Vhong Navarro: Seriously now

It is indeed going to be a great year for all of us! Congratulations to Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo for winning the Gatpuno Villegas Cultural Award.

There is no doubt that our young adults would squeeze in a couple of hours for this film.

I couldn’t be any more glad to be a part of Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo. We had our victory party last Thursday night and thank you so much for keeping the movie on top.

Another upcoming great hit would be Agent X-44 with Vhong Navarro. It’s showing on Jan. 17 and the premiere night is on Jan. 16 at the Cinema 10 of SM Megamall.

Agent X-44 took quite some time to shoot due to some complications with our schedules.

This was my first time working with Vhong whom I have known for a few years now, even before his Mr. Suave days.

He, so far, has four major films and still hopes to make more this coming year.

Vhong currently holds the title "Chick Boy" for the year 2007. He has always held titles every guy could ever dream of.

He currently stands as the only one on his category. A film with Vhong is an absolute "must-see" for a good time.

He has his own style of making people laugh. He’s got a talent that couldn’t be learned, nor mastered, but comes from the heart.

Even during his normal conversations with friends, he somehow finds a way to crack a joke somewhere in the middle.

Being funny is definitely in his blood. Being a comedian was not exactly something he had in mind during his younger years.

Vhong originally wanted to be a pilot. He says, "If I wasn’t an actor now, I would probably be a dancer still. Dancing is my passion, although I wanted to be a pilot when I was younger, and since I can’t do it now, I might be in some other country performing."

I couldn’t imagine how hard it could be to live up to everyone’s expectations of him. He is known to be funny and charming 24/7.

What some people forget at times is that entertainers are also human. They have their down times.

We can’t always be happy, fun and smiling. "The hardest part of this job is that we can’t really show how we feel at the moment, because they (the people) expect us to be jolly and coming up with jokes all the time.

"There are moments when I would go to the mall and some people would greet me, then ask me to crack a joke!" Vhong says.

So far, he has done such a great job but what we don’t know is behind that happy smile is a determined and dedicated father of two boys.

Vhong says, "The last time I cried was when I talked to my son about him getting into trouble at school.

"We’ve already agreed that the teachers wouldn’t have to ask the parents to come in for a meeting. My kids are growing now. As much as possible, I want to discipline them through a man-to-man talk.

"I never want to hit my kids. I couldn’t help but cry while explaining to them how to do things the right way in school.

"It’s not very easy to be a father, but I love my kids. They give me strength. I only dream for them to do well in school.

"When they graduate, I want to make sure the profession they choose is something they really want to do, just like how my father gave me the choice."

Vhong considers his dad his Agent X-44 because he has always been there to support him with everything he puts his heart into.

At 44, Vhong is looking forward to maybe getting into directing and putting up his own business.

He has absolutely no plans to retire at this point.

"I’ll be in the business for as long as the people want me to," says Vhong.

Well, that would be forever! Laughing our problems away is a great therapy. Vhong is the man to put that smile on your face.

"Si Vhong, totoong tao yan!" is a reputation he hopes to accomplish by the time he decides to retire, which is probably never.

Have a great Sunday!