O captain! Our captain!

MANILA, Philippines - It must be hard being Richard Gutierrez. As if the metaphorical weight of a big-budget TV series isn’t enough, tonight, he seems to be grappling with another kind of weight  that of the neoprint-suit kind. Richard is slowly trudging down the set, down to the photographer’s make-shift set-up  which, for this particular shoot, happens to be a construction site corner with the occasional bag of sand and debris of different sizes.

“Kaya tumalon pero di masyadong magalaw ah,” the director warns, a few hours before the shoot. The suit itself seems a bit hard to move around in, the feat suggesting a legitimately heroic effort from our make-believe superhero.

SUPREME: This is the second Captain Barbell, right? Why did you choose to do it again?

RICHARD GUTIERREZ: We kind of ended the first one open-ended. We were pretty sure we were going to make another one, in the future, because of the outcome and it was a big success. This was already in the works last year but there were some delays and we were looking for the perfect time. We decided to make it this year and make it bigger  bigger scale and add more characters to the story.

Is it a role you enjoy doing?

Yes, definitely. The stunts, yeah, and we all know Captain Barbell is a Pinoy pop superhero. It’s kind of an honor for me, to be playing that. It’s iconic and the first Captain Barbell, ever, was my tito, Bob Soler, and the first Teng was Dolphy, who’s my ninong.

What did you have to do to prepare? Bulk up?

Not really. Before we started filming, they wanted me to trim down because I’m playing two characters and you can’t be totally big. I had to trim down. I did a lot of cardio and martial arts like muay thai and jujitsu. Martial arts kind of help me prepare mentally also, because I knew coming into this kind of show, there’d be a lot of hours.

Is it easy for you to stay fit?

Well, my body adjusts fast. If I don’t work out for three or four days straight, if I work out again, my body adjusts fast.

You have a harem of women here, right? From Solenn Heusaff to Isabel Oli to Saab Magalona, everyone’s here. But for some reason, all publicity is about you and Solenn as a love team. Have you gotten used to that? Gossip items and whatnot?

Yeah, I’ve gotten used to it and tired of it. People keep saying the same thing. If there are going to be any changes, we’ll tell everyone. [Laughs] Solenn and I are friends and we’re enjoying everything. It’s her first show so the whole team is there for her but you know, she’ll sometimes ask me questions.

Is it hard being in the scene you move around in? It’s you and Solenn that people are pairing together. There’s Borgy and Georgina. They did a Preview cover, and you and Georgina had one, when you were dating. How is that? Being in your group? When media pits you guys together when you’re all friends? Does it ever get awkward?

Uhm… For me, not really. I don’t know how other people will look at it but for me, it’s part of my job, part of the world I work in. It’s all good. Like what you said, we’re all friends. We’re all just enjoying everything. We try not to make it awkward. We’re blessed to be where we are so we’re just enjoying it.

I guess, you grew up with it too, with your family. Now, your mom’s a Twitter superstar.

I know, right.

Does that ever get awkward? I’m thinking, if my parents ever got Twitter and people followed their tweets, I’d be like, “Oh my God.”

In the beginning, we were like, “Mom, why did you open a Twitter account?” But then she helps promote everything we do. She’s very supportive. We understand where she’s coming from, but there are instances when she tweets personal things and of course, we have to tell her, “Mom, can you delete that tweet?” It’s sort of letting her know, hey, the whole world is watching. She’s learning, slowly.

You’ve been famous for a long time now, in your own right. You’ve been a leading man for awhile now. How do you maintain the fame? Do you ever get scared you’re on unsteady ground? Are you one of those people who carefully strategize?

It takes some planning, yes. There are a lot of responsibilities that come with it also. For me, you know, as long as I’m having fun, as long as I’m enjoying my projects, I’m going to work hard. Everything is thought about. I won’t do something that people won’t like. I want to give people what they want, give people entertainment.

Does your family give you tips?

Yes, they give me their two cents every time.

Whose opinion carries most weight there?

My dad’s. He’s the quiet one. Everybody’s rattling but when my dad does speak, he speaks with a lot of sense and a lot of wisdom so I always consider what he has to say and I always ask him, even though I really have to ask him what he thinks. He trusts me with my decisions. He knows I can handle things. But when I’m questioning something, whenever I doubt something, I always ask him.

Of course, all their opinions are important. They’re coming from different points of view.

So Richard, what’s the long-term plan? Do you want to be one of those legendary actors?

Like what you said, I’ve been famous for a long time. I feel like I’m always at the beginning. I think I have a long way to go and I have a lot of dream projects I want to do. Eventually, I want to get into filmmaking and make my own movies. I want to create my own stories, my own films.