From starring as the wandering amnesiac named Pier Roxas in a mobile phone commercial series, Drew Rivera is now gearing up for the MYX VJ Search 2011. In an interview with ABS-CBN.com during the presentation of the twelve aspiring VJ candidates for the MYX music channel, Drew shared that he enjoys running into people who would recognize him from his cellphone TV ad. “I would often meet people who would tell me, ‘You’re Pier Roxas, that guy in the commercial!’ Now I realized, I also love the attention, ha ha ha! I love people actually, being surrounded by different kinds of people.”But the truth is that doing showbiz was not in Drew’s plans. This 23 year-old spent most of his years in Los Angeles with his American mother and Filipino father. But after finishing school with a degree in Philosophy, Drew had no concrete idea on what to do next. So he told his dad that he wants to come to the Philippines and see what opportunities are here for him. “When I first came here eight months ago my dad helped to settle, like finding a place and moving my things. That time I was pressured to find a place, then find a job. As in ‘Oh My God!’”
Drew initially planned to either play professional basketball or become a teacher like his mother. But his friend who was already working as a model here in the Philippines asked him to tag along. “He introduced me to his agent. The agent asked me if I’m willing to have my photos taken. Since at that time I don’t have a job and I’ve got nothing else to do so I just said yes. I’ve never done a pictorial in my life so I felt excited about it.
“The agent sent those photos, most of them were goofy shots, ha ha ha! and Nokia saw my photos and they called me for a VTR. I couldn’t believe that someone wants me for a VTR, ha ha ha!”
Drew shared that he learned a lot doing his very first commercial shoot directed by Paul Soriano, known to many as the boyfriend of Toni Gonzaga. Drew said, “Direk Paul Soriano was a great guy. He told me, ‘Drew. I need you to pretend that you are really lost. You don’t know where you are and you don’t know where you’re going.’ It was a fun experience. I learned so much, primarily about myself and what I can do.”
The good-looking Fil-American admitted that he is still trying to learn to speak Tagalog, with the help of his class in U.P. Manila, and that he doesn’t know much about Philippine showbiz and music. But he said that that can also work to his advantage in winning the MYX VJ Search. “I consider myself as the new guy. I confess I don’t know Pinoy music that much but now I’m starting to explore it. A couple of nights ago I watched Rivermaya perform live. Great band! I will say that I’m the new ear. Some will say that that’s a disadvantage but for me that’s a good thing because I have a fresh take on many things. But I promise that I’m now beginning to do my homework which is learn many Pinoy stuff.”
Speaking of Pinoy stuff, Drew admitted that he got hooked on the ABS-CBN teleserye Magkaribal. “It’s the best show in the world! To be honest I don’t understand the dialogue. All I get is that everyone’s fighting, everyone’s sleeping with one another, someone wants to kill someone, then there’s the scary background music. So much like Days of our Lives! Ha ha ha! I love that show!”
Drew then shared what happened the previous week when he shot a commercial with Kim Chiu. “My agent told me that I’ll be doing a commercial. I went to the shoot and everyone’s saying, ‘Kim Chiu will be here.’ I said, ‘Great!... Who is she?’ It was so funny.” Drew has yet to familiarize himself Pinoy celebrities.
“I think not knowing any celebrities helps me. I just act nice to everyone without knowing who is more famous than who. I don’t get star struck, well not yet. I’m just relaxed, try to focus on my job and don’t get nervous because I know I will be working with a very big star.”
Source: www.abs-cbn.com
