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| Ms. Roselle Monteverde congratulating the new Regal Babies and says "The journey with us is just starting, we're doing 50% of the work and you would have to do yours now that we're in this together." |
In simple ceremonies at the Valencia Events Place in Valencia Street in Quezon City, Regal Films just announced the newest batch of Regal Babies for those who have just finished the rigorous training and workshop that bore fruit to 17 new stars from an initial 300 applicants when they began. This has been the child project of Regal's matriarch Mother Lily Monteverde, heir to the throne Ms. Roselle Monteverde and Director Joey Reyes under the supervision of Actor's Workshop Foundation of the Actor's Guild of the Philippines and facilitated by Actor and Director Leo Martinez, Manny Castaneda and the Philippines most noted goon Mr. Rez Cortez. Although some of them have undergone intensive workshops, there were only a few chosen for different reasons. As Director Joey Reyes puts it "These workshops are not meant to hone talent or make it, because talent is god given. I am so strict when it comes to discipline because being an actor isn't a diversion, this is work. This is also something that needs a lot of dedication and professionalism."
They've all undergone the workshops and said it was very hard, but they've learned a lot especially the first few days wherein they had to do everything naturally and be in character. They're the best among 300 people, so you can just imagine how hard it was to choose among the throng of people who want to be in their shoes.
Check out the newest faces set to conquer Philippine show business:
Shine Kuk
Oh yes! She's that cute lady that won "You're My Foreignay 2014" that blurted out weird tones whenever a camera comes to her face and hosts the show. She has guested in tons of shows in GMA and on TV5 lately. She's also done commercials and fashion shoots that require her very Asian looks. We were a little shy to approach her but when I was alone she sat down in front of me and took my phone to record and introduce herself, now I think she's learned confidence in this workshop too LOL. Albeit a little feisty, I find her charming and amusing. Her small little antics actually make her more adorable, even my Dad likes her. She also takes the time to let people know that despite of her being a Korean citizen, she's got the heart of a Filipina. She's been here 5 years, initially for a family vacation but she's loved it that much that she stayed here that long. She didn't audition for this but got casted in this group as she's part the movie which Direk Joey is doing called "No Boyfriend Since Birth" that stars Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. She studied in College of St. Benilde - De La Salle University with a course in Foreign and Diplomatic affairs because she initially wanted to be an Ambassador representing South Korea here but she laments "What really made my heart stay here is the dream of being an artist. I could always do two things at a time if that's my journey. I have been a commercial model since college but I wasn't able to focus on it because of studies. It was rare that I joined contests and modelling, it was just after my graduation that I joined Eat Bulaga and it was a great opportunity for me to start being in the entertainment industry."
She would love to pursue acting, being an actress is her dream. She wants to impress people, herself, to be in roles that are out of tangent of her personality and own it. She would feel bad if she doesn't deliver in the roles given to her now that she's armed with the training given by Regal Films. She's optimistic that whatever it may be, she's going to do her best to deliver all the feelings, the emotions more so if it's drama. She says she's ready to do those drama actress roles now that will have everything. She was excited and nervous during the workshop especially during that "No Acting" piece and says that was the hardest part of it. Now that she's part of Regal Babies she says "Maybe I'd be probably be still working as an actress, I'll work til I'm 70. I'd have big roles and big dreams because there are still a lot of things that I'll learn from the industry. I can own the roles perhaps 90% perfectly at that time." It was a pleasure talking to you Shine!
Rolini Pineda
Rolini Pineda has also graced the 2013 Mr. and Ms. Chinatown pageant. She also has guested in several shows in ABSCBN which includes ASAP, Rated K, The Buzz and Chinoy TV. She's very pretty in person and delves herself in acting, modeling and dancing too. Perhaps a lady who's a triple threat would look good on camera right? Well, they thought of that too so she's also appearing in the upcoming movie "No Boyfriend Since Birth" and you'll see her together with Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez in that film.
Fiona Yang
Fiona is still a student at DLSU Muntinlupa. She's pretty new at this and she just gave it a try, look where it landed her right? Now, she's into acting, modelling and dancing. She's learned a lot in the workshop and attributes part of the confidence she's wearing now on that opportunity. She also registers pretty good on camera I must say. She says "I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be part of the Regal Babies and it's kinda uplifting to know that there are people in the industry that actually believes in me. I'm new at this but having them see something in me is really nice. I shouted really loud when I found out inside the car, it was unbelievable! In the beginning, I thought acting was a very complicated thing to do, but with Leo Martinez's guidance, we knew that we just had to be in touch with our emotions, and it just comes naturally after that."
