The Next Big Thing

The star of the sexy drama Just a Stranger (opening nationwide on Aug. 21), Marco Gumabao comes from a showbiz clan gifted with good looks and good genes, predicted to hit it big this year

By way of introduction, let’s listen to Marco Gumabao complete some sentences.

• Love is…unconditional.

• Happiness…cannot be bought.

• What makes me happy…are God, my family and my friends.

• My mood when I woke up this morning was…happy.

• The kind of people I stay away from are…toxic people.

• I deal with indecent proposals by…deadma lang. I get a lot of those kinds of proposals, sa social media or even personally. Ako kasi, I am not that kind of person. I don’t believe in anything handed to you. I’m the type of person who doesn’t care so much about money. Wala akong pakialam sa pera. Okey na ako sa pinag-hirapan ko. Ayoko ng binibigay sa akin ng walang kahirap-hirap. Ayoko ng ganoon.

• I lost my innocence…when I was a teenager to a teenager like me.

• My most embarrassing experience was…I was walking to school and I fell into a digging on Taft Avenue. Half of my body was inside the hole.

• When I’m in love…I am fully committed.

• The woman in my mind when I go to bed is…Kendall Jenner.

• The biggest mistake in my life was…when I ruined the momentum of my career.

• My ultimate goal is…to show people the grace of the Lord through my work.

And on to the main Conversation…

How does it feel being described as “The Next Big Thing”…nervous, excited, challenged, inspired?

“All of the above. It’s exciting and inspiring and at the same time, nakaka-pressure because of the many expectations from me. Nakaka-inspire because lahat ng pinaghirapan ko are starting to pay off. This has always been my goal ever since. I’m happy that it’s now within reach.”

(Marco started in showbiz at 17. He’s turning 25 on Wednesday, Aug. 14. His first show was the teen-oriented ABS-CBN show Luv U in 2011, directed by Edgar Mortiz who took care of him since he didn’t have a manager. In 2014, he joined Star Magic. After appearing in Kapamilya dramas, he got a break as one of the titular actors in Los Bastardos. Now under contract with Viva, Marco was in the cast of Nadine Lustre’s Ulan, with Anne Curtis in Aurora and now again with Anne in Just a Stranger, directed by Jason Paul Laxamana.)

Having come from a showbiz clan (dad is Dennis Roldan, mom is Lollie Imperial of the influential Bicol family, 2018 Bb. Pilipinas-Globe Michelle Gumabao among his siblings, aunts include Isabel Rivas, and cousins include 1997 Bb. Pilipinas-World Kristine Florendo and Gretchen Fullido), you were to showbiz born…unless you wanted to be something else.

“My dream was to be a professional basketball player. Since I was a child, I was focused on basketball…until I realized that I didn’t have the skills of a basketball player. Besides, I didn’t take it seriously and just considered it an exercise and a hobby. But I did become a varsity player when I was in grade school and later a volleyball player in high school, both in Ateneo. For college, I took up AB Psychology in La Salle but I completed only the second year because I decided to join showbiz. Besides, our house in Commonwealth Avenue (Quezon City) was far from La Salle (Taft) so mahaba ang travel time. It was not easy combining school and showbiz.”

How was your childhood, hindi ka ba spoiled?

“Medyo spoiled ng mommy ko because I am the youngest among five children and the only boy — Maria Katrina, Mariel, Michelle and Margarita. Sa Mommy ko lahat. I have three half-siblings, all boys, my dad’s children with three different women. I am close to all three of them.”

You grew up mostly in your mom’s care (dad Dennis is serving term at the National Penitentiary), so how was your growing-up years?

“Sobrang-bait ng Mommy ko. Given the history of what happened to Papa, doon na-strengthen ‘yung values that Mommy instilled in us. She taught us not to judge our father, she taught us to love him…na kahit ano ang nangyari sa asawa niya, hindi niya iniwan ang Papa ko.”

Of course, pag sinabing anak ni Dennis Roldan, the first thing that comes to me is, “He must also be a lady killer.” Are you?

“Well, ah, maybe when I was younger I did have some experience with girls. Siempre bata, eh, so hindi ko namamalayan na may mga babae akong nasasaktan.”

Oh really? In what way?

