‘Starstruck’ winner Mike Tan gets biggest break
Almost seven years after winning the season second of GMA-7's reality talent search “Starstruck,” Mike Tan finally got what he considers his biggest break—a lead role in the network's upcoming afternoon soap opera, “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit.”
Although he is a regular presence in Kapuso shows (he was part of the primetime show “Captain Barbell” earlier this year), this is the first time Mike was assigned a lead role.
“Sa sarili ko, kinakabahan din ako dahil first time ko syang gagawin. Pero sinasabi ko rin na trabaho lang din naman ito,” Mike told the entertainment media during the press conference of “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit” yesterday, September 13.
He also said, “Sa totoo lang, syempre, pressured ako, kasi ngayon ko pa lang mararanasan yung ganito. Iisipin mo lahat. Isang buong breakdown, andun ka lahat. Tapos may tatlo kang monologue sa isang araw na umiiyak ka. Sobrang hirap. Tapos kailangan maprove mo yung sarili mo na hindi ka lang ito. Kailangan lagi kang... kada labas mo, laging may bago.”
Second choice
According to Mike, he thought the role in the soap opera will just be like the other projects usually offered to him. However, he became emotional when he realized the magnitude of this particular job.
“Nung sinabi po sa akin (yung show), nung una, okay lang sya. Parang sanay na po na masabihan ka, okay may trabaho, tignan natin kung ano mangyayari, kung matutuloy o hindi,” Mike shared. “Pero
nung kinausap na ako ng mga boss, nung kinabukasan, dun na nag-sink in sa akin ang lahat, na ito na pala talaga, magsisimula na ako na totoo na pala, leading man na pala. Tapos kinaumagahan, habang nagdarasal, hindi ko napigilan, bigla akong umiyak.”
Asked why he cried, Mike explained: “Sa lahat ng paghihirap siguro, tapos ito na pala.”
Paulo Avelino, who left the Kapuso network for ABS-CBN, was supposed to play Mike's role in “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit.” Did Mike feel as if he wouldn't attain leading man status if Paulo didn't leave the station?
“Hindi ko sya makitang ganun kasi, para sa akin, empleyado lang po ako dito. Kung ano man yung ibigay sa akin, tinatanggap ko po. E nagkataon na may isang umalis at sa akin po naibigay yung role, tatanggapin ko po at masaya po ako dun,” the actor explained.
Mike added that the network's big bosses explained to him that he didn't get the role because Paulo left.
Loyalty
But did it ever come to a point where Mike considered leaving GMA? The 24-year-old actor said he wanted to stick it out with the network that made him an actor.
“May mga offers (from other networks) pero sabi ko, siguro, magpapakaloyal ako. Magstistick ako sa station na nagbigay sa akin ng pangalan,” he said. “Ngayon naman, ito na, nakikita na natin. Kapag loyal ka talaga, magbubunga at magbubunga siya.”
Now, Mike said he's ready to be a leading man. In “Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit,” he plays opposite Carla Abellana and Michelle Madrigal.
“Marami na rin naman akong pinagdaanan kaya tingin ko kung ano man ang ipagawa sa akin, gawa na ako,” he said. Apart from his GMA-7 shows, Mike has also done a bit of theater acting, the latest being Dulaang UP's “Titus Andronicus.”
“Sa akin naman po, kung ano yung ginagawa ko noon, yun pa rin yung ginagawa ko ngayon pagdating po sa pagtatrabaho ko. Kung gaano ako kaseryoso noon, ganun din po ako kaseryoso ngayon. Hindi ko po minamadali lahat. Para sa akin, kung ano yung binigay sa akin, kailangang tapusin ko, kailangang paghandaan ko, at kailangang maipakita ko kung ano yung hinihingi ng script. Hindi yung maiarte mo lang,” Mike explained.
“Kung Aagawin Mo ang Langit” premieres this Monday, September 19, on GMA's Dramarama sa Hapon.
