This is a January 2006 article but it is a good reading...


FROM: MANILA STANDARD TODAY

Is TJ the next teleserye prince

By Deni Rose M. Afinidad
As Jericho Rosales and Richard Gutierrez kindle the magic of fantaseryes, a new prince charming from tinsel town is vying to revive the Filipinos’ delight for melodrama.

He is TJ Trinidad, a leading man on the rise as he was given another boost in his three-year-old showbiz career—becoming the love interest of soap opera princess Kristine Hermosa in the remake of the historical teleserye Gulong ng Palad.

“Acting is my no. 1 priority. It’s a passion of mine,” said TJ who plays Carding, a spoiled rich kid and mama’s boy who fell in love with Kristine’s character, Luisa.

“But the role I play in the soap is very far from who I am in reality,” he pointed out.

TJ, or Raul in real life, got his doses in acting from the TV commercials he did since he was 10. San Miguel Beer, Head & Shoulders, Nescafé, Swatch, and PLDT are just some of the products he endorsed.

Coincidentally, becoming a staple in boob-tube advertisements is one of the things he shares with a long-time crush—the queen of commercials herself—Sharon Cuneta.

“When I was a kid, I used to believe that I was the Megastar’s Mr. DJ,” he confessed, further saying that working with the 1998 Box Office Queen and Grand Slam Best Actress is one of his much-awaited fancies.

From minute TV appearances, TJ’s craving for more acting stints started to steer. His training grounds were the amateur theater performances he made to raise funds for a parish in Alabang.

During his college years, this football and tennis aficionado concentrated on being the frontman of his band Mofo, alongside earning his B.S. Commerce Major in Marketing degree from De La Salle University.

Like any young bachelor, TJ practiced a corporate career after college, but after the three companies in which he worked were padlocked, the half-Norwegian, half-Spanish heartthrob decided to track down his childhood calling.

Through the help of family friend Edu Manzano, TJ was introduced into showbiz via June Rufino, his present manager.

“I never planned anything. As long as I’m acting, I’m happy,” TJ told his fans in an online forum. “I let my manager do the planning for me. I never compromise my principles for the sake of popularity or advancing my career.”

For his talent and sincerity, TJ impressed director Jerry Sineneng and another co-director, making him win a spot in Judy Ann Santos’ heart as John Paul in the defunct action-drama series, Basta’t Kasama Kita.

As he put it: “Any actor of any caliber would count himself lucky to even be mentioned in the same breath as Judy Ann.”

Nevertheless, TJ’s fortune as the on-screen lover of one of this generation’s premier actresses multiplied two-fold. In Gulong ng Palad, He was not only matched with another actress of the likes of Judy Ann. This time, he handles the lead role.

“I can’t name the difference between Juday and Tin. They’re both hardworking and talented. They have different ways of approaching acting. Both are also fun to work with and are good kissers,” he told in an interview.

Since he only met Kristine through an audition for the soap, TJ, as of press time, does not feel that he could be Tin’s real-life darling, just like what happened in the previous lovebirds who graced the foremost Gulong sequels.

“I will not court a girl who’s already committed,” he firmly said. “Tin and I are only friends, for now.”

He, however, did not discount the fact that he enjoyed doing the honeymoon scene with his leading lady, together with his first crying scene, which he surprisingly got during the first take.

“My whole experience in making the drama series is memorable,” he melodiously said. “Every scene and take is a new learning experience for me.”

Andrea del Rosario, who plays the thorn between lovers Luisa and Carding, reckons her working (and smooching) experience with TJ and another co-star, Rico Barrera. “TJ kisses better than Rico,” she said, proudly stating that she christened Rico’s lips. “Maybe it’s because TJ is more veteran than the other.”

Indeed, TJ and the cast were able to reawaken the nostalgia of the old Gulong ng Palad, according to Loida Virginia, original writer of the series.

“The actors of the Gulong ng Palad today have equaled the performance of the past actors of the first version,” she declared.

Could this success signal TJ’s turn to trudge the path toward becoming an in-demand leading man?

As of the moment, TJ still feels that he has not fitted yet in Piolo Pascual’s or Jericho Rosales’ shoes.

“I want to be like Piolo and Jericho in terms of talent, not popularity,” he stressed.

Like his idols, TJ would also want to be in a tandem with young, celebrated actresses like Bea Alonzo, Claudine Barretto, and Heart Evangelista. Nonetheless, he believed that “hard work and dedication are the keys to success and not whom you’re paired up with.”

For TJ, who pledged loyalty to the Kapamilya camp, Gulong is just one of the many opportunities that he is excited to get his hands on. But for ABS-CBN, which is again wooing its audience to go back to their melodrama grassroots, TJ is a face of hope.

thanks for the article, Lyn! It is worth supporting TJ!!! No wonder he has a lot of "followings" from all walks of life!

Katz- too bad abs did not strike again while the iron was hot soon after gnp. but there's always a reason for everything. yeah, i was going through this interview and this gwaps have substance.