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What has Rainier Castillo been up to lately? iGMA sat down with him to find out.
What’s new with Rainier Castillo? iGMA got to catch up with him before his voice recording for Fanatxt! Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Although he’s not in a teleserye right now, we see him Sundays on the SOP dance floor together with his StarStruck peeps. When he’s not grooving to the music, he does dramatic stints on shows such as Magpakailanman, which he recently starred in. In the episode titled “Kawangis ng Isang Pangarap," Rainier played Jason Quion, a gay man who has been stricken with consecutive life-altering tragedies. But with the help of his friends, and with the support of his mother, he never stopped dreaming. And just to show that happy endings happen in real life too, Jason is given the opportunity to live his dream. “Singer siya, ang idol niya si Regine Velasquez. Dream niyang ma-meet si Regine, hanggang sa sinwerte siya, at nakapunta siya sa Maynila,” says Rainier. Rainier isn’t new to playing gay characters, as he has had his share in Joel Lamangan’s So Happy Together (2004) and Eat Bulaga’s “Bebot” search. “Okay lang (mag-portray ng gay roles), pero todo drama nito, e!” Rainier shares. He says he doesn’t recall sad memories when doing emotional scenes onscreen; instead, he imbibes the character’s persona by trying to empty his mind of all distractions. When asked about his next career move, Rainier says that he just takes things as they come. What’s important is he still has a regular Sunday show and is still pretty visible to his fans. If given a choice, he’d rather hone his acting skills rather than focus on singing – something which he tried to do in 2004, with a debut album titled I Love You Babe. This 21-year old shares that he has changed a lot since he was crowned as StarStruck 1’s First Prince. “Dati, talagang para kaming mga bata. Ngayon, bata pa rin, pero kontrolado na.” His closest pals are also “StarStruck babies,” such as Mark Herras, Mike Tan, and Dion Ignacio. Rainier, who has always liked love songs, admits that he’s into the “emo” craze right now, especially with the popularity of Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. Here’s another bit of trivia: He likes watching America’s Next Top Model (ANTM)! “Kasi magaganda mga itsura nila!” he says with a laugh. But aside from ANTM, he also tunes in to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). When it comes to his love life, he fesses up that although he has a lot of crushes, he still hasn’t found the right girl who’ll win his heart. In the meantime, he’d rather keep himself busy with his hobbies, such as adding up to his shoe and jacket collection, as well as shopping for gadgets. He gives a shout out to all his fans nationwide: “Sa lahat ng mga fans at ka-Fanatxt, dapat lahat tayo ngayon, emo! Haha! Mag-emo tayo, tapos mag-rocker songs tayo! Baguhin natin mga sarili natin! Pero dapat maging masaya pa rin tayo! Sana suportahan niyo pa rin ako! Maraming-maraming salamat,” he finishes off, closing the interview with his killer smile. Text RAINIER to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! (Each Fanatxt message costs P2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers) Talk about Rainier in the iGMA Forum!