Richard Gutierrez is honest.
Asked what the real score is between him and KC Concepcion (with whom he’s starring in their second movie together, Regal Entertainment/GMA Films’ When I Met U; after their blockbuster first team-up, Star Cinema’s For The First Time), he doesn’t pretend that there’s something romantic between them as a nod to the movie’s promo.
“KC and I are okay as we are...friends. We enjoy each other’s company. We don’t want to rush into any commitment dahil bata pa kami. (KC is 22 and Richard, with twin brother Raymond, turned 24 last Jan. 25. — RFL) Ang dami pa naming makikilala along the way, so why should we get tied down to each other? If we commit ourselves to each other, baka ma-damage ang friendship namin.”
But, and that’s the big but, “If in the future we are still there for each other, maybe...”
Being friends, they are comfortable working with each other, even during their love scenes.
Asked if he feels “anything” during their love scenes, Richard blushes, “Yeah. Oo naman!”
In When I Met U, directed by Joel Lamangan (who took over from Joey Javier Reyes who megged For The First Time), KC plays a mall promodizer in search of true love. Richard plays a struggling cargo pilot. An unlikely romance blooms when KC hitches a ride with Richard to attend a wedding in Palawan. (See related story on Page E-2.) They repel each other at first but when the small planer crashes, they grow fond of each other.
Conversations puts Richard (touted as Local Television’s “Primetime King” because his starrers — Kamandag, Sugo, Captain Barbell, Asero, Mulawin, Lupin and, soon, Zorro) rule the ratings, to the “who, what, where, when, how” truth game in which he reveals more of himself, unwittingly.
WHO
• Who do you consider your true friends?
“Well, I believe in keeping old friends than new friends because I think my old friends have known me before I became an actor. They know the real me. I treasure their friendship because they know me to the core. Up to now, I still hang out with my high-school friends. I also like some of my new friends from showbiz.”
• Who is the biggest influence in your life?
“My family. I value my family more than anything else. They keep me grounded. Before I make a decision, I seek their advice; I listen to their opinions. They want only the best for me.”
• Who is the one girl who has broken your heart?
“It happened in high school; I wasn’t in showbiz yet. Oo, may mga nang-basted na rin sa akin. No names please! But it happens to anybody, I guess.”
• Who do you turn to when you have a problem?
“My brothers and friends. My parents have more than enough things to attend to so I don’t want to bother them with one more. Minding us their children is a tough job already.”
• Who would you be if you were not Richard Gutierrez the actor?
“I would probably be studying or I would be a soldier. It has always been my dream to join the navy.”
WHAT
• What letters in the alphabet, aside from R and G, mean so much to you?
(Thinks hard) “KC na lang.” (For Kristina Cassandra, yes. Not “JM” as some people may be suspecting. — RFL)
• What don’t you like about yourself?
“My inability to say no, especially to friends who invite me out for gimik. Bihira ko sila makasama, so even if I have work I find time to go out with them. But I’m learning how to say no.”
• What do you like about yourself?
“Now I know what my strengths and my weaknesses, and I’m learning more about myself so I can take control of myself.”
• What is your favorite pick-up line?
“None that I can think of. All I do to get a girl’s attention is start a conversation with her...about any topic under the sun. I try to make her laugh.”
• What is the kinkiest thing that you’ve ever done?
“Swimming in the nude — on a beach. Alone? No. With a girl.”
• What’s your biggest fear?
“God. I fear God more than ever because I can now tap into my spiritual life. I realized that we can’t have everything and that everything in life is only temporary. He can take everything away in a split second. Face-to-face with God, I will tell Him, ‘Am I allowed to enter?’”
• What is the fastest way to your heart?
“Through my stomach.”
WHERE
• Where is your Achilles’ Heel?
“My neck.”
• Where is your E-zone?
(Laughs) “Also my neck. Malakas ang kiliti ko dyan.”
• Where do you want to go when you want to get away from it all?
“The beach...with friends or my family.”
• Where do you want to live?
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Yes, I love the Philippines so much but if I were to live somewhere else, I’d choose another tropical country...probably the Caribbean.”
• Where are you most comfortable?
“In a highway, driving a fast car.”
WHEN
• When did you first meet KC?
“In a prom night years ago. She was then in Poveda and I was in La Salle. I was invited by our mutual friend. Was there any attraction at first sight? I guess there was...on my part. What about from her end? I’m not sure.”
• When did you have your first kiss, your first love and your, ehem, “first time”?
“I had my first kiss when I was in Grade Six. Full kiss sa lips. I won’t mention the girl’s name; she’s my kababata, not from showbiz. My first love? Same girl. My ‘first time?’ Also with the same girl.”
• When do you tell a lie?
“When my life depends on it.”
• When was the last time you said “I love you” to a girl?
“I said it to my last girlfriend. Who is she? No, I won’t tell you.”
• When are you happiest and saddest?
“I’m happiest when I am with my family, especially in moments of success or triumph. I was saddest when my parents got sick one after the other, all in one week.”
HOW
• How do you know that you are in love?
“When I can’t stop thinking about her and when it’s her face that comes to my mind as soon as I wake up in the morning. That’s one sign.”
• How do you know that a girl is in love with you?
“When she agrees to do everything with me — you know what I mean.”
• How do you deal with a broken heart?
“I travel.”
• How much of you is Eddie Gutierrez and how much is Annabelle Rama?
“Fifty/fifty. My side which is patient, relaxed and cool is essentially Eddie Gutierrez. Being protective of my loved ones and, sometimes, being aggressive is my Annabelle Rama side.”
• How do you court a girl?
“I pick her up, treat her to a good time and I drop her home. What kind of good time? Well, there are all kinds. Basta, good time. I’m adventurous by nature, so I usually take the girl on an adventure she’ll never forget.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)