Renz ready for showbiz

MANILA, Philippines - He is not a product of a talent search or a TV reality show. Renz Fernandez is the youngest son of Rudy Fernandez and Lorna Tolentino. That’s why the call of show business is innate and inevitable to him. Recently, Renz has shown his effortless funny side and his sincere personality by answering questions from the press devoid of put-ons and standard statements with calculated actuations.

He punctuated some of his replies with “Di ba maganda ‘yon?”, “Medyo malabo yung sagot ko. Sorry.” and “Napanuod ninyo po ba ‘yon?”

Perhaps this is what will make him stay in the biz. It is a breather to meet a neophyte who is not showbiz at all.

“To relax,” offers the younger brother of Mark Anthony and Raphe when asked about tips Mama Lorna gave him before facing the cameras for the first time. “If I don’t, I won’t be able to deliver. I will have difficulty doing things.”

“(I have to) study the script,” he continues. “Not just to memorize the lines, but memorize them well. So, if I forget something, I can easily recall it and get back to it. Every detail like the way my character walks should be taken into consideration. I’m still in the process of learning. I need more practice since I am just new in the business.”

Renz’s first foray into TV acting is through the finale episode of ABS-CBN’s Your Song Presents Kim airing today after ASAP Rocks although he had a cameo in Matimbang Pa Sa Dugo. He will be weighed in the acting scale. In the light drama-romance, Renz plays Jepoy who earns a living by street boxing and meets a rich girl named Abbey (Kim Chiu). The story follows the opposites attract theme and love is the magical potion that seals the deal.

“I feel blessed to have worked with Kim for my first project,” shares Renz. “She is kind and beautiful. I would tend to forget my lines because of her beauty. I was kind of star struck.” Like Kim, Renz is single. He broke up with his girlfriend last year, but they remain good friends.

Off camera, Renz is just an ordinary person. “I want simple things in life. I try to appreciate small things and these are what matter.”

Is becoming an actor a childhood dream?

“Yes, it is,” replies Renz, a Philosophy graduate at the University of the Philippines Diliman. “I finished my studies last October. I promised Papa to finish my schooling first before entering show business. I think he did the right thing. I appreciate that and I understand him that (I had to wait). I am more disciplined now and I can focus (which are needed for this job).”

Although he could just bank on his genes from the Padilla and Fernandez sides, Renz decided to be trained under director Laurice Guillen to give himself the necessary head start in acting. This way, he could also test the waters and discover which genres — drama from his mom or action from his dad — will prevail.

“I can’t decide on that because the network is the one that determines which path I shall take,” says Renz on his budding career. “If I could choose, I would like to do action and drama. Is it a good idea?”

“(Me and my brother) are two different individuals,” says Renz of what he can offer to the viewers. “My strengths are his weaknesses and vice versa. I have a smaller tummy compared to my kuya,” he jokes. “All the creative stuff such as writing is his domain.”

Is he ready to be oftentimes compared with his parents?

 “I can’t stop people from comparing me to my mother and to my father and I do understand,” he says. “I don’t want to worry (about the pressure). I just want to think about my work and what I have got to do. I just want to honor them (my parents) with what I do and to continue my father’s and mother’s legacy.”

The way he handles himself, one can say that Renz is not just to showbiz born but is ready for it.