Michael Copon: Proud to be Pinoy

Miley Cyrus coming for show June 17

BREAKING NEWS: A month after Justin Bieber’s concert at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Concert Grounds on May 10, its producer, Music Management International, will follow it up with Miley Cyrus’ concert in the same venue on June 17. Cyrus (photo) is well-loved by fans, Filipinos included, for his character in the US TV show Hannah Montana which has been made into a movie. More details soon.

* * *

He could pass for a Latino but Michael Copon, a Fil-Am singer-actor, would tell anybody who mistook him for one that he is Filipino — that is, as Filipino as pansit and sinigang and adobo which have been part of his diet since way back when.

That’s why when he was offered to be the front act for Bruno Mars’ concert on April 7 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu and at the Araneta Coliseum on April 8, Michael said yes right away.

“I’ve been looking forward to visiting the Philippines,” Michael told Funfare in an exclusive one-on-one last Sunday afternoon at his room at the Discovery Suites, barely 24 hours after he flew in from California (he lives in Studio City, a few minutes away from Universal Studios). He’s two weeks early for the concert — for a good reason. “It’s my first time here,” added Michael whose father is a Filipino and whose mother is an American. “I want to get acquainted with my dad’s birthplace. My aunts in the US have been telling me, ‘Michael, you need to go to the Philippines.’ My dad is from Cavite and my mom, well, is a mix of everything — American, German, Polish, etc.”

Born on Nov. 13, 1982, in Cheesepeake, Virginia, Michael has been appearing in TV shows in the US (One Tree Hill, Beyond The Break, Power Rangers: Time Force, Bring It On and The Scorpion King 2: Rose of a Warrior) and in movies (The Power Rangers series among them) since 2001. He’s also a model and a composer who writes his own songs, some of which he’s performing in his concert with Bruno Mars who is also half-Filipino.

Gifted with a sense of humor, Michael is friendly. He makes you feel at ease only a few minutes into the interview. As soon as he met me at the door, bathroom-fresh, he offered me a chocolate bar and, when I commented on the baller-band bearing his e-mail address, he took it off and gave it to me, thank you.

Asked how tall he was, he broke into a wide smile and said, “I’m 6’2” tall,” raising his hand to indicate height, and “11 inches,” holding his hand forward to indicate length. Then he laughed and laughed, and I, together with the others in the suite, laughed with him.

It must be his “model walk” and towering good looks that made mallers take a second look at him when he, accompanied by his Filipino bodyguard, took a stroll at the nearby Shangri-La Plaza Mall that Sunday morning. So eager was Michael to explore the city that he didn’t suffer from jetlag at all even if he had traveled halfway around the world.

“I want to go to Cavite and trace my roots,” said Michael, “I want to check out my relatives there.”

That is, when he’s not busy mixing his music and editing the videos that he’s using for the show.

“I’m a one-man production machine. I write and produce everything. I engineer everything on my own as well. I’m a certified mixing engineer in music. I’ve been acting for 11 years and singing just as long, too. I’ve gotten to a point where I can produce everything on my own.”

So from whom did he inherit his love for the arts?

Here two weeks early for fellow half-Pinoy Bruno Mars’ (inset) concert in Cebu (April 7) and Manila (April 8), Michael, a first-time Philippine visitor, plans to trace his roots. Top: He strikes a ‘seductive’ pose during the interview at his room at Discovery Suites. Below: Publicity photos provided by Music Management International which is managing his career.

“Everyone on my mom’s side is very artistic,” revealed Michael who was just a kid when his parents separated (he’s an only child from the marriage and has five half-siblings from his parents’ respective new partners). “My grandmother paints, my grandfather is a carpenter, my Uncle Mark is an actor, my Uncle David is a carpenter, my Uncle Greg is a web/graphic designer, and my mom cuts hair and is into fashion. I started drawing people when I was a kid. Every Christmas my folks gave me pencils and sketch pads.”

Asked who, besides his relatives, has a great influence on him, Michael said, “Michael Jackson and the Beatles,” but he added that he wasn’t named after The Gloved One. “My mom liked the name Michael because she’s a fan of Michael Jordan. My other brother’s name is Jordan. By the way, I love all kinds of music. My stepfather is a Frank Sinatra fan.”

And he said he plays football — “I’ve been playing it all my life, in a Fil-Am league that I grew up with.”

But the American football that he plays is different from the football that the Azkals play. Even the ball is different. In American football, it’s oval-shaped; in the Azkals football, it’s round. And the mechanics are not the same.

Is he more American than Filipino or the other way around?

“I think I’m a little bit of both. I grew up more American but as I grew older I became interested in the Filipino culture. I’ve been learning how to speak Tagalog. I’m a huge lover of Filipino food…sinigang, adobo, pansit, mechado.

He would tell that to anyone who would mistake him for a Latino

“I was brought up 50/50 the American way and the Filipino way. Since my parents broke up when I was very young, I would stay half of the time with my dad and half of the time with my mom. I became accustomed to that set-up — growing up with American culture on one side and with Filipino culture on the other side. Even the food is different, Filipino on one side and American on the other side.”

He recalled meeting Bruno Mars for the first time after the Grammys where Mars won an award for his hit song Just The Way You Are.

“I told him that I would be opening for his show in the Philippines and he said, ‘Cool, man. See you there!’ He knew that I’m half-Filipino, too.”

So proud is Michael of being a Pinoy that when he’s offered a role, which would usually be changed from Caucasian to “ethnic” to suit his looks, he would say, “Can I play a Filipino so I can speak Tagalog?”

The Bruno Mars concert is produced by Marvin Agustin’s FutureTainment Productions, his first project, with Kris Aquino, Deo Endrinal and Boy Abunda as investors in the Manila show but with Marvin alone in the Cebu show. It should serve as Michael’s stepping stone to pursuing a career here and thereby giving the Brapanese (Akihiro Sato, Daniel Matsunaga, et al) a run for their money. Would he?

“Hmmmm, I’ll see,” nodded Michael who is in touch with other Fil-Ams in Hollywood, including Dante Basco who appeared with Antonio Banderas in In The Lead. (Michael mentioned that he has just finished an indie with also Giselle Tongi in the cast and has sung in a concert in London with Vice Ganda and Anne Curtis.)

(Note: Only “prime-seat” tickets to both Bruno Mars’ concerts in Manila and Cebu are available. In fact, Kris said that she has bought “many tickets” to give to friends, including front-row tickets reserved for his siblings, Pres. Noynoy included, who will have to occupy maybe second- or third-row seats.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected] or at [email protected])