Joshua and Barbie, Rising Stars

They've made your hearts melt bilang mga batang version nina Cholo at Jodi sa "Stairway to Heaven." Kilalanin sina Joshua Dionisio at Barbie Forteza in this exclusive iGMA interview. Text by Jason John S. Lim. Photos provided by GMA Network. Both Joshua Dionisio and Barbie Forteza describe their lives prior to Stairway to Heaven as something simple. "Simple student" nga ang tawag ni Joshua sa sarili niya, prior to their breakout performance sa show. But neither one are entirely newbies sa mundo ng showbiz. Joshua has been acting since he was six. In fact, may dalawa na siyang acting awards! And Barbie has been auditioning for roles since the days of MariMar. Hindi man agad sumikat, the two are both proving na hindi kailangan maging overnight sensation para lang mapansin. "Una, parang katuwaan lang." Yan ang initial reason ni Joshua for joining showbiz. Pero habang tumatagal daw siya, and after getting projects from other networks, nagustuhan rin daw niya ang industriya and calls his work as an "adventure." Para kay Barbie naman, sinabi niya sa amin with all honesty na "Gusto ko po maging sikat." They are now reaping the rewards of their hard work dahil nakilala sila sa pagganap nila bilang batang Cholo at batang Jodi sa Stairway to Heaven. They will also have their own Dear Friend story this December, and their own early primetime series in January 2010! Kamusta naman ang relationship nilang dalawa? Barbie tells us, "Ayos naman po, mas naging close." Common factor: riding a bike Joshua and Barbie actually have one thing in common na hindi alam ng karamihan: ang kanilang first acting gigs with bicycles. Joshua tells us na isa sa mga most memorable moments niya sa showbiz ay ang kinailangan niyang matutong mag-bike in less than an hour. "Bata pa ako [noon], mga 10 years old ako." Tuloy ni Joshua, "nasa Baguio kami, tapos kailangan kong matutong mag-bike sa damuhan na puro lubak-lubak." As for Barbie, she was asked to do the same thing while shooting Stairway to Heaven! Yun nga lang, in the end, hindi rin siya nag-bike doon. "Hindi po ako marunong mag-bike. Hindi ko mapa-stand, hindi ko mahila," kuwento ni Barbie sa amin. For Stairway to Heaven nga daw ay dapat tag-isang bike sila ni Joshua sa eksena nila. "E hindi po ako marunong, kaya umangkas na lang ako." Sa kanilang Dear Friend special, wala nang takas si Barbie sa pagsakay ng bike. "E walang kekeme-keme dapat dito," sabi sa amin ni Barbie. Though, nang kunin namin ang profile niya para sa iGMA.tv, nilista niya ang pagsakay ng bikes as one of her fears! After ng kanilang guest-starring roles sa Stairway to Heaven, mapapanood na sina Joshua at Barbie sa special Christmas presentation ng Dear Friend the whole of this December, tuwing Sunday, pagkatapos ng SOP Fully Charged. And early next year, mapapanood niyo na rin sila araw-araw sa kanilang sariling early primetime show na papalit sa Ikaw Sana. Pag-usapan sina Joshua at Barbie sa pinagandang iGMA Forum! Not yet a member? Register here!