ACTOR Ian Veneracion, who is the latest TV personality to be featured in a Bench billboard, said his kids were teasing him about it.
“They said I was too pa-cute. I told them to just ignore it because the older one gets, the more effort one exerts to look cute,” Ian told reporters during a recent press conference for his film, “All You Need is Pag-ibig.”
Ian has three kids with wife Pam—Draco, 17; Deidre, 15; and Buccio, 9.
Jodi Sta. Maria, Ian’s love-team partner both in the movie and on the top-rating ABS-CBN series “Pangako Sa ’Yo,” admitted that she also found Ian to be extremely handsome. “At a mall show two weeks ago, I told everyone how much I really appreciated his good looks,” she said.
Ian is the face of Bench’s “Be Dapper” campaign. Three different photos of Ian were uploaded recently on Bench’s Instagram account, to positive netizen reaction. They were amazed at how the 40-year-old actor managed to still look so young.
Ian and Jodi also talked about the success of their on-screen partnership, adding that they themselves were surprised with the positive feedback.
“I guess it’s because we enjoy working with each other and this translates to whatever project we are doing,” Jodi pointed out. “We never expected this kind of reception from the audience.”
Ian added: “I guess viewers noticed the sexual tension between us. Maybe that’s what they find interesting. We’re very comfortable with each other. Between takes, we crack jokes. These would sometimes extend to our scenes.”
Joking costars
VENERACION is teased by his kids about being “too pa-cute” in a new billboard.
“I really don’t know why this is happening. May pagnanasa ka ba sa akin? (Are you lusting after me)” he jokingly asked Jodi. “Hindi ko sure (I’m not sure)! Joke!”
The actor also speculated that “people enjoy watching [us] because they know that in real life, there’s really nothing between Jodi and I; that we’re just being professionals; that I’m already married and have a family.”
Ian then recalled the time when he played Jodi’s father in the 2003 Kapamilya series “Darating ang Umaga.” Jodi was then paired with Patrick Garcia. Today (or 12 years later), Ian and Jodi portray star-crossed lovers in the remake of “Pangako Sa ’Yo.”
“I told Jodi that a couple of projects more, and she’ll be playing my mother,” Ian quipped. He also acknowledged the positive comments of “JodIan” fans on the “All You Need is Pag-Ibig” teaser.
The excitement over their love team is similar to that of “KathNiel” and “JaDine,” some netizens observed.
Comparing their TV with their film roles, Jodi said working on the latter “felt lighter.”
She explained: “Ian’s character is in the process of moving on from a broken heart. He plays my boss here and I have a long-time crush on him. My character is very much aware of our social difference and she never expects their relationship to level up romantically.”
The film, directed by Antoinette Jadaone, also features Kris Aquino, Derek Ramsay, Pokwang, Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. It is an official entry in the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival, starting on Christmas Day.
Nothing wrong
Asked what advice she would give people who often feel lonely and depressed during the holidays, Jodi said: “I think there is nothing wrong with feeling sad. This is something that we have to acknowledge. But I would also want to say that our pain is only transitory. We should only be able to help ourselves to move on from whatever we are going through. We just need to help ourselves.”
According to Ian, the best way to uplift oneself “is to make other people happy. We can do this by trying to make them laugh. You will be surprised and also feel uplifted… If people love you back, that’s a bonus.”
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph