ANGELINE Quinto and Coco Martin in “Born to Love You”
Award-winning actor Coco Martin insists that he’s very focused with work and, therefore, has no time for a romantic relationship just yet.
“It’s hard to mix work and love. I keep a really tight schedule. I hardly have time to see my own grandmother these days. I think it’s unfair to commit to a girl and not be able to give her the time she deserves,” Martin told the Inquirer during the recent press launch of Star Cinema’s latest offering, “Born To Love You,” at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City.
But he said he prefers having a non-show biz girlfriend to dating a celebrity: “I know how demanding show biz is. I fear that things would just end up bad if I’d date a colleague.”
The actor is also seen regularly on the top-rating drama series “Walang Hanggan.” He is currently working on the Emmanuel Palo film, “Santa Niña,” an official entry to the 2012 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in July.
First rom-com film
“Born To Love You,” directed by Jerome Chavez Pobocan, is Martin’s first romantic-comedy film. “This is my first time to try and make the audience fall in love with me,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed watching romantic movies, so in a way this is the fulfillment of a dream. It was really fun to do this project. Aside from the experience of traveling from one set location to another, I enjoyed working with the cast.”
He worked on the film for almost eight months. Some of its scenes were shot in Subic and Batangas.
In the movie, Martin plays Rex, a struggling photographer. He comes from a broken family and grew up on his own. Conflict arises when he meets and falls in love with Joey (portrayed by Angeline Quinto), a tourist guide in search of her true father.
The film also features Albert Martinez, Malou de Guzman, Tonton Gutierrez, Eula Valdes and Al Tantay.
Martin said working opposite Angeline—a singer who debuts here as an actress—required so much of him physically. “When we first had our workshop, Direk and I were worried. Angeline didn’t know anything about acting, as in zero. She was clueless about blocking and camera angles. She was like a robot,” Martin recalled. “I would always try to guide her. When it was time for the actual shoot, I was already extremely tired.”
Angeline was the winner of the talent search program “Star Power: Search For the Next Female Pop Superstar” in 2011.
“We had a lot of kissing scenes—the story required it,” Martin said. “But there were also lots of slapping. Since Angeline was having a hard time expressing the right emotion in some scenes, I told her, ‘Totohanin mo na para maramdaman mo.’ I think she slapped me more than 10 times.”
But Martin said Angeline was very determined to learn and actually showed a lot of improvement as filming progressed.
Breadwinner
“I saw her bloom. Angeline is good at drama. I guess it’s because of her personal experiences while growing up. She has potential. I hope this will not be our first and last film together,” said Martin.
As for real-life romance, Martin stressed he would welcome it only when his family is financially secure: “I’m the breadwinner. I’m saving up for my family’s future. Love will come, eventually.”
“Born To Love You” will have its red carpet premiere on May 29 at the SM Megamall Cinema 9 and will open in cinemas on May 30.