Richard Gomez: Tall, dark, handsome...

When you think of the ideal “tall, dark and handsome” Filipino man, Richard Gomez immediately comes to mind. He has been tagged as the “Adonis of Philippine Cinema,” and has played leading man to Dawn Zulueta, Sharon Cuneta, Maricel Soriano, Lorna Tolentino and many more premiere actresses. He’s had his fair share of controversies in the industry but has emerged from it all unscathed and, in fact, wiser and happier. Married to a gorgeous woman inside and out and father to a beautiful and talented daughter, his life seems to be just like that in the movies. Here are 10 things you should know about Richard Gomez.

1. Richard first realized he was “good looking” in third grade, when his classmate gave him a love card.

“Nothing happened, but she would just be very nice to me,” he says about the girl who gave him a card. He actually kept the card for some time and since then realized, “ganito pala ‘to.” He never really thought of himself as good looking, except when he would hear his friends and friends of his parents say “Ay, ang guapong bata naman nito.” He felt he also got such reactions because his mother, Stella Suarez, was an actress.

It wasn’t until second year high school that he got his first girlfriend, and he recalls never really having courted her. He just remembers that he liked her, and that one time when they were watching a movie, they held hands and kissed. “Aba, okay ‘to ah!”

Was there ever a time he wished he weren’t as good looking or as famous? “No! There are more benefits than disadvantages,” he says about fame.

2. The very first acting role he bagged was as the leading man of Maricel Soriano. And he didn’t have to audition for it.

It was his late manager Douglas Quijano who persuaded him to get into acting. “He always asked me bakit di daw ako mag-artista. I always said ayaw ko, ang yabang ko pa. Gusto ko modeling lang.” One time, Douglas asked him how much money he had in his wallet. Richard took it out and they both saw only P20. Douglas told him, “mag-artista ka na, tama na yang modeling-modeling na yan.” A week after, Richard recalls, Douglas came to him with a check worth P25,000. He was told he would be starring in a movie with Maricel Soriano and William Martinez, Inday Bote. He shares that the role was originally offered to Gabby Concepcion, and when he declined, Mother Lily Monteverde of Regal Films was looking for another leading man. 

On Richard’s first shooting day, he was late. His call time was at 12 noon and he got to the set before 2 p.m. Maricel tells him, “Hoy, Richard, sa trabaho natin, di ka pwedeng late. Sa trabaho natin, di ka pwedeng masyadong mabait.” That being his first-ever time on set, he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of advice that was! Maricel went on to say, “Katulad ko mataray ako pero marami akong kaibigan, at ikaw mukha kang mataray, kaibigan na kita.” For some reason, he says, they clicked instantly. That was the movie that really launched his career.

With wife Lucy and daughter Juliana: His trait that upsets Lucy the most? “Siguro ‘pag matigas ulo ko.”

3. He was raised by his grandmother and though he was often matigas ang ulo, he never answered her back.

“The one time I answered back my lola I got slapped in the face, and I never did it again,” Richard reveals. His parents moved to the States and he was left in the care of his aunt. Realizing at an early age that it was not a good environment for him, he called up his lola (Mrs. Lydia Kelly Gomez whom he called “Mama”) to take him in. That very night, his Mama picked him up, and from fourth grade until when Richard became an actor, he was raised by his Mama. The biggest impact she had in his life was discipline. He says she made sure to tell him that he was going to be treated like a son, and not spoiled like a grandson. He had a lot of petty fistfights back in school which he felt disappointed his Mama, but Richard said it was probably the girlfriends he had that she didn’t like that upset her more. “Pag hindi niya gusto, hindi niya masyadong pinapansin,” Richard recalls. He also adds, “Lucy was her favorite.”

4. Richard actually gave his wife Lucy two engagement rings.

“I remember, prior to meeting Lucy, I already bought an engagement ring. Just in case I find the right girl and decide to get married,” Richard reveals. The ironic thing was, he was in a relationship when he bought that ring (and had flings on the side too!) but never intended to give it to that particular girlfriend. “I was not afraid of commitment,” he says about those who believe that men with many girlfriends are commitment-phobic. Richard explains that when you are young, you have the chance to do crazy things, and you have to do it. So that when you grow old, you have no regrets and you don’t end up messing up when you already have a family. When he and Lucy got married almost 14 years ago, he told her about the engagement ring story. “I don’t know what to call this ring but I just want to give it to you,” he told her. 

I asked about how he knew Lucy was “the one,” and mentioned that many people say, “You just know it.” Richard says: “That’s exactly the feeling.” He strongly believes this and in fact tells his friends that if you want to get married, you have to make sure that you don’t have a single doubt in your heart and in your mind. And his trait that upsets Lucy the most? “Siguro ‘pag matigas ulo ko.”

