Beyond Bagets

Mark Herras is way past onscreen 'bagets love' and well on his way to tackling roles beyond his 21 years. He explains this transition on our last set visit to Carlo J. Caparas' Joaquin Bordado," and he spills a bit of "I.T.A.L.Y. (I Trust and Love You)" trivia in the process. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Interviewed with Jason S. Lim. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Done with superhero lovin' Mark has been paired with Ryza Cenon in Fantastic Man, but this is the first time that the two got together for a primetime series. Did he spot a difference in their chemistry? "Mas seryoso [ngayon], mas malalim," Mark replies. "Kasi yung Fantastic Man, normally, kengkoy. Yung love doon, bagets-bagets. Dito kasi, may part na parang after all the things na nangyari sa amin, naging ok kami, [tapos] bigla na naman nagkaroon ng isang problema na napakabigat." He cites one of the scenes he did with Ryza, who plays Cecille. "First time niya makikita yung lolo niya, tapos doon din sa araw na yun malalaman ko na magkamag-anak kami! So iba na yung [love] story namin ni Ryza. Lagi na lang may problema si Jason, hindi na nawalan!" He imparts that one of the most memorable scenes he did was the first time he taped with Robin Padilla. "Siguro dahil first time kong makasama si kuya Binoe, [sobrang hindi ko makakalimutan yun]. May scene kami ni kuya na sinusumbatan ko siya. Hindi pa kami magkasundo noon, tapos nahuli niya akong nagbebenta ng drugs para kumita ng pera. Parang gusto ko ng sariling sikap [kasi]. Eh siya, parang, 'Binibigyan naman kita ng pera.' At the same time, yung last sequence, kailangan umiiyak ako. Nagawa ko naman nang maayos. Para sa akin, isa yun sa pinakamabigat na eksena ko." What did he learn from his kuya? "Siguro isa sa mga natutunan ko kay kuya Binoe yung pag dating sa fight scenes," he answers. "Kasi di ba in real life, pag nakipag-away ka, bara-bara lang, e. Suntok dito, suntok doon. Sabi niya sa akin, okay lang kahit mabagal lang mga galaw mo, or yung mga pagsuntok o pagsipa mo-basta kailangan lang magawa mo nang maayos. Ganoon yung mga tips na nakukuha ko." Bordado may come to a close this week, but we'll be seeing more of Mark this August, when GMA Films' I.T.A.L.Y. (I trust and Love You) is released in cinemas nationwide. Shopping abroad On our last iGMA update about Mark's ITALY filming experience, Mark told us the difficulties and challenges he encountered. This time, Mark talks about his adventures behind-the-scenes. "May place sa Italy na di ganoon kalaki yung shopping area, pero imbis na mall, street siya, tapos imbis na pataas, underground yung mga [stores like] Zara. Grabe, may binili akong bag, it's 64 Euros! Pero okay naman yung bag." Mark adds, " May binili [rin] akong fedora hat na 60 Euros. So parang, 64 Euros yung bag, 60 Euros [naman] yung cap! Parang [nakakaloko] lang! Hindi ako natuwang mag-shopping!" He continues, "Kasi usually, sa New York, San Fo, [o] Japan, medyo okay pa-nakakapag-shopping ako. Sa Europe, nalungkot ako! Mayroon pa kaming pupuntahan na tatlong places, [pero] parang ubos na pera ko, kailangan magtipid, hindi na ako gumastos!" Despite the high cost of practically everything, Mark says he enjoyed the trip nonetheless. "Enjoy ka [pa rin] sa makikita mo, maganda yung place, pero ang mahal!" Now that he's back in the Philippines, Mark prefers to just concentrate on work and avoid showbiz gossip as much as possible. "Ako, in reality, mas pipiliin ko pang maglaro [ng online games] kaysa gumimik," he says. "Kasi ngayon, imbis na pupunta ka ng bar at maglasing, mamaya mapaaway ka pa, di ba? Iniisip ko yun." Talk about Mark in the iGMA Forums Text MARK to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! To receive picture messages from him, text GOMMS MARK ON and send to 4627. (Each SMS costs P2.00 for GLOBE, SMART, TM, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers. Each MMS costs P5.00 for all Networks. This service is exclusively available in the Philippines.)