I read an online article recently that had Sharon Cuneta griping about how some stars of today’s generation no longer even bother to say hello to the senior members of the entertainment profession. According to Sharon, there was a time when a newbie just went past her at the ABS-CBN corridor — “like I was just part of the wall.”
I am not sure if that post is old or new, but the Megastar’s sentiment will always stay relevant. And I do understand where Ms. Cuneta was coming from. When she was still doing The Sharon Cuneta Show at ABS-CBN, she was courteous to everyone — starting with the legendary security guards of the network. I say “legendary” because they were so overzealous about carrying out their duties that they required even the trio of Tito, Vic & Joey to wear IDs before letting them inside the ABS-CBN compound. TVJ got even by sporting their IDs even on-air in Eat Bulaga! as a sign of protest — to the amusement of the viewers.
Kindness, even when undeserved
Looking back, those guards were hopelessly ill-mannered and badly trained. But Sharon still gave them a warm smile every time she entered the ABS-CBN gate. Never mind if those guards were always this close to requiring her to wear her ID — and asking her what business she had in the studio. Sentries will always be sentries. Lucky for Sharon, the head of her entourage always arranged for her smooth entry into the network vicinity.
When safely tucked inside the studio premises, Sharon always said hi to everyone who passed by. No, she didn’t exactly go around shaking hands with every single person. But she made sure she acknowledged everyone around her.
Sharon had paid her dues. She would get up from her seat — no matter how busy she was — to greet the late Gloria Romero, who would also be in ABS-CBN every week to shoot for Palibhasa Lalake.
And now that Sharon is herself a senior member of the entertainment industry, she should also be given the same respect she extended to those who came before her in the profession. But she doesn’t seem to be getting that from today’s young set of stars.
I’d like to think that I was among the first to raise that issue — about young actors not acknowledging the presence of older co-workers. I frequently wrote about that when I still maintained a column for another paper.
A few years ago, I noticed Cherry Pie Picache and Carmina Villaroel also voicing the same concern. They complained about sharing dressing rooms during shoots with newbies who do not even bother to speak to them — with those young people forever glued to their phones.
TV networks have their respective in-house talent agencies. It is therefore baffling why there are a lot of ill-bred talents in the entertainment sector today.
Personal encounter
Oh, I have a lot of horror stories to share with you about young actors who don’t respect those older than them. One is even a co-parishioner, and we used to hear the Saturday anticipated Mass in our church. We didn’t sit in the pews and preferred to stand by the church door, where it was breezier.
For some reason, we always found ourselves standing side by side with each other — every Saturday. You know how it is in church. Even if you don’t put your name on a particular seat, other churchgoers are already aware where your spot is.
Saturday after Saturday, this young actor and I would stand next to each other by the church door — without acknowledging each other’s presence. Was I going to say hello first? No, I said to myself. I am the senior one — ahead of him by at least 20 years. Like Sharon, I had already paid my dues in my youth.
Perhaps he didn’t recognize me from TV and — truthfully — I never expected that of anyone. But then, he should still be the first to say hello since I am obviously the older one. Clearly, he was raised badly by his parents, and so there was never an attempt on his part to greet this old man, who should already be familiar to him since we stood side by side every Saturday in church.
The situation between us had become so awkward that, to avoid looking in his direction, I would always gaze downward. He often wore open sandals to church. The first time I saw his feet, I had to suppress a chuckle: his toes were shaped like unshelled peanuts!
Snubbed in public
One time, after Mass, he was spotted by a group of choir members. Since he is still young, he still belongs to the category of matinee idols. The choir members asked to have a groupie with him as he approached their direction. Without even acknowledging their presence, he dashed off toward his car. There was collective disappointment among the choir members. That photo-op would not have taken three minutes.
When the choir members saw me walking toward them, they asked me if I would be willing to have a picture taken with them. Of course, I obliged. But I couldn’t resist telling them: “Ayaw nung isa, kaya pinagtiyatiyagaan n’yo na lang ako! (The other one refused, so you’re making do with me!) We all had a good laugh over that one.
Bad behavior
The story of the matinee idol with peanut-like toes did not end there. During the 2024 FAMAS — the Eva Darren edition (you should still remember that controversy) — the same snobbish celebrity came over to our table with an actor-friend with equally bad manners. They hopped over to our table to rowdily exchange banter with their common friend, a respected actor who was embarrassed by their behavior.
How should they have behaved in a situation like that? They should have greeted their friend first. But — and this is the tricky part — they should have paused for a while to say good evening to everyone at the table before going back to exchanging pleasantries with their friend.
But no. The two young actors were disruptive. They were carousing with each other — with no sense of others. For several minutes, they intruded into the space of Eddie Gutierrez, who was peacefully having dinner. They totally ignored the seasoned actor, as if he were not there.
After the rowdy duo left, Eddie Gutierrez turned to us to ask: “Who are those people?” Gutierrez has always been a gentleman of the first order and kept his feelings to himself. But I saw the disappointment on his face. Those two should have given Gutierrez some respect as a pillar of the industry. Never mind the rest of us at the table. No one among us could ever reach the iconic level of an Eddie Gutierrez.
I quickly sensed that Annabelle Rama was hurt for her husband. The truth is — everyone at our table was hurt for him. Eddie Gutierrez deserved better treatment from those young actors. That must have felt like a slap to both Annabelle and Eddie, since they raised courteous children.
It is a pity that those two young actors were not taught manners growing up. Both of them are extremely talented. But climbing the showbiz ladder of success requires more than talent. On-cam work is a group effort. Everyone should respect one another.
I am not surprised anymore that, in spite of the fact that the actor with peanut-like toes is brimming with talent, he never really made it as an A-lister in local show business. Perhaps he could have been more popular, except that he has a bad attitude. Word gets around fast in showbiz circles.
During casting, members of the production staff also consider attitude. They would rather get somebody more pleasant to work with — and more respectful toward others.
Cautionary tale
As for the other actor with equally bad breeding, everyone in showbiz thought he was going to be the next big thing after his breakthrough performance in a prestigious film in 2024. In fact, he won Best Actor for that movie.
During his acceptance speech, he played the humility card. He said that he was just some unknown actor and humbly introduced himself to the crowd. Everyone bought the act.
But exactly four months later — at the wake of the genius playwright/director Floy Quintos — he was anything but humble. That single acting trophy brought out his real character. At the Arlington funeral chapel, where friends of Quintos gathered to pay their final respects to the Palanca Hall of Fame winner, there was the actor holding court — calling attention to himself.
He ignored theater stalwarts who walked past him. To think, he was a stage actor before that big break in the movies — so he should be familiar with the theater greats.
One of the major TV networks is bent on building him up, even if he is no longer a spring chicken. But with an attitude like that, here’s wishing him and his mother network the best of luck.
All things considered, he can still make it big — thanks to his talent. When it comes to looks, hmm, he can still work on his personality and charm — but double-time — since he is not the matinee idol type. Let’s just say he resembles the late George Estregan, but minus the movie star aura.