Tom Rodriguez: Choice cuts

The guessing game in the four corners of the world (including Filipino communities reached by GMA Pinoy TV) revolves around how the trending hit Kapuso “love triangle” My Husband’s Lover (now popularly known  as MHL) starring Dennis Trillo (as the lover Eric), Tom Rodriguez (the husband Vincent) and Carla Abellana (as the wife Lally caught in-between) will end. The show is so widely-followed that even stars from the competing Kapamilya network, among them Kris Aquino and Ai-Ai de las Alas, are watching it.

Here are some of the possible ways MHL might end:

= Eric will undergo a sex-change surgery and marry Vincent abroad where same-sex marriage is legal;

= Lally will relent and enter into a compromise — live together with Eric and Vincent, as long as she shares the conjugal bed with Vincent;

= Vincent will convince Lally to put up a beauty parlor and make Eric the manager;

= Eric will show up at a talk show and make public his and Vincent’s “incriminating” photos, after getting back the watch he gifted Vincent with and pawning it;

= After undergoing sessions with the psychiatrist, Lally will give her blessing for Vincent to live-in with Eric and find a new partner who will, woe of woes, turn out to be a closet gay; or

= Eric and Vincent will overdose on Valium Romeo & Juliet style, and live happily ever after hereafter (inspired by the Richard Gomez/Dawn Zulueta movie Hihintayin Kita sa Langit).

Seriously now, I’m happy for Tom, my fellow Waray, whose acting ability is being honed in MHL, proving that he’s more than Body Beautiful. He has finally found the right vehicle to stardom. Take note of how he uses his eyes in close-up shots in which he expresses so much emotion even sans dialogue, helped along by his agaw-eksena dimples.

A Libran (Oct. 1, 1987), Tom was born in Olongapo to an American father and a Filipina mother. He and his two brothers and three sisters moved with their mom to Pinabacdao, Eastern Samar (their mom’s hometown) and they grew up in nearby Catbalogan City. Tom finished early education (kindergarten to high school) at the Sacred Heart School in Catbalogan before the family migrated to San Francisco where Tom finished Digital Animation.

As everybody knows, Tom was discovered by the ABS-CBN reality-TV Pinoy Big Brother (PBB). His acting debut was in the Kapamilya show Precious Hearts Romances: My Cheating Heart, with Jake Cuenca and Cristine Reyes, followed by Love Me Again (with Valerie Concepcion) and the movie Here Comes The Bride (as Angelica Panganiban’s groom). He was also a member of the short-lived band VOIZboys (with Jay-R Siaboc, Guji Lorenzana and Nico Antonio.) After appearing in Temptation Island, the Regal remake of the Joey Gosiengfiao camp classic, Tom played the title role in the stage play Aladdin. Then came MHL which has turned Tom into a most-talked-about actor.

By special request, Funfare is putting out “choice cuts” from previous Body Talk and Sexy Talk stories.

What part of your body would you be proud to show?

“My dimples kasi kahit nag-iisa siya hindi niya ako pinababayaan.”

What is your shoe size? Does size matter?

“Size 11. Does size matter to me? Not really. Sometimes, the biggest things come compact like microchips.”

How do you take care of your body?

“I sleep when I can. I take multivitamins and vitamin C.”

What’s the sexiest thing have you ever done with your body?

“Painted my body with random abstract shapes and colors during a date with my girlfriend then. The texture of the paint against my skin gave me, as well as her, a beautiful feeling. It was a unique experience.”

What’s the most “in-demand” part of your body?

“My eyes. They are the most praised part of my body. Very expressive daw sabi nila. But I would say, my dimples. They say that it’s a deformity but many people find dimples attractive.”

And what is the most pampered part?

“My tummy. I always fill it up with monggo and Baguio beans.”

Would you dare do frontal nudity?

“Yes, kasi wala namang masama kung tasteful ang pagkakagawa. Diyos mismo ang gumawa sa atin sa pagsilang pa lang natin…bibigyan pa ba natin ng malisya?”

What is sexy to you?

“A quiet fire is what is sexy to me. It’s beyond the physical. Sexiness emanates from between the ears.”

What makes you feel sexy?

“Something that I cook up in my imagination. It’s not for publication, hahahaha!”

When did you lose your innocence?

“When I was 14. I had a slight brush. But my actual experience happened when I was 16. Consummated! It happened in San Francisco.”

Describe yourself in one word.

“Puede ba two words? Caring and passionate.”

Sexiest musical instrument?

“The guitar. There’s something about its sounds that is so arousing.”

Sexiest song?

“Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer, because of the cleverly suggestive themes hidden inside the rhyming words and metaphors.”

Sexiest face of a woman?

“That of Angelina Jolie. Her face exudes a sexy aura.”

Sexiest clothes?

“Satin pajamas with nothing underneath.”

Sexiest perfume?

“Any na subtle ang fragrance.”

Sexiest food?

“Pasta. The way you eat it looks sexy, doesn’t it?”

Sexiest flower?

“Red rose.”

Sexiest time of day?

“Sunset. Romantic na, makes you think of sex pa, hahahaha!”

Sexiest part of the house?

“The bedroom, where else?”

Sexiest thing you have done to yourself?

“Play the guitar while composing a song. That may not be sexy to others but it’s sexy to me.”
Sexiest thing you have done to or with somebody?

“Having a candlelit dinner with a girl and at the same time composing a song for her. Yes, I cook. My favorite recipe? Carbonara.”

Favorite fantasy?

“Making it with Princess Leia (a character in Star Wars).”

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)