Billy has no qualms about playing a gay

Curtain-raisers:

• Congratulations to a celebrity couple who got married in quiet civil ceremony end of last month. The wedding capped a romance talked about in whispers (but not spared by social media) because they were then finalizing the annulment of their respective marriages. They have kids with their ex-spouses.

• Did a sexy TV actress really think that getting involved with a very much married man (who has clout in showbiz) would boost her career? Said the mother of the actress-wife of the man, “Because she destroyed the family of my daughter, hayan na-karma…hindi uma-abante ang career.”

• Accompanied by a network handler, a sexy starlet flew to a neighboring Asian city thinking she would be meeting and greeting OFWs. Before the event, she was told to take everything that she wanted from a high-end store — a bag, a pair of shoes, etc., all branded. She didn’t know that the items were charged to a politician who wanted to meet her. What happened to the meet-and-greet? “Nothing,” laughed the group that set up the starlet. And the branded items? If you were in the starlet’s shoes, would you return them?

• To those wondering why Maja Salvador has been “missing” from FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, here’s Cory Vidanes, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ABS-CBN: Maja’s participation in the teleserye was really good only until end of July because she has other commitments.

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Because he is sure of himself (sexual preference and all), Billy Crawford has no qualms about playing a gay in Regal Films’ riotous “gender-friendly” comedy That Thing Called Tanga Na, which is opening nationwide on Wednesday, Aug. 10, as a nod to the LGBT community. In the movie directed by Joel Lamangan, Billy plays a security guard who has a lover, the same characters essayed by his co-stars Eric Quizon, Martin Escudero and Kean Cipriano, with Angeline Quinto as the lone leading lady.

It’s actually Billy’s balik-Regal starrer. As a kid, he starred with Rudy Fernandez in Sandakot na Bala (1988) and as the son of Vilma Santos in Pahiram ng Umaga which won Billy his first Guillermo Mendoza Best Child Actor Award.

Meanwhile, here are the “who, what, where, when, how” about Billy.

Who

• Who is the person that you look up to?

“My dad. He’s the one that pretty much taught me everything — being professional at work, being a good person in general, just being a respectful man, and you know, the typical morals of a young child. My dad was pretty strict and pretty firm with us growing up.”

• Who is Billy Crawford away from the public eye?

“I’m exactly the same as you see me on-cam. I’m jolly, I like to mess around, I’m a fun bully, I’m just a regular human being who makes mistakes from time to time.”

• Who do you turn to when you’re feeling low?

“Coleen (Garcia).”

What

• What’s one of your traits that you can’t control?

“My temper, perhaps.”

• What’s the greatest thing that you’ve done for love?

“Maybe just giving my all, like what I’m doing now.”

• What kind of wedding do you want to have, if and when?

“I actually came from a wedding last night. It was a beautiful wedding — really intimate, friends and family. It wasn’t too glamorous. Of course, whatever my girl would want for her wedding, especially since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. So, to sum it up, I want it simple and intimate. That makes it more meaningful.”

Where

• Where are you most at home in?

“I’m most at home at home — with my family and my girl.”

• Where do you go to relax (unwind)?

“I just go to the beach, like what Coleen and I did in Maldives and Phuket. If I can’t travel, I just stay home and watch series after series from time to time.”

• Where is your Achilles’ Heel?

“My weak spot? If it’s literal, maybe my heart. But if we’re being figurative, maybe it’s when my family’s going through something.”

When

• When did you lose your innocence (to a younger woman, older woman or woman your age)?

“Who says I lost my innocence? I’m still innocent.” (Laughs)

• When was the last time you saw yourself nude?

“This morning, earlier in the shower.”

• When are you at your happiest, at your saddest?

“I’m happiest when I’m with my girl. That’s definitely my happiest. My saddest moments are being away from my parents.”

How

• How can you tell if you are seriously in love?

“When every time you see that person, you have butterflies in your stomach, like the first time you guys met. That’s when you know.”

• How do you make a girl (in your case, Coleen) feel important?

“On a daily basis, you know, you just got to give her compliments, be really vocal and proud and shout to the world that you love that girl.”

• How do you mend a broken heart (if ever you have experienced it)? “Stop, think and move the hell on.”

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