Xian & Daniel’s picture-perfect boyhood

MANILA, Philippines – Rightfully or wrongly, Xian Lim and Daniel Matsunaga are not exactly darlings of the press when it comes to acting.

But picture-perfect child actors who played them in the backstory of The Story of Us and Be My Lady, Zaijian Jaranilla and Bruce Roeland in that order, somehow rubbed off acting mettle that enhanced their adult characters. They made them ideal by their appropriate casting based on performance requirements.

A backstory tells what led up to the main story or plot of a drama series, full-length feature or stage presentation. Regularly, it shifts between time periods mainly in chronological order, illuminating the narrative from past to present and, with expert direction, leads to a smooth flow of narrative and its denouement.

Zaijian plays the convincing young Macoy Sandoval to Kim Chiu’s Alyanna Angeles as the young Tin Manalo. Their underprivileged childhood in the paradise island of El Nido, Palawan turned them from small enemies to best friends that lead to romance gone twisted by adulthood.

As we all know, the round-eyed Zaijian is an acting prodigy. At eight years old, he starred in the primetime drama series May Bukas Pa as Santino, the powerful intercessor to Jesus he calls as “Bro” who raises God belief in the Bagong Pag-asa community.

That single role turned Zaijian into a juvenile multi-awardee including Anak TV Seal Awards’ Mala Makabata Award, the 23rd PMPC Star Awards for TV’s Best New Male TV Personality, the eighth Gawad Tanglaw Awards Natatanging Gawad Tanglaw para sa Sining ng Telebisyon and the sixth USTv Awards Students’ Choice of Actor in a Daily Soap Opera.

Having participated in 26 small screen shows and four big-screen features, Zaijian, now 14, transitioned into grown-up role in the recently-aired Wansapanataym feature, That’s My Boy, That’s My Toy.

The Filipino-Belgian Bruce, the 11-year-old with the sparkling eyes, is the credible young Philip “Phil” Oliviera. His naughty streak causes Janice de Belen as Marcela “Marcy” Bernabe-Crisostomo, the mother of Erich Gonzales as “Pinang” Crisosto, to be deported from the enchave of the rich — Singapore.

As Phil’s caretaker, he shoplifted an item and intentionally dropped it into Marcy’s bag when about to be detected, causing her apprehension and incarceration. This drives the grown-up Phil’s guilty feeling for Marcy’s family, only to fall in love with Pinang.

Bruce’s role in Be My Lady is not much of a challenge but his good looks closely resembles Daniel’s. Adequate acting made his performance memorable.

Allowed the auspicious narration of these high moments in the drama series, Zaijian and Bruce brought them to a smooth and believable start by their close resemblance to their bite-sized characters as matched minimum by sufficient acting.

Some tab tattlers will strongly disagree with this observation but the textured direction of Xian’s role, in fact, enhances his depiction of this part that exceeds even Kim’s acting generally regarded as competent.  

As for Daniel, his character does not require much deliberate projection except perhaps references to  competence of a heartthrob that he does convincingly anyway with his killer smile and buffed body.

In both cases, Xian and Daniel owe to Zaijian and Bruce the elaboration of their nuanced characters.