Kristopher learns his lessons well

Where do matinee idols go when they uh, become more mature and graduate beyond the goo-goo-eyes stage? In the case of Kristopher Peralta of Star Circle Batch III, they take time off from the biz and return with an eye on serious roles they can sink their teeth into.

The guy is no longer the dreamy-eyed teenager launched with Patrick Garcia years back. Nor is he the same guy staring into Kaye Abad or Tanya Garcia’s eyes (both are ex-girlfriends) in many a romantic pairings.

Kristopher is already 24, and has seen more of the world to be doing this all over again.

When he took a leave from showbiz two years ago to put up City Jam, a resto-bar along Katipunan Avenue with his equally-young friends, Kristopher thought doing so would fulfill a dream. It did, especially for a veritable night crawler who enjoyed the sights and sounds the bars to offer.

But there was something amiss, and Kristopher, in his own words, felt incomplete.

"I was restless. I missed my showbiz family. I grew up in showbiz and I missed the tapings, the shootings (his last film before Now That I Have You was appropriately called Nagbibinata), the bonding on the set," he recalls.

So he went to Star Cinema and announced that he wanted to make a comeback. Wish granted. Kristopher plays Jacob, John Lloyd Cruz’s skirt-chasing cousin in Now That I Have You.

The role, says Kristopher, is something he’s at home with, not because he’s a playboy in real life (he says he’s loveless right now). It’s just that the real Kristopher can be makulit at times. But he’s always himself. No pretensions, no put-ons. What you see is what you get.

Even when it comes to relationships, Kristopher lays his cards on the table at once.

"I will never be a nine-to-six type of person. This, I tell the girls I date so they won’t expect me to be in one place all the time. I also like to have good clean fun with friends," he says.

Good clean fun, for him, consists mostly of sports. Kristopher is part of the Yamaha Celebrity Team which engages in motocross. He also gets an adrenaline rush from badminton, trap shooting and golf.

But all play and no work can make anyone a shallow person. And this Kristopher avoids like the proverbial plague. Aside from honing his business and social skills through City Jam ("Talking to customers has taught me how to keep the conversation interesting"), Kristopher is considering a career in politics.

The San Juan-born Kristopher may just follow in the footsteps of his father, whose term as councilor has just ended. Kristopher’s older brother Keith, a newly-elected councilor, has taken over. And Keith makes no bones of the fact that he’s looking at Kristopher to inherit the post someday.

This will have to wait though, since Kristopher doesn’t plan to enter politics soon. After all, preparedness for politics is no piece of cake. It doesn’t come in the flick of a finger. Kristopher’s father and brother will be the first to tell him it needs time and a lot of work.

Besides, Kristopher is in no hurry. He’s more excited about his showbiz comeback and the new challenges it offers.

"I want to try playing dark characters. I want to explore villain roles ala Robert de Niro, or, closer to home, those which Edu Manzano played," Kristopher says, eyes sparkling.

After all, the maturity — as in everything about him – is for real. Kristopher is pleasantly different now from what he was many years ago.

"Getting into business (he co-owns City Jam with members of his ex-girlfried’s family) has taught me a lot," he admits. "I used to squander money. Now, I’ve learned how to handle it wisely. I’m more responsible now."

Kristopher Peralta is learning his lessons well.