Jay Manalo and Sheryl Cruz in Bakekang

He's the leading man of her dreams, and nothing can stop her from loving him – not even his wife. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Bakekang’s obsession is no other than Christoph, portrayed by Jay Manalo. Playing his other half, Valeria, is Sheryl Cruz. In the story, Valeria and Christoph were built up as a love team in the ‘80s, which eventually led to a real-life romance. It is quite common for people to have celebrity idols, but Bakekang’s case is a bit too extreme. “Dream niya as an idol na gusto pa niya maging more than that. (Gusto niya maging) asawa or boyfriend si Christoph," explains Jay. It is but natural for Valeria to be protective of her husband, especially with a delusional fan lurking around. Sheryl imparts, "Siyempre, may mga fantasies, may mga ilusyon tayong lahat (sa mga artista). Kung baga sa akin, si Brad Pitt, or si Tom Cruise, ganoon. (Iniisip natin na) sana tayo ligawan, or sana tayo maging asawa. Ganoon din ‘yung fantasy ni Bakekang dito. Kaya nga lang, harap-harapan siyang nakikipag-compete sa akin. At the same time, pinapatulan ko. I go down to her level to the point na she makes me so infuriated, na pati na rin sa harapan ng ibang tao, hinihiya ko siya - physically, verbally, everything. Kung baga, hindi na ako nahihiya, pinapakita ko sa kaniya na akin si Christoph. (Parang) 'Hinding-hindi mo makukuha sa akin, sa itsura mong yan,' etc." Valeria's controlling nature can be traced back to her childhood, in the way her mother brought her up. "(It will show in the way) I'll be treating Lorraine, (my daughter), as she's growing up. Hindi na ipakikita ‘yung relationship ng mother ko at saka ako, (pero) ipakikita how my mother (raised me) through my relationship with my daughter. Valeria here has to control everybody's life, to the point na ‘pag nawala sa kaniya yung mga taong ‘yun, that'll break her. So she's scared of losing her loved ones, especially Christoph, and her daughter, Lorraine (played by Nadine Samonte)," says Sheryl. If Valeria is the controlling, aggressive woman, Christoph portrays the leading man with a soft side. "Yung character ko dito, mabait, close sa mga fans (at) kay Bakekang. Kasi yung approach ko sa kaniya, may halong kaunting awa sa sitwasyon niya doon sa istorya, and then (sa) itsura niya. Lahat (kasi) talagang pwede siyang laitin. Sa akin naman, hindi lang sa panlabas na kaanyuan nakikita ang totoong tao, so parang sa akin din nga yung pagiging mabait ko. Naiintindihan ko yung kalagayan niya," says Jay. But the more Christoph defends Bakekang, the more Valeria gets infuriated with her. Things get worse when Bakekang ends up as Christoph's production assistant, or "PA." Jay shares, "Pinagtatanggol ko talaga, not only as PA, (pero) siyempre, ‘yung tao. Kahit ganiyan ang itsura ng isang tao, dapat galangin mo, para may respeto at galang din sa ‘yo bilang artista ka na iniidolo. Siyempre ako, iniidolo, so alam ko (ang) nararamdaman niya." Both Jay and Sheryl find traits in their characters that are the complete opposite of what they're really like in person. For Sheryl, it's Valeria's conniving nature. "Kinaiinisan siya ng mga tao. ‘Yung akin naman, sinasabi ko, don't be upset, it's just a character that I'm portraying, they know that I'm not like that! Even Manilyn (Reynes) was saying that 'Oh My Gosh, (you’re) so different!' Kasi pag tine-tape na namin, or nagre-rehearse na, siyempre, ako ‘yung kanilang kalaban, kasi she's the best friend of Bakekang, Marta. So whoever Bakekang hates, then she hates too, di ba? Ganoon ‘yung feeling na 'Ay, parang hindi si Sheryl!' But then ‘yung akin, it's just nice (for) people (to) see me as a different Sheryl this time kasi this is really how actors are supposed to be. You know, when given a role, then (you) have to be professional enough to deliver." Jay, on the other hand, says that he never relished his celebrity status, unlike Christoph in the drama series. "Dito, kailangan talaga, sa character ko, (na) talagang namnamin ko ‘yung kasikatan ko...‘Yung ipakita na (ang) mga artista noon, talagang ‘pag nakita mo, ‘pag naglakad lang...titilian na. Unlike (ngayon) na ‘pag may nakita kang artista, at first, may pagka-star struck pero after noon, wala na. An artista is a normal person right now. Ako, doon naman sa normal na Jay, never kong na-feel na sikat ako, or artista ako. Gusto ko normal lang na buhay lang din ‘pag nasa labas ako. ‘Pag kasama ko mga kaibigan ko, walang arti-artista. Sa akin kasi, bilang artista, trabaho ko lang ‘yun. Hindi ko dadalhin ‘yun sa labas ‘pag wala na ako sa trabaho." The true test of an actor, as Sheryl says, is to be professional enough to deliver regardless of how different one is from a character. When he’s not playing Christoph, Jay does not let show biz get to his head, while Sheryl is far from being an off-screen antagonist. But nevertheless, their characters in Bakekang beautifully come to life and are as real as they can be. Catch the talented pair in Bakekang, weeknights, before Jumong!