Jak Roberto & Sister Sanya Lopez Both Have Primetime Hits, 'Meant To Be' & 'Encantadia', After Many Years Of Struggling In 'Walang Tulugan'

JAK ROBERTO used to be just one of those numerous showbiz wannabes who hang out in the late Kuya Germs’ “Walang Tulugan”. Now, he finally gets to be one of the leads in “Meant to Be” and he also appears regularly in “Dear Uge” as the love interest of comedian Divine Aucina and in “Sunday Pinasaya”.

“Sobrang saya nga po na nagbunga na ang five years ng pagi-struggle ko,” he says. “Swerte ngang may hit show ako sa primetime, meron ding hit show ang sister kong si Sanya Lopez in ‘Encantadia’ kaya tuwang-tuwa talaga ang family namin dahil malapit nang matupad ang dream namin to have our own house.”

In “Meant to Be”, he plays Andoy, the shy one compared to his colleagues Ken Chan, Addy Raj and Ivan Dorschner. “I can relate to my character kasi in real life, mahiyain din po talaga ako, pero hindi naman torpe.

So what’s his edge over the three other guys in the show? “I don’t compete naman with them. Kung ano lang yung isulat ng writers about Andoy, I just grab it and do my best. Unang-una, ako yung Pinoy sa amin, at yung pagiging shy ko, mukhang minamahal naman ng viewers kasi maraming nakaka-relate. At saka, may back up po ako rito, si Tita Gloria Romero who plays my supportive Lola Madj. In this week, matutuklasan ni Barbie Forteza na may girlfriend na pala si Ivan, si Ara San Agustin to whom nahuhulog na ang loob niya. Dahil dito, she’ll turn to me as a shoulder to cry on at magkakalapit kami.”

Can he feel that “Meant to Be” had a positive effect on his career? “Ay, opo. Sobra, kasi nasa primetime pa kami. When we do mall shows, grabe ang reception ng tao sa amin. Di namin talaga ine-expect na magiging this big a hit ang show.”

How come there’s a rumor that he and Bianca Umali became on recently? “Not true. Naging close friends kami, special friends, kasi lagi kaming nagkakasama sa workshops ng GMA Artist Center. Pero hindi lang kami but a circle of friends sa workshop. Tropa po kami. Barkada.”