MANILA, Philippines — Like many people his age, 62-year-old Boy Abunda has been doubly scared of COVID-19 and the new surge in cases, so as much as possible, he does his interviews virtually and stays at home — not wanting to go out even for work.
But when the camp of controversial actor Gerald Anderson called him for an exclusive, it was an opportunity he could not pass.
As someone who built a reputation of quizzing some of the world’s biggest personalities for almost three decades, Boy said that nuances like body language are part of a good interview that can only be achieved face-to-face.
Thus, after testing negative from a swab test, Boy took an almost three-hour trip to the set of the lock-in taping for Gerald’s new series “Init sa Magdamag.”
He swore that there was no preparation or briefing — that both he and Gerald did not have a script or outline for the interview.
“We didn’t know what to talk about,” Boy told select media, including Philstar.com, in a virtual press conference last Tuesday.
“Kami ni Gerald, we had no understanding on the things that we know, these are the questions I’m going to ask, etc. Naalala ko lang bumaba ako ng auto ko, I went straight to the set, sabi ni Gerald, ‘Tito Boy, halos isang taon tayong ‘di nagkita’.”
According to him, his main objectives from the interview were to listen to Gerald’s side and to have him answer people’s lingering questions about him, his girlfriend Julia Barretto and ex-girlfriend Bea Alonzo.
“Of course, I wanted to ask ‘Nang-ghost ka ba?,’ ‘Totoong kayo ba ni Julia?,’ these are mandatory,” he said.
But according to Boy, if he did not see that Gerald was prepared to answer, he would not have asked these crucial queries out of respect.
“Pero unang tanong ko pa lang, ‘Kamusta ka na, Ge?’ and he said he’s living in gratitude and controversy. Du’n palang alam ko na, ‘A, possible ito’.”
Boy and Gerald might not be too close to the point that they would invite each other for dinner, but the seasoned TV host said they were comfortable enough to touch on not only the actor’s love life, but also his relationship with his mom, career and even acting techniques.
“I was very happy with that interview,” vouched Boy, who promised to have more interviews to watch for in the second season of FYE Channel’s “The Best Talk,” his talk show on livestreaming app Kumu, streaming every Saturday starting March 20 at 9 p.m.
In “The Best Talk,” Boy makes sure to take the point of view of someone willing to listen — to be professional, fair and not judgmental toward his guests to establish trust. That was exactly what he did in the interview with Gerald.
Because of the interview, was Gerald able to redeem himself from social stigma?
“I won’t be able to speak about that interview in the context of his career,” Boy told Philstar.com during the press con.
“But if I have anything to say about it, with that interview, Gerald, whether deliberately or unconsciously, set himself free.”
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