Coco Martin
Now that “Ang Probinsyano” is an “extended” hit, its lead star, Coco Martin, is the male star of the year, and his cup runneth over.
Not only is his series going to run on and on until 2018, thus assuring his visibility and sustaining his popularity, Coco has also been tapped to headline the latest incarnation of “Ang Panday,” another iconic production associated with Fernando Poe Jr.
In addition, Coco will not only topbill the new “Panday” project, but direct it, as well.
True, that added plum can be a double-edged sword, because past experience has shown that FPJ’s folk hero tale is not all that easy to pull off.
Even the enormously charismatic and gifted Jericho Rosales stumbled and lost stellar ground when he “dared” to play the title role some years ago.
Let’s hope that Coco will acquit himself more effectively and successfully, despite its hidden pitfalls and landmines.
As for the directing challenge, that’s another tall order entirely, so Coco has his work cut out for him in the coming months.
His directing talent is largely unproven to date, so a lot is riding on how he “attacks” his new and most daunting assignment.
It’s a big step up in any film artist’s career to be deemed good enough to go from acting to directing, so Coco should be congratulated for his “promotion.”
At the same time, it should be noted that many actors-turned-directors haven’t passed muster, and have since gone back to “just” acting. The list includes Cesar Montano, Christopher de Leon, Albert Martinez, Robin Padilla and Al Tantay.
The last word on the subject comes from Eddie Garcia, who’s won all of the top acting and directing awards in Tinseltown. In fact, there was a time when he was so busy as a megman that he had to put his acting career on hold.
But, he eventually realized that, when he directed a film, he was so focused and committed that he couldn’t do anything else! So, he “forced” himself to stop directing and went back to the far easier task of just playing a single role per movie.
On the “down” side of the show biz escalator, it’s been announced that the “ToMiho” love team of Tommy Esguerra and Miho Nishida has “personally and professionally” ended.
Some fans think it’s a pity, especially since the romantic tandem has been built up by way of a movie and drama series.
For our part, however, we see it as a potentially positive move, because we’ve always felt that the screen team-up of the younger Tommy and the more mature and experienced Miho, who’s a single mom, was mismatched.
We did see that the unconventional pairing could be interestingly textured and fresh, but their screen appearances together weren’t all that notable.
Now that they’re no longer an “official” tandem, the young stars could have more successful solo careers—especially Tommy, who can still make it as a young fave and boy-next-door lead player, depending on how he’s handled and showcased for the rest of the ongoing TV-film season.
Tommy Esguerra (left) and Miho Nishida