Jake Cuenca (left) and Sue Ramirez
I don’t have to be friends with all my leading ladies,” said actor Jake Cuenca when asked whether he was willing to work on a project with someone he isn’t particularly fond of.
“This happens in a lot of projects. It’s not a requirement for me that I have to be close or best friends with my leading lady. I always say that you can always go around friendship and just be professional on set. I can still be counted to give my best at work,” he told reporters during the recent media launch of his latest project, “Jack and Jill sa Diamond Hills” on TV5.
In the series directed by John “Sweet” Lapus, Jake plays a hotshot policeman working undercover with a female investigator played by Sue Ramirez. Their characters don’t get along but have to pretend to be a married couple while investigating a series of drug-related deaths in the fictitious village of Diamond Hills.
“To be honest, I am lucky that everyone I got to work with in my recent projects ended up being like family to me. For example, the cast of ‘Iron Heart’ is so big and it’s such a male-dominated show, but none of us had big egos. We all wanted the project to be successful,” he said. “I’m just lucky that Sue and I are like that.”
Jake worked with Sue in his last three projects—”K Love,” “Iron Heart” and “Jack and Jill in Diamond Hills.”
“We did drama, action and this time, comedy. I’m lucky to have her as my partner. Like many others, she brings out the best in me,” Jake declared.
Asked the same question, Sue said, “Thank God I don’t have enemies in the biz. This is because I believe that everything can be resolved by communicating with each other. I’m very open to working with anyone on any project. You’ll never know, this project might be the one to turn the two of you into really good friends,” she began.
“Just be open-minded when you go to the set; be professional. If you’re not friends, that’s OK. You don’t have to be in order to coexist in the same working environment. In this case, respect for one another is the more important thing,” she explained.
Cuenca’s professionalism
Jake added: “I don’t go to work looking for an easy time. On the set of Direk Sweet, for example, even if we’re doing comedy, everyone is serious about the work we do. That’s what’s more important to me in terms of how I work. On the set, we don’t just joke around. We’re all on work mode. We’re all professionals and we know that we are there to create an important project together. If I’m not friends with just one person on set, I can very much put that aside.”
Zero hesitations, all chemistry
Sue said that when APT Entertainment offered her to do a sitcom with Jake, she agreed right away. “This is already our third project, so why would I want to break the chemistry? I may have worked with him several times already, but always, he was able to bring something new to the table and I am able to absorb it all. I learn something new from Jake each time,” she added.
“With Jake around, everyone on the set feels so motivated and inspired because he is a very passionate artist. He is also very thoughtful and giving. When he notices that I’m already feeling quite annoyed, he would try to calm me down. I’m very grateful to be working with Jake again, especially on a sitcom. I learned a lot from him in our previous projects, I hope he allows me to share with him, in my own little way, the things I know about comedy.”
Jake, who admitted that doing comedy is something out of his comfort zone, said Sue served as his anchor while taping for the show. “All I do is simply react to Sue. I’m grateful that I’m doing this with her. Even though we’ve worked on three projects straight, the roles we took on were all very different. It was only in this particular project that we are able to show a glimpse of our true personalities. We were allowed to be ourselves on the set,” Jake said.
“Jack and Jill” is Jake’s second sitcom. He was part of the 2007 program “That’s My Doc,” with Aga Muhlach as lead. “I’m old school. I came from a time when all the big stars had sitcoms. Having my own is such a big blessing.”
When it came to the topic of whether or not Jake has finally found his “Jill,” just like how Sue found her “Jake” in Victorias City mayor Javi Benitez, whom she has been dating since 2020, the actor replied: “Wala pa. Right now, I’m doing so much work that my body is starting to give up. I’ve just had my the-show-must-go-on moment recently. I didn’t think I’d be able to do it physically, but I did.”
Jake was part of the recently concluded stage play, titled “Dick Talk.”
“[Love] will come at the right time. I’m happy with my current situation. I’m open to dating, but I really don’t have time right now. We’ve just concluded the run of the stage play and I’m doing this sitcom now. Although, I want to stress that I’m grateful for everything. This is the type of problem that I’d like to have as we battle the pandemic,” he declared.
“Jack and Jill in Diamond Hills” also features Gardo Versoza, Ara Mina, DJ Onse, Nana Silayro, Nico Antonio, DJ Jhai Ho and Hershey Neri. It premieres on TV5 on May 14 and will air every Sunday at 6 p.m.