S.T.A.I.D. 1 (COMPLETE) - Published under PHR

Kiko Matos as Luke

DISCLAIMER: This is just my take on Kiko Matos as Luke Marasigan in the shortfilm adaptation of STAID entitled Unconventional. 😊

So, I've been doing some online research aka stalking on Kiko Matos. And somehow I'm finding it hard to reconcile that the foul-mouthed Kiko portrayed in the media and the approachable and down-to-earth guy that I met on the shoot was one and the same. Maybe that's just how it is in the showbiz industry. I don't know. I'm just glad that someone as talented as him will be the one to portray one of my favorite characters in my novel.

Anyway, before anything else, I'd like to say that the TV screen doesn't do him justice. Seriously, when he walked in the room, you could immediately feel his presence. May ganun talagang tao eh. Alam mo yung kahit wala siyang gawin, the moment that he steps inside a place, he has that certain aura that you just have to stop whatever it is you're doing because you simply gotta give this guy some attention?

Isa sa mga paborito kong hobby ang "people watching." I'm an observer. I can literally just sit in a corner and absorb everything that's happening around me. So when I visited the shoot, I was on my extreme observer mode. Hahaha! I didn't take a lot of pictures because I didn't want to distract anyone from their tasks. Ayoko ding maging source pa ng delays. So I just sat there observing every one, then suddenly here comes this guy. He didn't just walk in. He strode.

Alam niyo yung klase ng description sa mga novels na ginagamit para madama mo talaga yung impact ng eksena? Ito yun. Strode talaga ang nababagay na salita at hindi walk. Yung tipong paglalakad with purpose.

So this guy literally strode in the room. I don't think I've ever seen someone really do that. I mean, lagi ko yan nababasa sa mga romance novels. Pero ngayon ko lang talaga yan na-witness in real life. And that was it for me. All my doubts about Kiko Matos portraying Luke Marasigan literally went out the window. Pero hindi pa yun ang best part. So he strode inside na nga. At ako, nakatulala probably nakanganga (LOL! Maybe, maybe not, I don't know), pinanood ko lang yung pagpasok niya at paglapit sa isang upuan. He probably sensed my uber stalker-ish stare. Kaya siguro siya nag-angat ng tingin at tumingin din sa akin. Then he smiled. He smiled at me! Then all the angels sang Hallelujah in my head. LOL! I was just exaggerating. Pero seriously, ngumiti siya na hindi tulad nung tipid at polite na smile na binibigay ng ibang mga artista. I don't know if I can put into words how open, kind, and charming his smile was. And I was completely sold. Biglang tapos na ang boksing. I was hook, line, and sinker sold.

Before that moment, I had no idea that Kiko Matos was hiding a really charming persona beneath all that bad boy vibe. I don't know if his tough-guy image would appreciate me saying this. But he's a really charming guy. I decided that he's probably really just so good at portraying the bad guy. That's why it manifests even outside the roles.

I was serious when I said I couldn't form a single coherent thought that day/night. Paano pa yung pagbuo ng coherent sentence? Eh di lalo na ang pagstart ng matinong conversation! Ni hindi ko nagawang makipag-usap ng maayos sa kahit sino sa kanila. Hindi lang siguro obvious dahil masyado akong tahimik sa shoot. All my freak-out moments were contained internally. There was just one time na nahampas ko yata ang producer. Hindi ko na kasi talaga kinaya. In my mind, I was rolling on the floor with so much excitement. Kapag may nagtatanong sa akin kung ano ang feeling, ang sagot ko ay "nakakaiyak!" Nakakaiyak talaga!

As I was saying, I'm really excited to see him as Luke Marasigan. Iba yung angas niya eh. There's just this rough and rugged edge about him that we, novelists, love to write about. Pakiramdam ko lumabas siya sa pocketbook. Alam niyo yung palaging hero sa romance novel na klase ng bad boy na gustong i-tame ng heroine? Siya yun. Siyang-siya yun. You know that hero with a tough exterior that the heroine just couldn't resist. Siya talaga yun eh. Hindi ko alam kung ilang beses ko pang uulit-ulitin yan. I'll probably say it a million more times before I can make myself stop.

Basta sana abangan nating lahat ang Unconventional.