1 PIOLO PASCUAL | Photography by LESTER VILLARAMA

PIOLO PASCUALby Lester Villarama

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PIOLO PASCUAL EMBRACING THE CHANGE, BECOMING THE CHANGE

Actor, singer, and producer, Piolo Pascual, is breaking the barriers and pushing the boundaries of the Filipino film world. It is amazing to see this market finally get recognition all around the world. Full of light and passion, Piolo and I had a wonderful discussion about his projects, music career, what it has been like being a producer and what he hopes to accomplish in the upcoming years! So let’s dive in….

Recently, he was filming the series “Flower of Evil,” an adaption of the original Korean Drama, alongside the incredible Lovi Poe. Excited to get back into the game of acting after “being on vacation for two years,” Piolo was thrilled to be working side by side with Lovi Poe who he has seen grow in the last few years. What peaked his interest was how grayish his character is: not all good, but not necessarily all bad either. In order to bring his authentic self to the leading role, Piolo strayed away from the original character. “If you have certain expectations, and understanding of the character I guess the spontaneity goes away,” he explained. “At least you have an idea of how the story will go and end but it's better than knowing how the other actor played the original character.” Playing the lead, there is some challenge here but when the nerves kick in, so does the elevation of his performance! As he put it, “I always love to challenge myself and walk on eggshells because when I am nervous, I can perform better.”

Before this, he starred in MY AMANDA, a Philippine romantic drama film. This particular project stood out for Piolo as not only was he also a producer of the film, it was taken on and streamed by Netflix! “It was a bigger platform for us because we are only used to just showing it here to the Filipino audiences,” opened up Piolo. “We took it upon ourselves to have an approach which was more universal.” An opportunity which opened many doors for the Filipino film industry, the actor hopes to continue “pushing the envelope to show more Filipino films that can be appreciated globally.”

You see, Piolo has been in the game for a while now and being part of the progress and advancements happening through streaming platforms and more social exposure has inspired him to continue doing so. “We have been working on a lot of concepts, there is HBO, AMAZON, it’s a good time. Ironic as it sounds, businesses have shut down but filmmaking is having a renaissance because there is a demand for more content and the streaming platforms can cater to bigger audiences,” he explained. Being a producer on this film allowed him to see how the business works from different perspectives.

With not just his name but money on the line, Piolo understands there is risk in this...and he is willing to take those risks. “It’s like taking care of a baby. As a producer you take care of it all, it’s more challenging but it’s fun for me, it’s a fun game,” he exclaimed. It also allows him to have more control over what gets put out there and how. As mentioned earlier, the actor hopes to continue to take on the global market. “Opening different ideas , different countries and partnering up with them to connect more and you know, diversify. We are an Asian country, not a first world country, so budget wise we are always limited,” he shared candidly. “We want to be able to really expand the market so that we can do more films with bigger budgets and connect with more people, more countries.”

Aware of the universal languages such as “love, conflicts, what first world countries go through,” he is able to better understand what kind of cinema the audiences want. And when you are trying to tap into a whole new market, it is important to keep those different needs in mind all the while producing the best content possible. “When you are doing a film you want to inspire people and do better,” he shared with glistening eyes. “Filipino films are all about showing poverty, the slums, showing how hard life is and we want to do away with that and show how good life is, how beautiful it is.”

Living and breathing this idea of positivity and beauty, Piolo spoke on the spike of negativity around the world: the “cancel culture”, more strikes, more judgment and more. The disparity between the rich and poor is becoming greater and the attitude, overall, seems to be heading down rather than up. Luckily, there are people such as Piolo who see a brighter future and act on it both through film and song. “I want to be able to remind them that as long as you're living, that you are breathing, it is a chance to make things better and not judge people. You want to be able to connect people, integrate the cultures and just make them more compassionate towards one another.” Goosebumps.

Piolo is also an artist which broadens his platform for promoting his beliefs and sense of purpose. Working on an album filled with duets, he released his first single last year and hopefully we will see more very soon! Working hard to perfect his message and melody before performing on stage, Piolo shared laughingly, “I am not getting any younger so I want to be able to do my type of song.” A mindset he channels both in song and film. “I want to be able to be an instigator for people to do something better, take bigger risks, be more challenged,” he opened up. “At the end of the day, you are not going to be in your prime forever, so just take advantage of what you have right now.” AGREED!

Piolo Pascual is an inspiration to us all and reminds us that it is never too late to try new things, better yourself and inspire others to do so as well. Working on more films and songs, he is on a mission to truly expand the Filipino film industry on a global scale, something I hope to see with all International films! There is so much beauty across the oceans and people like Piolo are a reminder of this. Piolo, thank you for being you!

Talent PIOLO PASCUAL @piolo_pascual Photography LESTER VILLARAMA @shotbylester Agency CORNERSTONE ENTERTAINMENT INC @cornerstone Styling NIKKO PANTI @misterbaks @nikkopanti Grooming CRISTINA CHARVET @tincharvet17 Photo ASSIST ERIKA DE LEON @ xdvdl Videographer JORDAN SAYLON @jordansaylon Interview ALEX BONNET @alexbonnetwrites

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