Jennelyn Arteta
Jennelyn worked in the BPO industry and only had modelling stints on the side before she auditioned and got to be part of this group. You've probably seen her in commercials like LBC,KB Whitening and several shows on GMA plus some cable channels. I could see how enormously overjoyed she was when she got in the 17 Regal Babies and couldn't wait to do this full time now. She dreamed of this too and from the looks of it, she's got character when we talked to her after the reveal that afternoon. She mentions "I hope I can get to work with Ms. Maja Salvador because I can see she's a very good actress, I can see us slapping each other on a scene, she's very good and intense."
Sisi Gonzales
Sisi Gonzales had her relatives roaming around (I think) during the ceremonies. There's no more proud moment than them seeing her achieve her dreams at a very young age. She knows she's still considered very new in the business but this is her start and she's starting by taking acting, modelling and dancing seriously. She hopes that she gets to appear in movies, TV shows later on and feels she also needs to do her part to become a successful actress. She's got a lot of promise, a lot more than her looks, and we all hope this sparks something big for her in the industry.
Cherise Deslippe
Cherise is very young, at 16 she believes her goal is more on singing so she's planning to spend a lot of time doing that. She says she's very simple, and wants people to see her as that and hopes it would give her the edge to be casted in good roles if the chance arises. "I usually compose songs while playing the guitar, I kinda equally love singing and acting; and because of this workshop, I discovered something that I didn't know I was good at which is acting. It gave me the confidence to do it naturally unlike the past where I had to force it. It just came to me, I mean now it's not just singing. I'm going to put aside time for my passion and I hope it will lead to success with the help of the Lord. I learned how to express my self here, you can't overthink and letting it out, your emotions, to be sensitive around you and use that to your advantage. Anywhere you go, you need to have a sense of being yourself. I'm ready for intrigues, I don't have any skeletons in the closet and I think people just need to accept that there's no perfect person. You just have to be yourself, and face the truth that there are people out there that may want to pull you down. You just have to come out naturally and I'm going to be happy. Trust the Lord and you'll make it."
Danielle Ambagan
Danielle is fond of romcoms and sweet roles. She also likes Kim Chiu and how she does her roles in movies. She's actually half of two Ambagans in Regal Babies and she's excited to work with their co artists. She's into acting, modeling and dancing too so if ever they need to do it, she's pretty confident that they can put up a show. I can see her in character roles, expressive eyes like her can do anti heroes well. I can see her even cry buckets too. Among the workshop facilitators, she says Leo Martinez was very good, very strict in a good way and she learned a lot because of him during the workshop proper.
Timothy Lawrence Yap
If you think he looks familiar, maybe you've seen him in during the Mr. and Ms. Chinatown pageant where he placed 2nd Runner Up. He also guested for Gandang Gabi Vice a months back and he's undergone the same workshop with the new Regal Babies in the hopes of having his dreams of modeling, dancing and acting a shot. He's only 20 years old and he's got a long way to go with his charming looks, buffed body. Say hi to Timothy Yap.
Luke Conde
Luke is no stranger to this business. He's a grand finalist in Showtime's Gandang Lalake, guested n Singing Bee, Ipaglaban mo, Oh My G!, and the soap Nasaan Ka Ng Kailangan Kita. He's also done several commercials on his belt like Nescafe, Toyota, San Mig Light, Smart, Mc Donald's and more. We couldn't argue with that resume because he's pretty tall and more good looking in person. Now that they're part of it, he says he's very privileged because he knows there are a lot of stars that started as a Regal Baby. He says "It's a little sad that my Dad wouldn't be able to see this but I know he knows that I've dreamed about this for a long time. My Mom has been supportive ever since and now that I'm starting, my life is almost there. They got us to let go of our inhibitions during the exercises and it was a little hard but we have all gone through it, it was a good experience."
Kaki Ramirez
Meet Kaki, he's into dancing , modeling and acting. He says "We've been into so may trials and we're happy we did our best, we're so blessed. I think it's my personality, my eagerness that actually made me be part of the 17 new Regal Babies. This is my dream. I cam all the way from Iloilo just to pursue this dream, this passion that I had to strive for. I grew up and studied there in Barotac in that province. The experience in the workshop is good, it's a little difficult in the beginning and it takes time to learn, you just have to do it well. You learn a lot in acting, expressing your feelings and things like that. I think I can do a lot of things now, if I'd be asked to if ever. I'm an Entrepreneurial Management student and wanted to be a CEO in the past, but this is my passion and I'm going to do this. I stopped because of this opportunity and I'll see where this goes because this is my dream. I hope to be someone like John Lloyd Cruz, because he can go to different roles, different looks, and still get to be believable in jobs. I like girls that are pretty, kind, I like girls who have white armpits LOL, a fetish I think. I don't have girlfriends left in Iloilo, what you see is what you get! I hope I can do tough roles in the future, a look that's bad boy... I can do that! My friends don't know yet, I didn't tell them and I wanted them to know only if I get in the final 17. Hopefully they'll see me on TV and get shocked!"
