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Growing up in front of the camera, Dingdong Dantes gladly took viewers along for the ride. The Kapuso Primetime King reflects on career, fatherhood, and the next part of his journey.
WORDS: LOU ALBANO | PHOTO & VIDEO: MARK JESALVA | PRODUCTION: JANNIELYN ANN BIGTAS | MAY 2, 2019
HERE IS THE THING about Dingdong Dantes: He always means what he says.
He could come across as a bit too serious, a lot intense, sometimes corny.
He is straightforward and polite. There are things he’d like to keep to himself. He filters questions thoroughly and when he thinks they are not up for discussion, he declines politely.
But you can trust him to be speaking his truth — about career, fatherhood, family, and about his life and purpose. He has a lot to say, the result of contemplated experience, as though Dingdong has been here longer than his 38 years.
On a hot Monday afternoon, he sits across GMA News Online, looking fresh. He has on a brown suit jacket — approved, of course, by wife Marian Rivera and daughter Zia. It is his favorite, he would later say on Instagram. The all-white outfit underneath is its canvass, a proper handkerchief on his left breast pocket, its accent. His hair is coifed perfectly, glistening and sculpted with just enough gel.
Dingdong looks every inch the prized actor that he is. He had just signed on to renew a contract with the network he’s been with for over 20 years. He’s been a Kapuso for over half his life. And he is still every bit inspired.
“I’m in that euphoria level,” Dingdong says, his eyes wide with glee. “Sobrang happy, hindi ako makapaniwala na nangyayari lahat ito, nang sabay-sabay.”
It had been just a few days after the birth of his second child, son Jose Sixto Dantes IV, or Baby Ziggy. “My heart is really full and I’m very grateful,” he says.
The whole family has been adjusting. “We are making a point to make Zia understand this whole new concept of having this new child at home, and that this child is her younger brother, and that she has a very important role to play. Marian is recovering. She’s OK, ‘yun ang mahalaga.”
The Kapuso Primetime Royal Couple introduced their new son on Instagram on Easter Sunday. In his post, Dingdong quoted the writings of St. Ignatius De Loyola and the Gospel of St. Matthew. He reflected on Jesus’ resurrection and the birth of Ziggy, and mentions “his mission in this world.” It’s a lot to take on.
Asked about the post, Dingdong begins by talking about the cannonball moments of St. Ignatius’ life — cathartic events he experienced as a soldier, that rocked him to his core, affirmed his calling, and made him say, “I’m for this vocation.”
“It’s a big explosion in your life that will make you really turn around and reassess yourself, figure out what is really important,” Dingdong says. “Nangyari sa akin ito when Zia was born.”
A lot changed when he became a father — his priorities, the way he valued his health. His pursuits saw a shift, too. “Dati, ang dami ko pang gusto gawin na pansarili, pero ngayon, in line na siya sa bigger plans ng pamilya.”
They don’t happen often for Dingdong, these cannonball moments, but he had another one when the new baby arrived.
“Na-reassure sa ‘kin yung feeling na ito talaga ‘yung kailangan ko gawin. Na-strengthen niya ‘yung pakay ko dito sa mundo. I think we need that, [‘yung] gigisingin ka, isang kalabit.”
AS IMPORTANT AS BEING A FATHER IS to Dingdong these days, it wasn’t something he always aspired to become. It takes him a moment to remember when exactly it came to him, the epiphany that he maybe wanted to become a father.
“I can’t exactly recall,” he says. “Ah, it was the moment Marian and I got married. Naging klaro sa amin that we are here to build a family.”
And what a family it’s turning out to be. He and Marian got married in a lavish ceremony in 2014 and have since, shared with the public the most important occasions in their lives. They’ve been generously taking the public along for the ride.
Dingdong reflected on this during his contract renewal with GMA-7.
“Dito ko nakilala yung asawa ko. Nakilala ko siya, kinasal kami. Dito kami nagkaroon ng panganay at ngayon nagkaroon ng pangalawang anak, so practically lahat ng mga highlights ng buhay ko ay naganap dito sa GMA,” he says.
He got his start in show business more than 20 years ago, while he was still in high school. Dingdong was a member of the Abztract Dancers, an all-male dancer group who became regulars on Eat Bulaga! A few years later, he became a certified teen heartthrob when he joined GMA’s youth-oriented show, TGIS, as Iñaki Torres, the cousin of Bobby Andrews.
It did not take long before he became the lead star on primetime. He has had countless roles, among the most memorable of which are Ybarro/Ybrahim in Encantadia, Sergio in Marimar, Fredo in Dyesebel, Pepe in Alyas Robin Hood, and most recently, as Daniel in Cain at Abel.
What many don’t know was that Dingdong entered the entertainment industry because he needed money to help his family with tuition.
“I was paying for my own education,” he says.“Mahirap ang tuition ng Ateneo, mahal siya so kinailangan ang tulong ng maraming tao para mag-stay at ma-retain ako sa school na ‘yun.”
(Until now, he is amused when he is included in online articles articles listing down “yayamanin” celebrities. “Ba’t andiyan ako?’” he wonders.)
He attended Ateneo De Manila University, where tuition doesn’t come cheap and showbiz wasn’t exactly considered cool. He still recalls the “condescending stuff” thrown his way.
“Buti na lang naging matibay ang sikmura ko dahil meron at meron talaga noon,” he says. “I had to deal with it, not just in high school, but even in college, lalo na nu’ng college.”
In college, he was taking up Interdisciplinary Studies, an irregular student attending classes three times a week. His schedule was already jampacked, taping for shows in GMA. “Wala talaga akong regular set of friends. I was in and out of school, wala akong bench,” he remembers.
He calls those days a necessary test of spirit. “Bakit mo ba ginagawa ito? Because you can easily give up. You can easily say, ‘wag na lang. ‘Wag na lang ako mag-aral. Magpayaman na lang ako at magtrabaho.”
But through his frazzled life, Dingdong was very clear of his ambitions and his reasons for enduring the hustle. “I was very secure of myself and of my motivations and my intentions, that’s why hindi ako nagpaalog.”
His showbiz commitments would end up being too much to juggle with his studies, but Dingdong persevered, finally finishing college from Bacolod’s West Negros University in 2014.
“I wanted to finish my school. And not just my own education but pati yung mga kapatid ko,” he says proudly, again explaining he was simply one of many people who helped fund the studies of his four younger siblings.
THE SAME CLARITY OF VISION, the same sense of purpose, drives Dingdong today, more than 20 years later. He sees all of it as a gift.
“We are privileged na accepted kami sa mga bahay at sa mga buhay ng mga tao, ng mga manonood,” Dingdong says. “Pinapapasok kami sa mga tahanan nila.”
But he is aware that the gift comes with much power and a lot of responsibility. “I don’t take that for granted,” he wags a finger.
“That platform is very powerful in terms of how you influence, and how you deliver values,” Dingdong continues.
“Araw-araw andiyan ka sa loob ng tahanan nila, and we’re talking about millions of lives, millions of families. And it is such a great responsibility for us. Hindi na kami basta-basta pwedeng mag-misrepresent, kahit saan kami magpunta, dala namin ang GMA. We are advocates of the network.”
The words, printed out, sounds almost like a cliché. But again, the thing about Dingdong: he always means what he says.
“Ako, klaro sa akin na dito ako, gagalingan ko ang trabaho ko dito,” he says, the gaze in his eyes growing intense. Dingdong Dantes is a man on a mission.
“This is my calling — showbiz, entertainment — and to do my best in this field is expected of me. That is my commitment.”
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