Coco Martin: Success has its drawbacks

COCO Martin says his ideal woman “will not just love me, but also my entire family.” PHOTOS BY ALEXIS CORPUZ

For Coco Martin, star of the top-rating series “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” success has its drawbacks.

“What’s making me sad is that I no longer get to see my family,” Coco said during a recent ABS-CBN thanksgiving dinner for show biz scribes.

The actor is on the set of the action-drama program from Monday to Friday. On weekends, he goes on trips to the provinces with other cast members to promote the show. “It came to a point when I would already question myself if what I was doing was right,” he shared with reporters.

“I promise that when all of this is over, I will try to rest and spend time with my family…I lead a boring life because I do nothing but work. But then again, I’ve prayed for this for a long time,” the actor said, then recalling the time when he was merely a budding indie actor.

“Ang Probinsyano” is tentatively scheduled to run until September 2016.

Coco said he was thrilled to work with one of his idols, action star Cesar Montano, who recently guested  on the show as a hitman. “Before we started taping, I felt so nervous that I was really shaking. It was because while observing him, I realized that I still have a long way to go as an actor. I still have a lot to learn. What’s good about Kuya Buboy (Cesar’s nickname) is that he is very giving. He willingly shared his ideas with me,” Coco recalled.

He added: “From talking to him, I learned how much he loves his craft and the action genre. I also learned how much he cares for people he works with, like the stunt men and fight choreographers. We got to chat about a lot of things, including concepts for possible projects together.”

He further said that meeting child stars Simon Pineda, who plays Onyok, and McNeal Briguela, also known as Makmak, was like striking gold. “Simon auditioned for the role of Junior (Ador’s son) but didn’t get it. He was only 4 and had no idea about acting. As he was about to step out of the audition room, he told everyone:  ‘Kunin n’yo ako ha?’ He surprised everyone. Ang angas ng dating!”

MCNEAL Briguela (left) is “amazing in dramatic scenes,” says Coco.

Later, business unit head Deo Endrinal opted to include Simon in the cast as Coco’s diminutive sidekick Onyok. “He’s a natural. Now he’s so comfortable on the set that we let him do his ad-lib. He would sometimes complain when he was given only short lines,” Coco said. “Makmak is amazing in dramatic scenes. You can see the emotion in his eyes. To think that these boys have never had acting lessons before.”

On his love life, Coco said of all the actresses he had worked with Julia Montes is the closest to his heart. “She’s younger than me so she listens to my advice. She is also very giving of her time. I can see that she respects me. We come from similar backgrounds and so we have a lot in common,” he pointed out.

Coco described his ideal woman as “someone who is willing to wait for me—just like I’d be willing to adjust for her if ever she’s not yet ready to commit. She should also be someone who will not just love me, but also my entire family.”

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