron Geisler, Marc Solis and Tanya Garcia who was later "pirated" by GMA 7. He’s one of three children and the only one remaining here with his parents (the rest are abroad).

John Lloyd is so believable as a cocky young lawyer in Kay Tagal that you wonder if he ever dreamed of becoming one instead of an actor.

"I never dreamed to be in showbiz because I used to find it so baduy. Natutuhan ko na lang mahalin ang profession na ’to. I wanted to be a soldier, a marine, and then a scientist. I’ve always been fascinated by Ernie Baron. When I was younger, I thought he was a scientist. But my fond dream is to be a pilot. Until now, I still dream of flying a plane. When I go back to school," added John Lloyd who had to temporarily quit school, "maybe I should take up a course in flying."

There you are, Katrina and Yuri.

Meanwhile, let’s put the Kay Tagal lovebirds to a "compatibility test" and find out how they fare. (Find out for yourselves at the end of the "test".)

So what would Bea and John Lloyd be if she were, if he were...

Bird

John Lloyd: Lovebirds. They are happy together, aren’t they? Take one away and the other sulks. But I don’t want to be cooped up inside a cage. Gusto ko, lovebirds (kami) na lumilipad, malayang-malaya. Just the name, ang ganda na – lovebirds. It’s nice to fall in love. . . to love and be loved.

Bea: A dove. God used a dove to check if the big flood had subsided during the time of Noah, remember?

Flower

John Lloyd: Tulips. Very elegant ang tulips, di ba? Especially white tulips.

Bea: Rose – white rose. A rose can convey a lot of meanings, depending on its color.

Tree

John Lloyd: Acacia tree, so I can let many people rest in my shade. Care-giver ako, e.

Bea: Coconut. It has many uses – for food, for shelter, for a lot of other things.

Song

John Lloyd: The type sung by Cynthia Alexander. Very poetic, very deep, maraming meanings. You listen to a Cynthia Alexander song and you’ll know what I mean. Her songs are subject to different kinds of explanations, depending on who’s listening to the song(s). Motorbykle is one of them. One line goes... This is the game and this is the cycle. I interpret that line in many ways.

Bea: R&B. It’s cool, di ba? My favorite song is I’m Real by J.Lo. Sobrang pang-bagets. Every line in that song para bang speaks for me.

Book

John Lloyd: Sorry but I’m not much of a bookworm. I’d rather read mga discovery magazines. But I do like inspirational books, like Conversations with God. Books na mga eye-opener.

Bea: A romantic novel, like A Walk to Remember. But I really prefer to read magazines than books, especially magazines with lots of pictures. But if I were a book, I’d be a coloring book because my life is full of colors.

Movie

John Lloyd: No sci-fi for me. I go for love stories. I’m romantic by nature. I also like movies with uplifting themes, such as Patch Adams (starring Robin Williams).

Bea: Drama. I don’t go for comedies; at saka, hindi ako pang-sitcom. My favorite movie is Castaway. Awang-awa ako kay Tom Hanks doon sa movie na ’yon.

Car

John Lloyd: A BMW 7 Series. I love big cars ever since I was a kid. If a car is small, it gives me a "suffocating" feeling. I like big cars because they have a lot of space; you can breathe freely. Right now, I’m driving an Expedition; before, a CRV. But my dream car is a BMW 7 Series. When I get rich, I’ll buy one.

Bea: A sports car. I’ll save and buy one.

Another Actor/Actress

John Lloyd: Johnny Delgado (his co-star in Kay Tagal). I like his attitude. Iba siya, e. He’s in the business for the craft; hindi takot sumubok kahit anong role. He’s at home in any role.

Bea: Julia Roberts. I’ve watched all her movies and I love them all. She looks carefree, parang walang problema sa buhay.

Hero/Heroine

John Lloyd: Daredevil (played by Ben Affleck in the movie). At night, he’s blind but he’s a fighter. Ayoko lang ng name niya. Parang devilish. Maybe a Dark Angel?

Bea: Gabriela Silang. Ang tapang niya, di ba?

Saint

John Lloyd: I’m a renewed Christian and I don’t believe in saints. I believe only in Jesus.

Bea: St. Anne. The high school where I studied was named after her.

City

John Lloyd: Among those that I’ve visited... yes, L.A. It’s so laid-back. Leisurely ang pace, unlike New York where everything and everybody moves fast, as if forever racing against one another and against time. Nakakahilo!

Bea: New York. I haven’t been there, I’ve only been reading a lot about it, but that’s the kind of city that I want to be in. A city that never sleeps. Siguro if I had a chance to go there, I’d stay awake 24 hours a day. I won’t sleep, just like the city, because there are lots of places to go and lots of things to do.

Video Game

John Lloyd: I’m not a computer freak, so I can’t say which one or which video game character I’d like to be.

Bea: I’d be Renoa, the character in my favorite video game, Final Fantasy. She’s very pretty. I wish I were like her. I keep wondering how somebody could have created such a beautiful face.

Part of the House

John Lloyd: The bathroom. I spend long hours in the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, ang feeling ko ang layo-layo ko sa mga problema, walang ka-stress-stress! I do many things in the bathroom: I bubble-bath, I read scripts, I memorize my lines, I talk to friends on the phone, I take my time. Next to the bathroom, I want to be the dining area because that’s the part of our house where I want to entertain my friends and visitors.

Bea: Garden. I love plants and colorful flowers. When I’m in a garden, everything seems to be at peace with me and the world.

A Man/Woman

John Lloyd: I’d be prim and proper. Ako, when I started in showbiz I was prim and proper but I have loosened up since then.

Bea: I’d be makulit pero a gentleman.

Perfume

John Lloyd: Extreme (Bvlgari). Perfume can add to a romantic atmosphere, it can enhance romance, so you should be careful about the kind of perfume that you wear. When I visit Ciara, I wear Crave (by Calvin Klein). That’s the scent that she wants to smell in me.

Bea: I won’t ever be a perfume because I don’t use one. Hanggang baby cologne lang ako. The scene is very subtle. My favorite is Victoria’s Secret cologne.

Food

John Lloyd: Native dishes. My favorite meal is breakfast – sinangag, tuyo or tinapa, carabao milk, scrambled egg with mustasa ("invented" by my Dad).

Bea: Pasta. But I’m on a diet now so I can’t eat as much pasta as I want to.

Color

John Lloyd: Black. It reflects my personality. Extremes ako, e. I function better in the dark.

Bea: White – symbol of purity.

An Animal

John Lloyd: A cat. It’s very gentle, di ba?

Bea: I won’t ever be an animal, especially not a dog. I have a phobia for dogs because when I was a kid, I was bitten twice by a dog. If you want to scare me, bring a dog close to me.

Part of the Planetary System

John Lloyd: The moon. I like kasi to appear big and bright at nighttime. Watch a full moon on a quiet night. Ang ganda tingnan, di ba?

Bea: I’d be the sun. It’s the sun which gives light to the world, di ba? I want to be a light-giver.

If Not Himself/Herself, Who Would He/She Rather Be?

John Lloyd: A male counterpart of Lady Di. She helped a lot of people. Nasa puso niya ang pagtulong sa kapwa and I love her for that. I’d be Lady Di’s male version. Matulungin ako, basically. I’m happiest when I help somebody.

Bea: My Lola (Luzviminda Doblon). She’s my role model. I grew up with her. Lola’s Girl ako, e!

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