5. He did all kinds of crazy things growing up but he always made sure of two things: “First, na hindi ako makulong, and second, na hindi ako ma-ospital.”

He’s tried most every sport he’s wanted to, except one: snowboarding. He says he has gone skiing but never snowboarding, and that he thinks he’ll be able to handle it because he used to skateboard a lot. He has never encountered any major accident in all his adventures, but shares that his worst injury was probably when he was in the sixth grade: while roller skating in Fiesta Carnival in Cubao, he hit his head and got that scar across his eyebrow. 

Fencing is his favorite sport because of the “mind game” aspect that comes with it. “Unlike track and field where you can run fast and learn the technique, in fencing, you play with different people with different styles and techniques.” Aside from fencing, he was once also with the national team for dragon boat and shotgun shooting.

6. On his fate in politics: “I think my opponents are scared of me which is why, if they can have me disqualified, they will do it.”

Richard has had a number of attempts to run for office and when he was disqualified on grounds of residency during the last elections, it was his wife Lucy who ended up running and winning as Congresswoman in the 4th District of Leyte. “I work so well that they know they’ll have a difficult time running against me,” he shares. Though not an elected official, he helps Lucy with work in their district, flying to Ormoc twice a month alternately, so that one of them is there almost every weekend. “In a year and a half we were able to turn our district into the best performing district in Region 8,” he proudly shares. On the possibility of him running for office again, he says that nothing is certain in politics. He does reveal, however, “Lucy will be running for reelection.”

7. Richard Gomez in numbers:

1989: Year that his famous Bench rowing TV commercial came out

40-plus: Number of movies he has made, both big and small productions

16: Number of years on the national fencing team

3: Number of hours per volleyball session he plays, his current main exercise. “More than going to the gym, I like actual playing.”

74: Height in inches (6’2”)

When asked how many girlfriends he had before getting married, he laughs and says, “Serious ones? A couple. I’ve had more flings than girlfriends.”

8. On moving back to ABS-CBN: “I wanted to do something substantial. I wanted people to notice again how I act.”

He recalls that there was a situation in ABS that prompted him to move to another network back then. It may have taken 10 years for him to come back, but he’s very happy now. During the negotiations, the ABS executives told Richard that they had a project they wanted him to explore, which was Walang Hanggan. He loved the concept, because it is an adaptation of his film Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit, plus a reunion project with his ex-girlfriend and now good friend Dawn Zulueta. He shares that he is also friends with Dawn’s husband, Rep. Anton Lagdameo, and Lucy is likewise friends with Dawn. “Me and Dawn, we just have wonderful chemistry onscreen,” he says.

Has he ever had a fear of getting laos? He believes it’s in how you manage your career. “I’m not a matinee idol anymore. But I really think that if you choose your projects well, di ka malalaos kasi at every age, there’s a specific project for you.”

9. Most memorable awards won: Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit: “That was very memorable because it was my first acting award. After eight nominations, I finally won it. In fact I cried in my speech when I received that award. After that, tuluy-tuloy na.”

Dahas: “It was supposed to be a grand slam. I should’ve won all the awards but I lost it, and I lost it pa sa Urian. I remember, every year I would win the Urian, and Dahas would’ve been my fourth year of winning that award. It was painful kasi pang-grand slam ko yun.”

He says about the roles he takes: “I’m so good when I do bad roles and I’m shying away from those kind of roles already.” He may have scored his first acting job out of luck, but since then, he has been taking acting workshops that honed his craft. On the possibility of him doing a movie again, he says, “I wanna do a big one again. One day I will.”

10. His advice to daughter Juliana: “Don’t have a boyfriend like Dad. But if you have to marry, marry someone like Dad.”

Juliana is now 11 years old and in the fifth grade. Richard says that whatever her dream is, he and Lucy will support her. She seems to be interested in the arts, being very much into drawing and photography. She once asked her dad: “Can I be a director?” When asked why, she said, “Because there’s little math!”

Though boys are his biggest worry, he says that he is confident since Juliana is very active. Just the week prior to this interview, she competed in her first biggest fencing competition. Though she won the bronze medal, she cried when she lost. Richard just told her daughter, “Play harder next time and just enjoy the sport.” Juliana was happy when she got her medal.

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Having this chat with the Richard Gomez was quite a dream come true. I could’ve sworn that when he ran his fingers through his hair while talking, it all happened in slow motion with a faint light floating around him. Really the stuff movies are made of! We Filipinos love movies. And a lot of us admire leading men because they are good looking, they have a bit of bad in them, they get into trouble but get out of it so easily and with so much charm, are bad when they need to be and good when its called for, plus, they end up with the leading lady (read: Lucy Torres) who sees him as her dream man. Richard Gomez is the perfect Pinoy leading man in every sense of the word.

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E-mail me at askiamsuperbianca@yahoo.comor follow me on twitter @iamsuperbianca.