INTERVIEW: ANDREW ASUNCION
PHOTOGRAPHY: JUN DE LEON

www.xxx.com is the first really sexy movie you’ve done out of so many previous offers. Why this one?
Well, I did Bulaklak Ng Maynila before, but it wasn’t really as sexy din naman. I chose this because Direk Tikoy (Aguiluz) was really willing to compromise with me regarding my limitations. I’m really not prepared kasi to bare on screen. Sa pictures, puwede pa kasi hindi siya gumagalaw. Visually, hindi siya puwede maging bastos. Nagiging bastos lang siya pag talagang bastos ang tumitingin. Sa movies, since gumagalaw, mas may interaction. So even if you did it in a non-malicious way, if the way the camera, for example, presents it was off, it could become bastos.

Does that become a problem for you off-cam?
Yung pagiging bastos? (laughs) People know naman that I’m a totally different person from the people I portray in my movies. It’s funny though—now that I’ve had two kids, I get more offers for sexy roles. I really don’t understand why, ha ha! I think it’s because
it’s more controversial that way. In the States, kahit tatlo asawa mo, if you can act, you’ll still be respected for your acting skills. Here kasi, a lot of the producers just want to make money, so the more controversial, the better. Personally, I’d rather watch movies that remind me of my own life, so I can see what I did wrong and avoid the things that led to my mistakes.

What was the last movie that really made you think about your life?
One was Bulaklak. Another would be Ang Lahat Ng Ito’y Para Sa Iyo with Bobby Andrews. Gano’n kasi ako: When I love, I love fully. I don’t have any qualms about who he is or what he does. I really wore my heart on my sleeve then, but not anymore, so mas mahirap humanap. I’m more cautious now, in that in all situations, I always think, “Is this the real Angelu?”

So are we to assume you weren’t as choosy with guys when you were younger?
Diyos ko, ang gullible ko nung bata ako, ha ha! I don’t remember everything, but feeling ko, sabihan lang ako na maganda ako, like ko na siya! Pag bata ka, iba yung feeling na parang ang daming nanliligaw. Parang, “Ay, ang saya nito, feeling nila ang ganda ko!” So the mind gets clouded by the feeling of being a teenager, of being popular with guys, na feeling mo mauubusan ka ng lalaki, ha ha!

What was the best line you encountered?
For me, it’s more of the adventure, yung tumatakas, dadalawin ka nang patago. As a teenager, it was more exciting because I was such a sheltered child. Feeling James Bond ka pag tumatakas, ha ha! Now, it’s more of the extraordinary things that a guy can do for you. If a guy can stimulate my mind, naku, tumbling ako sa kanya, ha ha!