Sexy Talk with Neil Ryan Sese

“I am an actor by accident,” Neil Ryan Sese, the actor whose face, yes, looks very familiar but whose name skips some people. Is it flattering for an actor to be fondly remembered more for his performance than for his name? Maybe, especially if you are an “actor by accident,” who came into the scene in 1996.

How did it happen?

“I didn’t have any plans to go into theater,” recalled Neil who is in the cast of the GMA soap Niño, directed by Maryo J. de los Reyes who is his manager. “After graduating from high school in Lucena City, I wanted to take the entrance exam at UP. At that time, there were quota courses at UP, ‘yung only a certain number were admitted per course. In Engineering, kailangan mataas ang grade mo sa entrance exam, 88 percent upward, for you to be admitted. In Theater Arts, 84-86 percent okey na. I didn’t want to take a chance so I enrolled in Theater Arts, planning to shift to another course on my second year. My second choice was Masscom major in Broadcasting.”

He got stuck in theater arts. Soon, Neil found himself with Dulaang UP, starting as production staff (soliciting sponsorship; helping in the lighting, costume and props; etc.) before he ventured into acting after two years, having his debut as part of the chorus in Blood Wedding. Gradually, his roles became more meaty in five other plays, until his big break, on his fourth year in college, came in Oedipus Rex.

“I fell in love with acting,” added Neil whose professors included Tony Mabesa, Alex Cortez and Jose Estrella. “I got the Oedipus role by accident. The play was done in both Tagalog and English versions, and the original actor backed out kasi hindi niya nakaya ‘yung Filipino version. The director, Anton Juan, asked if I could do it and I said, ‘I’ll try.’ I had to memorize the play’s Filipino version in one week, 217 lines all in all. What I did was memorize 50 lines per day. More lead roles followed, including a Kabuki play.”

Joel Lamangan saw Neil in Othello, directed by Mabesa who’s Joel’s friend, and Joel cast Neil in the Kapamilya soap Your Honor as the opponent lawyer of Richard Gomez’s character. It was Pangako Sa’yo that started the ball really rolling for Neil who, with other actors (Ping Medina, among them), helped sustain the then inchoate indie genre. In one indie, Hindi Natatapos Ang Gabi, he did a nude bed scene with Mercedes Cabral at the top of a mountain, going around au naturel between takes. “Sa indie naman,” laughed Neil, “hindi uso ang plaster-plaster. At first, nagta-towel-towel pa kami until nasanay na ako.” He also starred as a turero (with Inez Veneracion as a husband-wife “live show” performers) in Matthew, Luke, John, directed by Gil M. Portes and produced by STAR Remember When? columnist Danny Dolor.

Neil, 35 (April 26, 1979), is happy/lucky being an “adjustable” actor who can play bida or kontrabida. In Niño (with teen actor Miguel Tanfelix and kiddie actor David Remo among his co-stars), he plays a kind-hearted character. Don’t look now but he could play Richard Yap’s Ser Chief character in Be Careful With My Heart and, its reverse, as the lusty boss who molests the maid instead of, as Ser Chief did, gently courting her. Neil laughed aloud at that “possibility.”

What is sexy to you?

“When a person is smart and confident, lumalabas ang pagka-sexy niya.”

When do you feel sexy?

“When I am on the beach…in board shorts.”
What part of your body do you consider sexiest?

“My back. I don’t see it, but they say sexy daw ang back ko lalo na kapag nakahubad ako.”

What part of a woman’s body do you find sexiest?

“Her legs.”

When did you lose your innocence?

“You know, I admit that I started early. I was 13 then.”

To an older woman, younger woman or woman your age?

“Older by three years; she was my girlfriend.”

Sexiest book?

“Fifty Shades of Grey. My wife (who’s with the GMA marketing department) read it so I read it, too.”

Sexiest movie?

“Perfume. Para siyang indie movie. It’s about a man who gets the scent of women na ginagawa niyang perfume, pinaghahalu-halo niya ang mga scent. The morbid part is that he kills his victims so he can get their scent.”

Sexiest musical instrument?

“Saxophone.”

Sexiest song?

“Any lounge music, chill.”

Sexiest TV show?

“Pornocupia. It’s a series about porn stars and their relationships, one with a cameraman, another with a set designer and still another with a fellow porn star.”

Sexiest food?

“Uni Sashimi.”

Sexiest car?

“Porsche.”

Sexiest perfume?

“D&G Light Blue.”

Sexiest time of day?

“Midnight.”

Sexiest part of the house?

“Bathroom, especially if you have a bathtub.”

Sexiest animal?

“Cat.”

Sexiest billboard?

“The billboards of Anne Curtis.” (Neil himself would make a sexy billboard guy. Paging Ben Chan of Bench or Dr. Vicki Belo!)

Sexiest scene that you’ve seen in a movie?

“I forgot the title of the movie but I’ll never forget that scene where the actor and the actress tie a white cloth on the ceiling and they make love in it. Like making love in a hammock.”

Sexiest scene that you’ve ever done?

“The one on top of a mountain that I did with Mercedes Cabral.”

Sexiest thing you’ve ever done to or with yourself?

“Doing it in front of a mirror, hahahaha!”

Sexiest thing you’ve ever done to or with somebody?

“Rolling on the beach.”

Sexiest fantasy?

“Nagawa ko na…’yung making love on top of a mountain, hahahaha!”

Sexiest clothes?

“Boxers.”

Sexiest face of a woman?

“The face of Solenn Heussaff.”

Three women that you find sexy?

“Solenn Heussaff, Ellen Adarna and Meagan Fox.”

(E-mail reactions at entphilstar@yahoo.com or rickylophilstar@gmail.com.)