DINGDONG Dantes is back on primetime TV in “AlterNate,” the mini-series that is part of GMA’s drama anthology, “I Can See You.” It starts on Monday to replace “The World Between Us” that ends this Friday. Dingdong plays dual roles as twin brothers Nate and Michael, with Beauty Gonzales as Shiela, the lone leading lady.
They get separated as babies with Nate raised as a rich kid while Michael grew up as a poor boy.
They meet again as long-lost twin brothers with Michael later on trying to steal Nate’s identity. How challenging is it to play dual roles?
“This is one of the most difficult roles I’ve played kasi may drama, may action, may suspense, may love story,” said Dingdong. “Very physically taxing to play two different roles kasi inuulit-ulit namin ang scenes, along with my co-actors. Magpapalit muna ako ng damit, buhok, make up, everything. Matrabaho gawin, but I did it with the help of everyone in the cast and our director. Mahirap din as this is my first lock-in taping and I had to be far away from my wife and our children for one month.”
He wants to thank his wife Marian Rivera for her support in doing the show. “Yes, kung hindi siya pumayag magkahiwalay kami, hindi ko rin gagawin ito. She always sends us food sa Laguna to show her support for us. Buti na lang, when I got back home, naging magkasama naman kami sa Israel when she was a judge sa Miss Universe at talagang nag-enjoy kami roon being together. Nakabawi kami.”
How is it working with Beauty Gonzalez as his leading lady? “It’s a beautiful experience working with Beauty. She’s such a brilliant artist hindi lang sa pag-arte but maging sa iba pang bagay, like art. In our conversations, I learned a lot from her about art. I admire her professionalism in portraying Shiela. She’s very much invested in her role. We had a great teamwork with the whole cast. Hindi mo maisasabuhay convincingly ang isang character kung wala kang magaling na kaeksena.”
“AlterNATE” will run for four weeks in “I Can See You” starting Monday night.
***
Iya Villania and Chef Jose Sarasola are back in the hit cooking show “Eat Well. Live Well. Stay Well” now on its third season on GMA-7 starting this Friday at 11:20 a.m.
“I can say 2022 starts well for us with our show’s new season,” said Iya, who revealed in the show’s Zoom press con that she is now pregnant with her and Drew Arellano’s 4th child. “Yes. akala ko tapos na when we had a girl but, heto nabuntis uli at pahirap siya ng pahirap. I’m now on my fourth month of pregnancy and I still have morning sickness. This is my hardest among the four pregnancies I’ve had.”
After two seasons, Iya said she’s now more confident as a young mom and homemaker who hosts “Eat Well. Live Well. Stay Well.”
“Jose and I are glad that our sponsor, Ajinomoto Products, is happy with the show. Sana nga, may fourth season pa, kasi I really love and enjoy cooking. With cooking, we show how moms can make their meals special. I’m so happy when I meet moms saying that they learn how to cook a lot of recipes through our show.”
So how will season 3 be different from the past two seasons? “Since we cannot go out again due to the surge in Covid cases, we will offer healthier food choices and make different presentations of the dishes we do. We’ll help mommies get good ideas for new recipes. We give a twist even to familiar recipes like tortang talong and sinanglay na tilapia.
The good thing about the recipes we’re serving is that they’re really budget-friendly and easy to prepare, but yummy and nutritious.”
***
‘I want to show na kahit lalaki ka o bakla o lesbian ka, you can wear whatever you want to wear and you’ll be completely fine. — Markki Stroem’
Markki Stroem gave good performances in movies like “Amor y Muerte” and “Hermano Puli” and in theater musicals like “Jersey Boys,” “Side Show” and “Next to Normal.” None of these shows prepared us for his new series, “My Delivery Gurl,” the first series offering of Cignal Play, the streaming platform of Cignal TV, where Markki plays a flaming drag queen.
We’ve seen the pilot episode and it opens with him in a blonde wig and a sexy girl outfit singing and dancing to the tune of “Watcha Gonna Do.” As Bianca D, he’s a struggling online performer but, sadly, no one watches his show.
Meantime, his landlady is threatening to kick him and his wards out as he has not paid their rent as all of them are jobless. He then decides to go home to his native Baguio which he left many years ago because his parents cannot accept that he’s gay. He meets his former flame, Jakoy (Rocky Salumbides) and also meets a new prospect, Boss Sam (Victor Basa), the owner of the delivery company he gets to work for. Eventually, Rocky and Victor will fall for Bianca D and they will be involved in an intriguing love triangle.
Markki admits he was reluctant to accept the role.
“When Cignal offered this to me, I was skeptical at first, kasi I’m not sure if I could give it justice,” he said. “But when I accepted it, I gave it my all. Nahirapan ako kasi hindi naman ako drag queen in real life. I had to really train hard for the role. I have to practice walking in high heels kasi I do my work as delivery gurl in high heels. I’m completely transformed.
Naka-corset ako, may hip pads, bra, stockings.”
Is he worried he might be typecast in such drag roles?
“I really like our show kasi it delivers hope and happiness ngayong maraming hindi magandang nangyayari sa paligid natin. Tiyak mapapangiti ang viewers while watching this. Siguro naman, I won’t be exactly typecast, but for me, okay lang to do character roles like this. Pero kung papatok ang series na ito, and I hope it will, okay na rin sa akin to be typecast. I want to carry the flag for the LGBT community. I want to show na kahit lalaki ka o bakla o lesbian ka, you can wear whatever you want to wear and you’ll be completely fine.”
