Crossing over from YouTube to boob tube

MANILA, Philippines - Mikey Bustos will cross over from YouTube to boob tube beginning May 6 as he portrays Dexter Matibag on GMA 7’s Tweets for My Sweet with Marian Rivera as lead. Kapuso viewers won’t be seeing Mikey as the Fil-Canadian giving everyone a Filipino accent tutorial online but as a guard who is on the lookout to protect one from evil elements. This is Mikey’s baptism of fire in the acting department. All eyes are on him and how he will weigh in the comedy scale.    

“I’m here doing projects because I fly back and forth between here and Canada and US,” says Mikey of his plans of staying in Manila for good. “Most of my work is in the Philippines. I’m moving in Global City in June. Right now, I’m staying in Mandaluyong (City). I’m just here doing work and I’m having so much fun.”

The endorser of Chicharron Ni Mang Juan is now a GMA Artist Center talent. That means more airtime exposure for Mikey. “It’s a dream come true for me,” he shares.

Is Mikey comfortable playing Dexter, the guard, not the one absorbed in conducting experiments?

“I feel so comfortable,” he answers. “When I read the script, I’m like ‘That’s exactly what I would say.’ I’m playing myself but not myself. I’m glad they cast me and I’m honored to be with everyone.”

In Canada, Mikey is a singer-musician. He joined Canadian Idol season one and finished eighth. And pop is his genre.

“I signed up with Universal Music (Canada) and (I am) still releasing my album,” he says. “I’ve had 12 records and one full-length album and another one coming out this year.”

“To tell you the truth, I wasn’t always a comedian,” he adds. “I was not. Last year, my YouTube video, Filipino accent tutorial, went viral. But that was not expected. It was just a skit that I wanted to do. When I was growing up, I used to see comedians and I wished if I could be like them — Ogie Alcasid and Michael V. I learned (comedy) and I learned not so much to be funny but to open up and be myself that people will laugh at. I felt I’ve always been funny but I never had the opportunity to showcase it.”

Even though making people laugh is not his first love, Mikey admits he is “super comfortable” with it. “It is a newfound talent that I discovered last year,” he says. “I discovered it and it makes me feel good when I can make them (people) laugh, when they can forget whatever problems they have in life and laugh in the moment. That makes me feel fulfilled and I want to continue exploring comedy, acting and of course, my music.”

How does Mikey describe his brand of comedy?

“Before this show, my brand of comedy was that’s-so-true comedy… It’s like Russell Peters and Rex Navarette,” he replies. “It’s kinda satire but it’s not mocking. It’s celebratory. It’s identifiable comedy. Now this comedy (that I’m doing) is kinda different because it’s not about that anymore. It’s different now. People are laughing at me now because, one, of my poor Tagalog; (and) two, because people tell me my Tagalog sounds probinsya. Eventhough I grew up Canadian and my parents are Pinoy, my parents are actually probinsyano. I have very probinsya mannerisms. And I bring that to the table. I hope people will like that and (fall in love with) Dexter, especially those outside Manila.”

From the way he sounds during the interview and clowns around before the camera, Mikey is enjoying his stay in Manila and everything feels “like vacation with work. (It’s) all play.”