Ryan keeps options open

MANILA, Philippines - When it comes to work, Ryan Agoncillo will not rule out doing things that go beyond his comfort zone  that of being a host. Although he has tried acting before, it remains one big challenge for him to this day. More so now that offers are starting to come in.

“Well, hosting kasi I always think about it as my thing. If Judy Ann’s (Santos, his wife) thing is acting, I think of hosting as the thing I do best for now, pero yung acting naiintriga ako matagal na because it’s not simple to act,” says Ryan about accepting acting projects anew.

During his younger years, Ryan had the impression that acting was an easy thing to do but not until he started appearing in movie and TV acting projects, some of which he topbilled with Judy Ann. His most recent acting stint was a cameo in the final episode of My Husband’s Lover.

“It turned out na di pala ganun kadali. I found out that there’s a process; my wife and my friends, it turns out iba yung talino nila so I would like to learn how to do that. Yeah, hosting is my thing but acting pilit ko s’yang gustong matutunan. Acting is not just physical but it’s very emotional.”

He, too, has learned that a teleserye has a different challenge from doing a movie. “A teleserye is a sustained process. When I did Isabela with Judy Ann, I asked the director how he was able to sustain the 10 months thinking about only one character. Whereas in a movie, the challenge is how to put in one and a half hours everything you want to show. Both have challenges but for me whatever comes, whether a teleserye or a movie, yun ang challenge ko.”  

Ryan never denies that there have been acting offers in the past months. And he is open to all possibilities of working on them but he cannot commit himself yet due to conflict in schedule. “There are offers here (GMA), then projects with Mr. (Tony) Tuviera, with TV5 and with ABS but still it (decision) would depend on my schedule. I consider myself a host first; it’s my bread and butter. Kung magawa yung acting like my movie with Joey (Reyes) that we were able to do within the bounds of the schedule of Eat, Bulaga, then fine. It’s okay to be away for one or two days (in Bulaga) but not the whole week. So the problem lies in my schedule but we have a meeting coming up, hopefully, it’s a project with Judy Ann. We’ve passed up on a project last year already and we will have a meeting again. I’m not sure if it’s a rehash of what we had met for last time.”

News has it that Talentadong Pinoy will return for a new season and TV5 execs are hoping that Ryan will still be able to host the show. “I’ve also heard about it,” Ryan says. “We’re open to that but no meeting yet,” adds Noel Ferrer, Ryan’s manager.

If and when Talentado fits into his game plan, Ryan doesn’t see any problem with GMA where he signed a per project deal. He is supposed to do two seasons of Picture! Picture! but GMA is also exploring the possibility of including Ryan in the cast of Bubble Gang but “both shows tape on the same day,” mulls Ryan.

Also in the drawing board is hosting a GMA News and Public Affairs special that touches on health-related issues. “Hopefully, we could start before the rainy season but of course, we have to fix the schedule because when you say News and Public Affairs, it’s not just about spiels, there’s research and field work, too, so that’s also tough.”

What is sure, though, as of the moment is the kind of excitement Ryan gets every time he is on the Picture! Picture! stage. “I have fun leading and misleading the contestants because the questions are tricky but, of course, you want to help them get to the prize without giving away too much.”

Picture! Picture! is a game show where contestants must answer the 10-picture aided questions until only one contestant remains to play in the jackpot round and take home the prize money.

The photos, Ryan reveals, are not merely lifted from the Net or any outside source. The show needs to secure the rights prior to putting them on the show. “We either pay for the rights or ask permission through a formal written letter.”

In the coming days, televiewers will also get to see some of Ryan’s photos from his Instagram account, mostly from his travels in and out of the country and from his past exhibits. “I’ll be uploading them at dun manggagaling maybe one or two questions. The photos will probably come out in the latter part of the first season.”