No more sexy films for Allen

It feels good to be one of the last men standing in a highly-charged business like showbiz. Not much is heard about many of his colleagues these days. But Allen Dizon (along with another batchmate Ana Capri) is still very much around.

The reason is simple: The two hold the key to longevity in the business, talent and passion.

Allen is discriminating about his roles. It’s good-bye sexy films for him forever. That’s why he has turned down offers to star in sexy indie films.

“It’s also a matter of time and effort,” he says. “You need not hurry in getting the recognition you want.”

Recognition is what he got years ago when Allen bagged the FAMAS and Star Awards Best Supporting Actor plum for Twilight Dancers.

Since then, Allen has vowed to turn over a new leaf as an actor and erase all traces of his bold star image. Sure, he felt the pressure of living up to people’s high expectations. But it’s the kind of pressure he loves.

Luckily, Allen has succeeded in crossing the bridge between bold and wholesome.

Proofs are the squeaky clean projects he has tucked under his belt this year. Allen became a regular cast of ABS-CBN’s Kung Fu Kids. He also starred in Ai-Ai de las Alas and Robin Padilla’s romantic-comedy Ikaw Pa Rin Bongga Ka Boy.

“I have to be versatile to last in the business,” Allen reveals.

No wonder he jumped at the chance to play a Katipunero in Baler, Viva Films’ entry to the Metro Filmfest. Allen knows it’s not every day an actor gets this chance to star in an epic love story based on the historic Siege of Baler.

It’s not also every day that he gets to work with the masters: Director Mark Meiley, Phillip Salvador, Joel Torre and Leo Martinez.

“They were so supportive of me,” Allen gushes.

He’s also gushing over the many things that lie ahead for him. The 31-year-old Allen plans to give back to an industry that has been good to him. Next year, his film outfit, ATD Entertainment is producing two projects. The first, Dukot, is a political film about extra-judicial killings and human rights violations. Joel Lamangan will direct the film from a script by Palanca winner Boni Ilagan. Iza Calzado plays Allen’s wife.

ATD’s second project, Marino, on the other hand, is just as thought-provoking. It depicts the lives of seamen and the families they leave behind.

Allen is in the midst of shooting the indie film Butas with Gwen Garci. Slated for showing next month, Butas, which tackles the elusive truth in a crime of passion, is directed by Alejandro Ramos (Best Director and Screenplay nominee in the 2008 Enpress Award and Luna Awards).

“I’m super excited over these films because my roles here are varied,” relates Allen.

The eagerness has rubbed off on his eldest child Nella Marie, six. The girl plays a true-to-life role: Allen’s daughter in Marino.

“She is always chosen as a muse and already has a billboard in Pampanga (where Allen stays with wife Crystle and their three children and where his car trading business is based),” Allen reports the doting dad.

Allen takes his duties to his family seriously. He provides for them, not only through his car trading business and film assignments, but also through a Kenny Rogers branch he put up in SM Pampanga.

No wonder he is blessed — with a happy family and a career that continues to last longer than he himself expected it to.