Broadening Dingdong: At 31, Dingdong Dantes has come to that point in an artist’s career when he wants to initiate steps to broaden his range. He speaks of a yearning for challenges, facing them head-on, confident that every challenge hurdled entails a lot of lessons learned.
As we speak at the coffee shop of a hotel in Iloilo City moments before he was to face a big crowd of Dinagyang celebrators Jan. 20, the actor underscored the need for creating more projects that would make a greater impact on the public.
He said he was proud and lucky to have been a part of “Segunda Mano,” where his participation was not limited to being an actor but also that of a co-producer. Dingdong says he, too, had a hand in the film’s creative growth, a direction that he wants to pursue in forthcoming projects.
Target Filmmaker: Dingdong finished a film workshop under Marilou Diaz Abaya under whom he made a demo reel. The demo eventually led to a directorial assignment at GMA (“Kakaba-kaba ka ba?”).
While Dingdong has momentarily halted his directing career (“I find it so draining more than acting”), he nonetheless thinks he should get back to it in due time. Meanwhile, he has set up his own production company, Agostodos Productions, whose first co-production venture has been “Segunda Mano” for which he won the best actor award in the 37th MMFF.
Agostodos has also put in the can a film awaiting proper screening, “Aswang Chronicles,” which Dingdong also topbills. As actor-producer, he wants to produce films that not only have something new to say but are also capable of making money.
International Scene: Dingdong doesn’t hide the fact that like every actor worth his salt, he dreams of making it in the international scene. While he’s not exerting extra effort to reach this dream – such as going to casting calls and auditions – he maintains that doing well in one’s profession and loving your work in general can spread one’s reputation around.
Dingdong has quietly also gone back to school. Armed with several semesters’ worth of units in International Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, he has decided to pick up where he left off by enrolling in a long-distance degree program in business management at West Negros University in Bacolod. He reports to school once a month. Dingdong hopes to finish college in his desire to enroll in a master’s degree program later. His interests are in the very masculine lines of defense and flying.
Dancing Days: Meanwhile, while he is still Dingdong Dantes, the idol of millions and the future star (in tandem with Marian Rivera) of GMA’s “My Beloved,” he continues to do the sing-and-act routine on stage, such as the one he did that same afternoon at Robinsons fountain area in downtown Iloilo. He can sing and host and act on cue, but Dingdong says his days as a dancer are over.
“I leave that to the younger guys,” he said, while pointing to Mark Herras, who at 25, himself claims he’s over the hill where dancing prime is concerned.
Dingdong and Mark, together with Jay-R, Kyla, Isabelle Daza, and Ynna Asistio gathered an overflow crowd at the GMA-sponsored Kapuso Night in celebration of Iloilo’s Dinagyang Festival.
We Recommend:
No comments:
Post a Comment