Manuel Chua reveals his mother is his number one fan Author: Napoleon Quintos Manuel Chua continues to enjoy his celebrity status brought about by his successful stint as a Participante in Pinoy Fear Factor: Argentina, South America. Despite losing in the reality stunt show, Manuel won the hearts of Kapamilyas and he has been tapped to star as one of the leading men in Precious Hearts Romances presents Bud Brothers. ABS-CBN.com interviewed Manuel on the set of Bud Brothers where he revealed how he enjoyed taping with the other stars of the show. "Masaya kapag shooting lalo na kapag buo kaming Bud Brothers. Kulitan lang kaming lahat. Bonded talaga kami. 'Yung friendship naming lahat ang pinakatine-treasure ko dito. Dahil sa samahan namin nagiging madali 'yung trabaho. Nung simula tahimik lang ako kasi syempre nahihiya pa ako dahil ako 'yung baguhan. Pero nung tumagal naging okay naman kasi friendly naman sina Jake Cuenca, si John Prats. Hindi ka naman nila ia-out of place. Mabait silang lahat. Close talaga kaming lahat pero bihira naming makasama si Rafael Rosell kasi laging sa hiwalay na unit siya." The cast of the afternoon teleserye was recently changed, and instead of being partnered with fellow Participante Janna Dominguez, Manuel's leading lady will be the sexy Wowowee host Valerie Concepcion. He admitted that at first he was sad that he won't get to work with his close friend Janna, but eventually though, he was excited to be working with Valerie after they did a workshop together. "Nakapag-workshop na kami ni Valerie. Sa tingin ko siya 'yung aalalay sa akin (laughs). Kasi ako 'yung mahiyain, madalas nilang napapansin kapag nagshu-shoot na. Ang dami ko pa talagang dapat i-improve. Lagi kong binabasa 'yung script at nagpa-practice ako kasi syempre ayoko namang maging problema kapag nasa shoot na." Manuel told ABS-CBN.com that he was feeling nervous about his upcoming kissing scene and love scene with Valerie. But with the help of their top notch directors in Bud Brothers, Manuel believes he can pull the scene through. "Hindi ko nga alam kung may kissing scene o love scene ako dito, mukhang wala (laughs). Pero hindi ko naman iniisip masyado. May tiwala naman ako sa mga direktor namin na aalalayan nila kami kapag nandun na sa eksena na 'yun. Magagaling lahat ng direktor namin. Nakakatuwa kasi dito lang sa Bud Brothers iba't ibang direktor na 'yung nakatrabaho ko. Sina Direk Jerry Sineneng, Cathy Garcia Molina, Don Cuaresma, Erik Reyes. Bongga, sabi nga nila (laughs)." Being an actor was never the main goal of Manuel when he joined PFF. All that this appliance store owner from Cabanatuan wanted was to play and take home the grand prize for his daughter. Manuel then shared that ever since he was a child, his mother would tell him that he will become a star, an idea that Manuel thought was impossible. "Nanay ko talaga ang may gusto na mag-artista ako. Pinasok niya ko sa modeling school kasi nga gusto niya akong mag-model e hindi naman ako nakukuha kasi kulang ako sa height (laughs). Kaya masayang masaya siya nung nakasali ako sa Fear Factor. Kapag napapanood niya ako sinasabi niya magiging artista ako pero hindi naman talaga nagsi-sink in sa utak ko. Hindi naman talaga sa ayaw ko pero naisip ko lang na malabong mabigyan ako ng chance. Ngayon tuwang tuwa siya. Minsan tumatawag siya sa akin nakikibalita kung ano na ginagawa ko o kung kamusta na ako." Aside from Bud Brothers, Manuel will soon begin taping for George & Cecil where he will play a close friend to Judy Ann Santos. He will also have a cameo appearance in And I Love You So, the upcoming movie of Bea Alonzo and Sam Milby. Manuel told ABS-CBN.com that he feels very blessed to be given all these projects, and so as not to disappoint his fans and the management, he is doing his best to improve his skills and learn more. "Kapag napapagod ako minsan ramdam ko na na artista na ako (laughs). Pero enjoy naman lalo na 'yung mga positive feedbacks. Sa mga negative naman dun ako natututo, mas napapagbuti ko 'yung acting ko. Sinusubukan ko din makipag-usap sa mga katrabaho ko para may matutunan din ako sa kanila. Kahit anong project okay ako, basta may trabaho. Sabi ko nga sa handler ko kahit anong trabaho ibigay nila sa akin para malaman ko kung saan ako pwedeng mag-excel. Ngayon nakakapag-adjust na ako sa schedule at sa iba't ibang taong nakakatrabaho ko. Learning process ito para sa akin at alam kong marami pa akong dapat matutunan. Sa aming Bud Brothers ako lang talaga ang walang acting experience. Pero sinusubukan ko talagang maging loose at natural sa harap ng camera." Source: ABS-CBN Interactive | 
