Newlywed stars’ career options

DINGDONG Dantes plays a priest in new soap. No need for a leading lady then?

More than the usual number of stars have been getting married this season—and the good news is that their change of status no longer automatically means the end of their thriving careers.

In the past, movie fans wanted their faves to remain single, so they could fantasize about their being romantically “available.” But everybody’s grown up since those silly days, and married stars now at least have a better chance of not ending up as instant has-beens!

That’s good news to now-married luminaries like Dingdong Dantes, Jericho Rosales, Heart Evangelista, Marian Rivera, Karylle and Yael Yuzon, Yeng Constantino and Kitchie Nadal.

It doesn’t mean, however, that they can automatically resume their stellar acting or singing careers without making any adjustment for the fact that they’re now “romantically unavailable” to their fantasizing fans. From here on in, they have to be more savvy in their choice of roles and costars.

It’s a no-brainer to observe that a film costarring Mr. and Mrs. Dingdong Dantes could be a potential blockbuster—but, that depends on how cleverly it’s conceptualized and plotted, to intimate that their love scenes in it will be more “heartfelt” and “forthright.”

After their first screen outing as a married couple, Dong and Yan could still generate more hits by going the comedic-romantic   route, depicting the funny experiences and problems of young marrieds that viewers can easily and breezily relate to.

MARIAN Rivera (right) and Glaiza de Castro are cast as lovers in coming show. Does this solve the problem of finding the right leading man?

Complicated situation

A more complicated situation presents itself when Dingdong and Marian line up projects that will pair them with other stars. If Dong does a movie on his own, who will be the “right”

leading lady for him—and vice versa?

Will those other stars have to be “acceptable” to the now-married couple’s fans—or, will everyone just intelligently agree that movies are fiction, so the best thing to do is just forget the stars’ civil status and back stories, and go with the fictive flow?

In Jericho’s case, his wife Kim Jones is a celebrity but not a TV-film actress, so his home studio has felt free to come up with a new TV drama series for him, “Bridges of Love,” in which he romances Maja Salvador (with his character’s brother, played by Paulo Avelino, for romantic rival).

This is a timely move for Jericho because he’s been relatively inactive of late, and his reputation as his generation’s best actor has been upstaged by the more active career of Piolo Pascual, and the rise of other thespic comers like Avelino, Coco Martin, John Lloyd Cruz, Daniel Padilla and Tom Rodriguez.

Triangular

JERICHO Rosales has to reclaim his prized advantage in the biz.

We hope that the “triangular” romantic drama clicks with viewers, so Jericho can keep his prized advantage, and his now being married doesn’t artificially delimit his worth, and popularity.

Heart Evangelista’s case could turn out to be even more complicated since her husband Chiz Escudero is a senator who’s reported to be aiming for higher political office. Again, the best thing would be for everyone to judiciously separate her personal from her professional life—but, failing that, her choice of projects and leading men could be more delicate from here on in.

Will she choose to busy herself with nondramatic TV shows, where hosts’ marital status is much less of an issue? If she gets the urge to act, should it be in a light comedy over an adult romantic drama? Decisions, decisions!