Anne Curtis and Dingdong Dantes 20 years after ‘T.G.I.S’

(from left) Anne Curtis, Dingdong Dantes and Director Irene Villaflor. Photo by INQUIRER.net/Clarizel Abanilla

They are two of the biggest stars of their generation and of their networks but Princess of All Media Anne Curtis and 49th Box Office Entertainment Awards Actor of the Year Dingdong Dantes had to wait for two decades to finally star in a major movie project together.

Curtis and Dantes were among the new faces that stormed the phenomenal afternoon teen craze “T.G.I.S” in the late ‘90s. The success of the first batch elevated the cast into its primetime spin-off show “Growing Up” while the weekend afternoon block remained and starred new faces which included Dantes and Curtis. She was then 14 and he was 18.

Now both in their 30s and married, they headline a powerful ultimate “relate” movie that’s set to question people’s minds about love with “Sid and Aya: Not a love story.”

“Para sa’kin nu’ng nakakasama ko si Dong, that was about twenty years ago, sobrang bata pako nu’n, chuwariwap girl lang ako, support support lang,” Curtis said at the grand media launch of their film last May 17.

Furthermore, “[I was always] Kapatid ni Dino [Guevarra], kapatid ni Antoinette [Taus], pinsan ni Kim de los Santos, mga ganyan po ‘yung roles ko, partner ni Chubbi [Del Rosario], so talagang hindi kami naisip na magkakatambal. So after 20 years in the industry. I guess it helped in a way na nagkatrabaho na kami dati, medyo komportable, hindi nagkakailangan,” she added.

Dantes reminisced at how he and the rest of the cast remembered the then showbiz-newcomer Aussie-Filipina mestiza.

“Bago kami nagkasama sa T.G.I.S, alam naman naming si Anne galing siya sa Magic Kingdom, if I remember it correctly at that time she was 14 years old, I was 18. Si Anne isa sa pinakabata sa cast namin noon,” Dantes said.

Furthermore, his union with Curtis is simply a major throwback to the ‘90s.

‘Yung crew ng GMA very very familiar sa kanya, ‘yung familiarity hindi siya nawala even twenty years na nakalipas bago pa kami nagsama. Ako personally I’m a person who’s stuck in the ‘90s and nagkakilala kami in the ‘90s and the theme of the film is somehow related din sa ‘90s and dahil mahilig tayo sa mga throwback feeling ko sobrang sakto tong pagkakataon na to, kung nangyare to ten years ago siguro hindi magiging ganito ka-espesyal yung pagsasama namin,” he said.

Twenty years later, they have graduated from their teeny bopper image and have embraced compelling roles in the years that went by.

Film director Irene Villamor shared that the two actors’ boldness in taking on any role is the foremost reason they were handpicked to give life to the characters of Sid and Aya.

Under Viva Films, “Sid and Aya: Not a Love Story” opens in cinemas starting May 30.