Derek Ramsay turns down Kris Aquino's invite to meet Pope Francis
Believe it or not, actor Derek Ramsay did what many people find unthinkable. He politely turned down Kris Aquino’s invite for him to go to Malacanang and personally meet Pope Francis .
“Kris has five invites to Malacanang. And I told her I appreciate it. But I have to be with my dad. He’s okay. But we still need to find out what’s causing his imbalance.”
Prada the dog
Kris is only one of two special people the Kapatid actor gave a dog to as a present (the other one is his ex-girlfriend Angelica Panganiban).
Make that a puppy. Prada and his young master, Bimby (Kris’ son), were playing when the pup accidentally bit the boy’s tummy. Kris brought Bimby to the pediatrician for anti-rabies shots the very next day even if Prada’s shots are complete.
“Maharot si Prada. His shots are complete. But Kris being the mom, wants to be safe,” the star of TV5’s new primetime series ‘Mac & Chiz (Sundays, 8 p.m. beginning January 25)’ told Yahoo Philippines.
Concerned, Derek asked Kris if she wants to return Prada. He was afraid Bimby’s allergies might worsen because of the dog. But Kris refused because “we love him already (Prada has been with them for a couple of months).”
Seven dogs
Derek himself has not one, but seven dogs roaming around his home down South: Habibi, Beyonce (she with the big butt), Jay-Z, Shakira, Onion, Low Fat and Jamba.
Habibi and 15-year-old Jamba sleep with Derek.
“They’re my babies. I give them attention even when I get home very late from taping. The dogs can be possessive of him, so Derek treats them equally.
But Jamba is the 'princess' because she’s been with him the longest. In fact, he is bracing himself for the time he has to bid her goodbye since she is already 15 years old.
Derek will go home to his ‘babies’ at a much later time these days because he is starting 2015 with a busy schedule. The Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF) Best Actor (for ‘English Only, Please’) is leaving his comfort zone to try comedy via ‘Mac & Chiz’, his reunion project with Empoy, whom he last worked with in 2006’s ‘Super Inggo.’
‘Mac & Chiz’
The newbie comedian admits he’s learning a lot from Empoy, who plays his long-lost twin brother in the series. Empoy as Chiz is the complete opposite of driven, serious Macario ‘Mac’ Vasquez (Derek), famous heir of a successful chain of family restaurants.
“Saluhan kami dito ni Empoy,” says Derek, who is back with a new project for Skylight Films (a subsidiary of Star Cinema) after a falling out with ABS-CBN in 2012.
The still-untitled film will team him up with Kris.
“Viva wants me to do a trilogy with Jen (Jennylyn Mercado, MMFF Best Actress and his ‘English Only, Please’ co-star),” Derek says.
Dream project
But his dream project is a historical film where he plays the first Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu. A film ala Cinemalaya entry ‘Janitor,’ where Derek plays the lead villain, is most welcome too.
“I want to get into darker movies, play bad guy again. I always wanna evolve, never stop learning from everyone I work with as I get older.”
Inspired is an understatement to describe Derek the actor these days.
