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We see him every Sunday on SOP as a member of the hunky quartet “Four Men Only,” but really, what more is there to Gian Magdangal?
We see him every Sunday on SOP as a member of the hunky quartet “Four Men Only,” but really, what more is there to Gian Magdangal? You’d be surprised to know that what we see of him isn’t even one fourth of what he has to offer. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. “That guy from the singing contest.” He started his debut in GMA via guestings on Sis and SOP, and back then, he was introduced as “Jolina’s second cousin” and as a runner-up in “a singing contest from another network.” But now that he’s becoming more popular not only due to his Jude Law-esque looks but mainly because of his astounding stage presence, he is beginning to find his niche, finally, in the world where he can do what he loves most—performing. Before joining Philippine Idol on ABC-5, this De La Salle graduate was involved in marketing for Smart Telecom. Although he found it hard to leave the corporate setting, he knew that his decision was for the best—Gian knew that the opportunity to enter showbiz is something that comes only once in a lifetime. Theater talk Gian has always been involved in the arts, and has even collaborated with R&B Prince Jay-R in Footloose (2006). When asked where he learned how to dance, he replies, “It’s actually probably years of all the crazy things I’ve done in theater. ‘Yun na ‘yung fruits of my labor. From acting like a toy car to portraying a clown, dancing like Daniel in Once in this Island ballet, and being in Footloose with Jay-R, and just practically learning from what was forced upon me in all these productions—as a chorus member, and not even as a lead role.” He continues, “If you’re in a chorus ensemble, you have no choice, di ba? You have to do everything—you can’t say, ‘I don’t know how to dance like that.’ But if they gave dance classes everyday of something you’ve never done before, I guess you’d be forced to learn!” Gian shares that he was also lucky enough to get to work with Ms. Lea Salonga. “When we started off, we were acquaintances lang first. Because she watches plays also, and everybody just knows everybody from one party to another. And then suddenly I was in this play called Saturday Night Fever and I played Tony Manero, and she watched. And then after that, in Beauty and the Beast, she was the acting coach of KC [Concepcion] and Karel (Marquez), and I was also in some of the scenes, so I met her there and we became friends.” “Then after that, I did Footloose. In Footloose she was also helping out, kasi magkakatabi lahat ‘yan e, she was still here ‘cause she was still pregnant. When I did Once in this Island, she was already my acting coach na. I played the lead role with Raffy Vega and there were scenes that I was very new to. It was my first kissing scene!” “We had to kiss, what—65 times for a month every week! And for the rehearsals pa! Something as exaggerated as that na I was really very new to. And she helped me on that—obviously, she kissed onstage a lot already in Miss Saigon, so yun, she was very helpful. And [there’s] the fact that she became a really good friend already, because I was friends with her friends. It’s just really how it is in theater.” What’s his type? Gian had a publicized breakup with actress Aiza Marquez, but he has since moved on and found another girl to sweep him off his feet—Viva Hot Babe Sheree. So what does it take for Gian to have a second look? “I’m not particular naman na kailangan maganda, or whatever. Pero para sa akin, more than the looks, ‘yung dating. Gusto ko ‘yung malakas ‘yung dating ng girl. The only way you can say it is in Tagalog, eh. Malakas ‘yung dating.” “Personality [rin], eh. I want someone who can stand up for herself—someone who has principle, who knows what she wants in her life. I also like someone who’s at the same time simple, someone who’s an artist at heart, passionate about something—kahit ano pa ‘yun, basta passionate. Sana matalino [rin].” He also says that for some reason, he seems to like girls who are petite and morena—a perfect description for Sheree! Musical influences Gian describes himself as a “rocker at heart,” and says that he looks up to Bamboo, Wolfgang, and Rivermaya—musicians he grew up listening to. “I like bands like Dave Matthews kung foreign, and I’m a big fan of Gavin Degraw although he’s not rock—he’s like a fusion. And that’s like the route I want to somehow go. Something like that.” For those who don't know yet, Gian was part of the local group 17:28 way back, singing mostly R&B and pop songs. Since he didn’t have a chance to sing rock songs then, he’s taking advantage of it now. His respect for rock is the ability of songs under this genre to express concepts that no other genre can. “I can’t imagine an R&B song talking about the independence of the Filipino and not being baduy. Parang ganoon, eh. Iba rin kasi ‘yung paspas ng gitara, iba ‘yung feel. You can sing it na hindi ka ngumingiti pero positive pa rin.” Gian had to make a choice and went with where his heart is. He advises fellow artists-at-heart who are in the same situation to “do something about [your craft]. It’s a gift. Don’t bury it, no matter what people say. If you don’t develop the craft, you won’t get anywhere with it. There’s always time to learn something. And if you think you can’t do it, why not try it first? And it’s good to start early, because if you dream earlier on in your life, there’s more time to know about the other dreams that you can make.” Catch Gian every Sunday on SOP, and in his various GMA guestings! You can also talk about Gian in the iGMA Forum!