In celebration of his birthday last July 19, Diether Ocampo
met with the press to talk about his current ABS-CBN show, Only You,
where he acts opposite Angel Locsin and Sam Milby.
He describes his character, Jonathan, by saying, "Yung si Jonathan kasi ‘pag
pinoportray ko siya, genuine yung puso niya. So, ang lagi ko lang iniisip, pag
ang concern mo sa tao genuine din, so yung mga tao na-a-appreciate nila yung
mga ginagawa ko parang ganon yung sa role mo, e. So ang lagi ko lang iniisip
pag-genuine yung tao, genuine din."
If there's anything that is unacceptable to Diet, it would be to be branded as
being "too showbiz" or being insincere with his words and actions.
"Minsan nga nakakainis sabihin pero hindi ako sang-ayon dito, kasi naiinis ako
sa mga kaibigan ko na hindi parte ng industriya natin, na sinasabing masyado ka
naman kasing showbiz, e. Ano, sabi ko, ‘Bro hindi ganyan ‘yan. Yang showbiz,
marangal na trabaho ‘yan.'
"Kasi pag sinabi mong showbiz parang negatibo agad ang [dating]. Bakit nga ba
masyado nating minamaliit ang showbiz? So, ibig sabihin, you just have to
respect the person. Wala kang ginagawang masama at nakakapag-contribute ka ng
maganda, di ba?"
Did he expect that he would a good working relationship with Angel in Only
You?
"Well, may mga apprehension kami nung umpisa dahil...parang
si Angel bagong batch ng generation ngayon ‘yan, e. Hindi contemporary yang mga
‘yan. Pero ang maganda kasi sa ‘min may respeto kami sa isa't isa na nauna ka,
o kahit bago ka, nauna ako sa yo, kailangan nating respetuhin yung bawat
talento ng isa't isa. Yung ganong level ng respeto yun yung naging malaking
ingredient kung bakit nag-work talaga yung [show]. Grabe kami magsuportahan
diyan.'"
He recalls a time when he would give constructive criticism to his co-star Sam
Milby when it comes to pronunciation.
"Like si Sam, minsan pag hirap mag-Tagalog siyempre, we have to correct him.
[Sinasabi namin], ‘Sam, ganito yan no, no, this is the accent.' So ganon, pag
ako naman may kailangan sa kanya ganon din. So we complement each other."
ON HIS ABORTED TRANSFER. Last year, Diether was in the news for
supposedly wanting to transfer to rival station GMA-7. The actor recalled his
thoughts during this tumultuous time for his career.
"Kasi, hindi ko inaasahan na darating ako sa punto ng buhay ko na ano ba yung
susunod kong gagawin? I want something exciting kasi parang you have done so
many things parang gusto mo na ng ibang level na challenge. So, hindi ko
nami-meet yung ano...minsan kasi may halong swerte ‘yan, e. So, you just
patiently wait darating naman. But in my case, parang sabi ko in this lifetime
hindi na ko bata. Sabi ko sa isip ko, sino pa ba sa industriya ang hindi ko
nakakatrabaho sa buhay ko. God knows when kung hanggang kailan ako dito.
"Sabi ko try nga natin. E, wala naman akong kontrata, so I took the liberty.
I'm old enough, I can decide for myself. I can run my life. So sabi ko, may
negosyo kami sa America. I can go to the States or let's try my luck over
here."
Diet did not go into details about the supposed transfer but he felt that he
made the right decision by remaining a Kapamilya star.
"To cut the long story short, naging maganda naman yung kinahinatnan. Like
right now, you would see a lot of things have happened along the way. Hindi ko
na ikukwento yung detalye, but the bottomline is everything fell into place,
talagang lahat! There's a purpose pala to stay here. Nobody made a big deal of
it kasi everyone accepted na meron ka sigurong big role na pwede pang gawin
dito.
"Kasi sa ‘kin that doesn't exist: failure and impossibilities, both of them
don't exist. Kaya kung pwede ita-try ko kasi sino ang susubok ibang tao para
sayo? Ikaw! You have to do it yourself. It's the only way you can prove to
everybody na kaya mong gawin ‘to. Wala namang ibang gagawang iba nun kundi
ikaw."
It will be recalled that Diether entered showbiz as a member of ABS-CBN's Star Magic. He eventually built his name as an actor, a businessman, a public servant through KIDS (Kabataang Inyong Dapat Suportahan) Foundation and an advocate of animal's right for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
For more than a decade, he has maintained his heartthrob
image and leading man status. He has already showed his talent as an actor with
his Star Cinema films namely Nasaan Ka Man in 2005 (with Claudine
Barretto, Jericho Rosales, Hilda Coronel and Gloria Diaz), Jologs in
2003 (with John Prats and Vhong Navarro) and his biggest break in 1999 with the
Diamond Star Maricel Soriano and Claudine Barretto in Soltera.
He also made a mark in his past teleseryes such as Iisa Pa Lamang and Maligno,
among others.
PEP ID PROMO. Two lucky PEPsters will be given the chance to meet
Diether Ocampo and his Only You co-stars through the PEP ID promo. Click
HERE to find out who won in this month's online raffle.