John Leo Limbo
John Leo is a graduate from UST. He's done several advertisements already like Master Facial Wash and Lucky Me. He's only 22 years old and has got a passion for acting, modeling and dancing. He wishes to do all of that in the next few years so if you see him on TV or in Movies, your support will be highly appreciated!
Raphael Urbano
Raphael Urbano is only 18 years old. He's also in acting, modeling and dancing. He's from De La Salle and looks very Asian. He's up to the challenges presented to him and if given the right projects, we think he's going to do good. Wish there was time to talk to him that afternoon though.
Christian Alano
Christian looked dapper in a suit, more because of his mestizo looks and very eloquent speech during the introductions. You can say he's had a very good upbringing as he's very prim and proper. You've probably seen him in several commercials and MMK episodes. He's also donned in billboards for F Magazine, MyPhone and popular brand Bench for its catalogs. He's also into acting, modeling and dancing so if there are shows in the future that may need that, he's in! He's a hearthrob in the making and I wouldn't be surprised if he's already got a following given his good looks that even men would want to have a piece of. He's undergone the same workshop as these other artists so I bet he's at par with them too.
David Ambagan
David is half of the Ambagan siblings that got in the Regal Babies. He's good looking too, intense on some shots that were shown during the event. He wants to do Crime/Mystery projects and sees that in his avenue. He's now focused on acting and hopes he could do a lot of projects in the future. He learned tons of acting pointers and earned a lot of confidence in the workshop and they'll use it to their advantage when the opportunity comes. He's also into acting, modeling and dancing so you better watch out for him in shows as he's determined to be there too!
Drew Benette Magbag
Drew talks and speaks like a teen. His background is a little similar to Enchong Dee but of course he's from UPIS as varsity for swimming. He says "I am so happy, this is a great opportunity for me and my family. This is my dream, I am happy and blessed to have this chance to be with the Regal Babies. I hope I could do hosting stints too on TV, that's a dream and I hope it comes true. I also hope I get the chance to work with Liza Soberano, she's my crush!" If my hunch is right, he'll be in more teen roles judging from his built.
John Michael Lacarez
I got a little giddy because we have the same name. JM looks so good on photos, looks so good on the camera too. He's in German Moreno's program "Walang Tulugan" and has gained a following even on that show. He says "I'm super happy and blessed that I got into this group. During the workshop, we really learned a lot about the exercises and hope that we also get crazy working later on as this is my dream. I wish to be one of the best versatile actors in the country, I want that to happen real soon. I hope I get to work with Sophia Andres, I see how good she is and I know we'll get to work soon." I could see he was a little nervous during the interview, but he's going to do good, he looks very promising.
Miggy Marty
Miggy Marty is the one and only personal choice of Mother Lily Monteverde. He knows he's going to be tagged as the Comic of the group and perhaps going to be cast as the one who'll provide humor. He says "I do know that part. We only had an event in this place then when we had a meeting with Mother Lily, she just blurted out that I had to audition on that same week. It was the last audition too. Mother Lily talked to me Monday and I had to do that on Thursday. I was told to be a character actor and I know that will be good for me. I feel I'll be good in romcoms and sitcoms. I wish I could be paired with Angel Locsin, when I saw her on Click, I said WOW and I followed her shows since then. I really admire how good of an actress she is. I'm ready for bashing, I think it's part of the job, but I can handle it. I think I can handle that because even I do criticisms in the past and I think it's healthy." He's a very assertive guy, very confident and educated. I hope he delivers, he's got the best people endorsing him, I mean imagine getting handpicked right?
These new set of Regal Babies will soon be on TV Shows, Movies and everything in between. They've all shown promise during the eliminations and have survived a pretty grueling audition before they did the workshop so in a nutshell, they're the best of the best. Let's see how they fare in the next few years and hope Regal Films/Regal Entertainment would give them good projects real soon. Who knows, the next big star might be one of these guys/gals. Nothings impossible right?
I hope in some way, you had the chance to get to know these new Regal Babies. Congratulations Mother Lily and Ms. Roselle! Thank you also Direk Joey for being so nice as usual! :) More power to these new Regal Babies!
For more information about their artists:
Regal Entertainment
