CHIU AND LIM. “Temporary” gambit can bring out their respective strengths.
XIAN LIM has a “problem”: Ever since he started his TV acting career, his performances have generally been “linked” to Kim Chiu, who made it as a star years before he did.
In time, they were even paired off as an “official” TV-film love team, and most of their projects have been costarrers.
That doesn’t seem to be such a big issue, because other love teams do pretty much the same, “semi-exclusive” thing. However, the key difference that distinguishes Kim-Xian from the Daniel-Kathryn, James-Nadine and Liza-Enrique team-ups is the fact that Kim-Xian are older, more young-adult than teen.
So, the pressure on them is greater to take their “shared” act and team another notch up—especially for Xian to move up to Kim’s stellar level, so viewers no longer think of him as her screen “consort,” but as her equal love team partner.
Xian appears to be aware of the problem: He and Kim have been transitioning from giddy gigglers “for the fans,” to “young-adult” performing status, hence the heightened maturity that characterized their recently concluded TV drama series, “The Story of Us.”
Necessary step
It’s a necessary step because both talents aren’t getting any younger—especially Kim, who’s been a star for a decade now.
In Xian’s case, the need is also urgent, because he’s always looked and projected “older” from the get-go. Thus, his most recent career move was to mount a solo show, “A Date With Xian,” in which the focus was on him, not the usual “him and her.”
In addition the show was designed to make him “more accessible” to a wider range of viewers. His innate maturity and reserve suggest a “well-born” back story that is affirmed by his love for “serious” music.
Well, even “well-born” people can reach out to the hoi polloi, as witness the long-running success of show biz and political “princess” Sharon Cuneta. —So, Xian can reach out, too!
What about the “Kim factor?” If the couple are indeed an item, both “reel-ly” and really, they would naturally want to keep performing together.
But, the time still has to come for them to at least occasionally perform separately, because even the most popular love teams overstay their exclusive welcome after some years (like, Guy and Pip ended up in other people’s eventful embrace).
Kim started the ball rolling in this regard with her star turn in “Etiquette for Mistresses.” Xian has taken the next step in the same direction (“apart”) with his recent show. —So, could the third move be for each of them to do a romantic drama—with other screen partners?
It needn’t be a permanent gambit, just a temporary step away from each other, to more clearly bring out their respective strengths—which can’t fully emerge if they keep “leaning” on each other.