His colleague at Viva Entertainment, James Reid, is now a certified star, a heartthrob many women (young and not-so-young) admire (or desire, I guess).
Andre Paras who co-starred with Reid and his now perennial leading star in both the movies and television, Nadine Lustre, in the breakout hit Diary ng Panget. Paras played second lead with another Viva talent, Yassi Pressman.
It seems, the former basketball varsity star has found his place at GMA Network, playing initially support role on daytime TV (The Half Sisters) and later a leading role in That’s My Amboy on primetime.
He is now seen occasionally in Encantadia as Wahid, which he hopes would be given extra length in terms of exposure.
But, last Sunday, the towering son (he stands six feet and five inches bafefoot) of former basketball star and now comedian Benji Paras is the featured player in the quadri-epsode of the Sunday rom-com Usapang Real Love in the episode titled “Perfect Fit.” This time, the Kapuso network has thrown in for him a new leading lady in the person of newbie (also featured in Encantadia as Mira, daughter of Amihan) Mikee Quintos.
with its director Jorron Monroy (center)
The episode replaced “Dream Date” that featured Miguel Tanfelix and his perennial onscreen partner Bianca Umali.
“Perfect Fit” is a modern day Cinderella romance about Ella (Quintos), a cellphone repair girl in a tiangge whose only goal is to take care of her father. Her life will take a sudden change when she meets Cindy, a fine lady who looks a lot like her and will ask her to fix her phone.
While doing so, Ella discovers the dating app that Cindy uses and sees Eugene (Paras), an account executive in a shoe company. Curious to see him, Ella dresses up and pretends to be Cindy for a night.
What started as a harmless lie turns into a complicated charade as Ella and Eugene begin to develop feelings for each of them. What will happen when Eugene finally realizes that Ella is not Cindy? Will there be a happy ever after for Ella? Can Eugene and Ella be the perfect fit for each other?
Joining Paras and Quintos in this episode are Jay Arcilla, Arra San Agustin, Bern Josep Persia, William Lorenzo and Mickey Ferriols.
Under the helm of Joron Monroy, the fairy tale-like love story of Ella and Eugene in Usapang Real Love airs every Sunday after GMA Blockbusters.
★★★★★
GMA Network’s anti-cyberbullying campaign #HeartOverHate gained recognition from the first ever BlogEx Manila Awards mounted by the Tag Media Public Relations and Brand Philosophy Inc.
The Blog Ex Awards recognizes “social media achievements through blogging” and serves as “a digital outreach platform that connects blogs with brands.”
The campaign, launched by the Network’s Program Support Department in August, won two major awards including, Social Movement of the Year and Most Innovative Digital Marketer in the Corporate Category.
Through various formats including a website, articles, videos, and even on-ground events, it aims to spread positivity by creating a social media landscape founded on the values of kindness, responsibility, and encouragement.
Among the Kapuso celebrities who have participated in the #HeartOverHate campaign are (in order of appearance) Marian Rivera-Dantes, Bea Binene, Ken Chan, Miguel Tanfelix, Bianca Umali, Kris Bernal, Kylie Padilla, Ruru Madrid, Louise Delos Reyes, Phytos Ramirez, Mikee Quintos, Andre Paras, Derrick Monasterio, Martin Del Rosario, Ashley Ortega, Andrea Torres, Julie Anne San Jose, Glaiza de Castro, and Alden Richards.
Ken Chan also delivered an inspirational talk about the campaign at the 12th Philippine Blogging Summit held recently at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
With the month of the October being anti-bullying month, GMA produced new videos to inspire more netizens to put an end to cyberbullying. Next month, GMA will partner with Medical City in line with the latter’s “Teen Congress 2016: Stop Bullying in all its forms” project.
