“She’s very happy for me that after I did our movie with her, ‘Edsa Woolworth’, I now get the chance to work on local TV,” he says.
What are Pokwang’s qualities that endear her to him? “She’s an amazing person. She also has incredible sense of humor, on and off cam, and I like a woman who can make me laugh. She also has a big heart for people. She treats me like a king. I like that she is driven and works so hard. We can identify with each other. And of course, I like her cooking. I really like Filipino food, including balut, dinuguan and talangka.”
What’s the reaction of his family and friends to his interracial romance with Pokwang? “I had interracial romance when I was in Latin America and my friends thought it was weird. But I also have many Filipino friends in the U.S. and they’re happy for me as they know how big a celebrity Pokwang is.”
Pokwang just had a miscarriage. How did they take it? “It’s hard to take losing our first child. Having a baby is something we want but there are things we are not in control of. Setbacks really happen in life, so we’re just we’re trying to move on. She’s a very strong woman and it made our relationship stronger. It went up to another level.”
Are they considering facing the altar together? “We’ve talked about it as a possibility, but we’re not rushing into that. We’re just enjoying being with each other right now.” He’s just happy to be given the chance to work here. How is it working with Tuesday in “Kano Luvs Pinay “I like her commitment to the craft. She comes on the set prepared and treats everyone with respect. She gets her job well done and sets a good example to the rest of the cast and staff. She’s also very helpful to me.”
In the show, Lee plays Matthew Adams, an American who meets Tuesday as Cookie via an online dating site called kanoluvspinay.com. It’s directed by Randolph Longjas who also helmed the original movie on which the sitcom is based, “Ang Turkey Man ay Pabo Rin”. Matthew comes to Manila and they meet in person. Soon, they’re encountering different cultural differences that lead to conflict, like extended families, immigration laws and even singing on karaoke. Since he’s really involved in an interracial romance in real life, Lee can truly relate with his role.
“I haven’t seen a show on Philippine TV that has crossed cultural borders this way,” he adds. “So I’m really excited to see the reaction of viewers both here and abroad, especially of couples of are themselves in an interracial marriage. The situations we portray maybe very funny but they will also give a lot of good insights about having a different kind of significant other.”
“Kano Luvs Pinay” starts airing this Saturday, 9 PM, to strengthen further TV5’s weekend programming since it will follow the toprating “LolaBasyang.Com” and “ParangNormal Activity”.
