“Imposibleng magselos si Maja,” he tells one writer who says Maja might get jealous with Anne. “Tuwang-tuwa nga siya na nakapareha ko si Anne for the first time. At pareho naman kami ng trabaho, so she understands perfectly well that this is all just part of our work.”
The current version of “Dyesebel” has obviously made lots of changes in the original material. For one thing, he as Fredo (the original leading man of “Dyesebel”) now figures in a love triangle with a merman named Liro, played by Sam Milby, who is non-existent in previous editions of “Dyesebel”. Also, Dyesebel and the traditional contravida, Betty (first played by 1950’s contravida Carol Varga) are now sisters. Anne as Dyesebel and Andi Eigenmann as Betty have the same mother, Dawn Zulueta.
“Talagang maraming binago para ibagay ang ‘Dyesebel’ ngayon sa bagong generation of viewers,” says Gerald.
And how is it working with Anne for the first time? “Very exciting. Tinanggap ko ito agad dahil I want to get the chance to work with her. Bagong combination naman ito for the viewers and I hope they’ll support us. Anne is very beautiful and sexy. But more than that, she’s very professional sa trabaho kaya masarap kasama. Sa set, tumutulong akong bumuhat sa kanya kapag ililipat siya ng puwesto kasi mabigat yung buntot niya. ABS-CBN is leaving no stone unturned para mapaganda ang show. Abangan nyo yung mga kilig moments namin sa underwater shots. Napakaganda ng pagkakakuha ng underwater crew sa scenes namin shot in Coron in Palawan and Anilao in Batangas.”
Does he feel any rivalry with Sam? Some folks say it’s also a battle between them as hunks who display their six-pack abs in the show. “Both of us consciously work out to stay fit for our scenes na wala kaming shirt, but wala naman kaming personal rivalry. We just want to use this as a chance para makapagbigay ng inspirasyon sa viewers para to stay healthy, fit and look good this summer.”