“Not naman physically. I was very young at hindi pa masyadong magaling sa relationships. That was when I was a teenager. But now, I am more careful. With social media, ang daling ikalat ng isang girl ang mga baho ng isang lalaki.”

Are you the type who is sawain (easily gets bored)?

“Not really.”

How many girlfriends have you had so far?

“The total? Three.”

None in-between…you know, one-night stands?

“No comment, hahaha!!!”

Now, about Just a Stranger. Describe your role.

“I play a 19-year-old boy, named Jericho or Jek-Jek, son of a diplomat (played by Robert Seña) who is assigned in Portugal. He’s a controlling father and Jek-Jek becomes rebellious, and feels that he can take care of himself. I meet Mae (Anne’s character) on a beach, a tourist older than me who is suffering from fibromyalgia (a rheumatic disorder affecting soft tissues and characterized by pain, tenderness and stiffness of muscles, and associated with connective tissue structures). Anne’s character is more than 10 years my character’s senior. Almost like in real life.”

You must be flattered to know that you are Anne’s personal choice.

“I think Viva had a few other choices in mind but, I heard, I was the choice of direk Jason and Anne.”

How were your love scenes in the movie (uso ngayon ang May-December themes in local movies)?

“Siempre Anne Curtis ‘yon, pantasya ng bayan, so I felt a bit awkward (naiilang). Nakaka-pressure din when I think that of all the leading men in Viva, I was the one chosen. I don’t want it to go to my head, considering that most men would say ‘Sana ako na lang,’ so I just did my best.”

According to Erwan Heussaff, Anne’s husband, he doesn’t want to attend premiere nights because when Anne’s love scenes are shown, he feels that all eyes are on him, so he’d rather just watch Anne’s movies in the moviehouse. How do you think Erwan will react to your and Anne’s love scenes?

“Well, uhm, Anne always says that Erwan is very open, that before she accepted the project, she let Erwan read the script. Erwan was all for it naman daw.” (In a report, Erwan said in jest that he left for a while and looked what happened. To which Anne replied also in jest, “That’s what you get for always leaving.” Erwan added that he wanted to adopt Marco na lang.)

In real life, have you ever been involved with an older woman?

“Hmmm, not naman super old. Siguro mga 10 years older but not older than that. Actually, I don’t really look at age when it comes to a relationship. Sa akin, age doesn’t really matter.”

It’s a good thing your girlfriend is not the jealous type.

“I have no girlfriend now. After I broke up with my girlfriend (theater actress Tippy Dos Santos) in 2015, nagka-girlfriend ako last year, non-showbiz, but it didn’t work out. So, I decided that effective 2019, wala munang girlfriend, focus muna ako sa work.”

For a good-looking guy like you, how can you resist the temptation around you?

“Well, you know, I have strengthened my relationship with God. Last Sunday, I was a speaker and the topic was about sex. Medyo tinamaan din ako. Some people tell you that sex is bad (outside of marriage) at dapat maging virgin ka. I attend the service at my favorite church, Favor Church. It’s a new church that is fast-growing. Magaling ang pastor dun.”

Anne happy doing sexy drama again

Anne Curtis at 34 is two years older than her husband Erwan Heussaff. In Viva Films’ Just a Stranger, her return vehicle to the sexy drama genre (after last year’s Sid & Aya with Dingdong Dantes, BuyBust as an action star and horror-thriller Aurora), Anne is cast as a tourist in a May-December romance with Marco Gumabao. In real life, Anne is nine years older than Marco whose character (the son of a diplomat) is 19 and Anne’s is around 30.

Asked if she could fall for a younger man off-camera, Anne said, “Yes, I did,” referring to Erwan who stays away from Anne’s movies during premieres since he gets conscious when people start looking at him. “I’d rather watch the movies in the regular run,” admitted Erwan.

Playing sexy characters is not new to Anne.

“Just a Stranger is a welcome breather,” she said. “I have done so many dramatic films but this one has more sex to it. When I read the script, I said yes to the project, not because it’s going to be sexy but because of the beautiful story.”

Marco and Anne were comfortable doing the sexy scenes (one in the bathtub, another in bed, etc.) because they have worked together in Aurora.

Aside from the promo for Just a Stranger and co-hosting It’s Showtime, Anne is busy with the shoot of a movie with Vice Ganda for this December’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)