When Robin is good, he’s really very good!

One of the benefits of turning wholesome is that people no longer try your patience by provoking you into a fight. This, Robin Padilla found out when he decided to turn over a new leaf after years of being known as the Bad Boy of Philippine Cinema.

The prolonged period of peace has done wonders for Robin, whose blemish-free skin now sports a healthy glow. The effect is so flattering that reporters at the presscon of his latest movie, Viva Films’ Pagdating ng Panahon can’t help but notice it.

His secret? A fruit diet, with no oil in it (goodbye, french fries and fried chicken!), plus tender loving care from Dermaline, brother Rustom Padilla’s skin clinic.

Add to that a happy marriage with wife Liezl Sicangco, who sends him sweet text messages from Australia, where she’s residing with their four kids and Robin has no worries to bring furrows to his brow; no apprehensions to rob him of sleep and wreck disaster on his skin.

It’s a charmed life all over again, making it easier for Robin to get into that feel-good mood of Pagdating, his latest reunion movie with Sharon Cuneta (he calls her ma’am until now). The Robin you will see in Pagdating, is a far cry from the badly-bruised, tough-talking hero we see in many an action vehicle.

Directed by Joyce Bernal, Pagdating casts Robin as a tuba gatherer who wins the heart of Sharon Cuneta even if they can’t take each other at first.

Fans of Robin the action star need not fret, though. He will be back in the slambang genre when he plays villain to Rudy Fernandez in an upcoming film. And this time, he’ll be real bad, from his disheveled hair to his dark, dark soul.

Won’t the fans balk at their hero’s drastic role change?

"I don’t think so," Robin smiles. "I think they don’t mind seeing their favorite actors in contrasting roles."

Besides, hard work is the call of the times.

"Since the World Trade Center attack in September, everything has become so uncertain," he says.

So uncertain even as Robin Padilla had to get assurance from wife Liezl that things will turn out right and he has nothing to fear as long as they trust in Allah.

Movie assignments being the here-today-gone-tomorrow types that they are, Robin is looking for a sitcom that will replace his recently-axed Di Pwedeng Di Pwede from ABS-CBN, His loyalty, of course, lies in the Star Network, which gambled on him by giving him a show even if almost no one dared touch the then newly-released Muntinlupa resident.

So far, it has been the movies and a recent US concert (he sang Kumusta Ka? To the delight of Filipinos abroad) with Pops Fernandez for Robin. The six-day tour gave Robin a chance to visit his eldest (with Lea Orosa), 11-year-old Camille. Mother and daughter are based in San Francisco.

His overnight stay in Frisco brought home a dose of surprising revelations to the doting dad. One of the most startling is that Camille already has crushes. Another is that the prospect of having suitors looms in the horizon.

"No way," Robin protests. "If I’m strict, the mom is stricter."

If and when the girl visits Manila, Camille has a ready room Robin had constructed especially for her in his house. It is also the concerned father’s way of keeping a sharp eye on his pre-adolescent.

As a father, Robin is a far cry from the tough, stone-hearted guy he depicts in his action films. In fact, he is putty inn his children’s hands.

"I spanked one of my children only once. And that was when she was running around and making noise while I was busy talking to someone," says Robin.

The experience must have traumatized him, because he has not laid a hand on the little ones since then. Robin is now more of a buddy, the type who joins the kids on a ride in a theme park, or horses around with them in the house.

With the future of his children at the back of his mind, Robin is brimming with ideas for future projects. He wants a Bonnie & Clyde type of movie. He wants to team up with Judy Ann Santos.

Lea Salonga? "Ah, that won’t be easy. English-spokening ’yon. Give me time," Robin is man enough to answer in self-mockery.

This time, the words come less abrasively, giving that familiar charm a much deadlier effect.

How times change! These days, it is Robin’s knack for laughing more easily, keeping his temper in check and staying out of trouble that carry the day.