Character actor Baron Geisler details how his dark past led him to his bright future
This is an excerpt from MEGA Entertainment’s January 2023 issue.
Baron Geisler sends me a message two hours before our scheduled interview, asking if we could start earlier. I agree, and he tells me he’s just going to put on a shirt so we can begin. It’s 6:00 p.m.
“I just woke up from a really good nap,” he tells me. “Baliktad ang mga hangover ko ngayon, eh.” I’ve known baron for over 15 years, and together with other ABS-CBN artists, we would end our work days winding down with wine and conversations. “Ang hangover ko ngayon, coffee hangover because I drank a lot of coffee,” he reveals. “So, nag-detox ako today. I was sleeping the entire day. Coffee-fueled interviews for the past few weeks. Game. Good to see you.”
Baron is back after taking a long break from showbiz to take care of himself, of his mental health. He recently returned to the spotlight through his film, Doll House, which earned him critical and commercial praise worthy of a good comeback.
“I feel very happy,” he says. “Parang feeling ko nga, parang paulit-ulit na lang ’yong mga sagot ko, but it’s true. I’m very grateful and my heart is filled with joy, especially ’yong sa pagtanggap ng mga tao sa akin. Parang bumalik ’yong respect sa Lolo Baron mo.”
After watching his latest film, I thought about asking him if the role of the main character Rustin—a recovering addict and a rock-band lead singer, who is trying to rekindle his relationship with his long-lost daughter—was tailor-made for him.
He says, “No.” He claims that other actors passed up on the role before it was offered to him.
“One of the producers of Doll House called me up while I was vacationing in the South of Cebu. I was with my family and I received a call. It was very casual lang na parang, ‘Baron, do you want to do this film? We’re going to shoot in Canada.’ When I heard of that, I said, ‘Yeah, sure. Why not?’ And I was very happy to hear the news.”
He continues, “I read it and I was very excited to do it, so I was hugging my family. Kasi, before this, my wife and I were watching [Filipino film] A Faraway Land two months prior to the call, and I saw her face. She was crying, and said, ‘I wish you could do something like this instead of doing those sexy movies or movies that aren’t substantial or wholesome.’ And then, that evening, two months prior to the call, I held her hand and I said, ‘You know what, Jamie, don’t worry. God will provide din. We’ll have something like this or even better.’”
Baron reached out to the star of A Faraway Land, Paolo Contis, to tell him how much he appreciated his movie.
“I messaged him muna. Sabi ko, ‘Pao, walang ‘ya ka. Ang ganda ng pelikula mo, pang-Hollywood. Ang ganda ng lahat. Ang ganda ng backdrop, etc.’ And then he messaged back, ‘I love you!’ Then, nagtawagan kami sa phone. The reason why I’m saying this is I’m pointing out na when you appreciate or admire somebody else’s work without any jealousy, the universe or whatever you want to call it, but I call him Jesus, my God and Savior, He blesses you, eh. I’ll speak for me. He blessed me because I wanted something like that without anything, without any jealousy or any bad feelings, negative feelings. So, He answered my prayer or that promise I made to my wife.”
Before Doll House, Baron’s last project was a sexy movie called Lampas Langit, under Vivamax, which caters to an adult audience. And before that, Baron was always stereotyped as the kontrabida, the antagonist, like the role he played on the TV show Ang Probinsyano named Bungo.
“Bungo was such an iconic character sa Probinsyano. But it was still a character na anti-hero, loved to be hated, kontrabida. So, ito ’yong inantay siguro ng tao for the longest time, to see me in a different light na fatherly, may love, dramatic actor, mabait kahit papaano, may puso. So, I think nanibago silang lahat. Kahit nga ako, no’ng pinapanuod ko, nanibago ako na parang ang soft ng eyes ko. Ang sarap, eh, na I want to make more movies like this. I don’t want to spoil it na lang for other people, but abangan na lang nila… I won’t make any promises, but most of my projects now that are coming in, especially pagdating sa mga movies, are wholesome. Kasi may mga naka-line-up na, eh, pero sa atin na lang muna…”
One of the projects Baron is allowed to talk about is the new show on ABS-CBN, called Iron Heart.
“I was supposed to just be a special guest lang, four taping days, but I think dahil sa success ng Doll House, natuwa talaga sila sa akin, sa transformation. Loveable ako sa set, na inilaban na maging recurring role ’yong character ko. I needed to block off my entire December for Iron Heart. So, I’ll be part of the cast na. The role kasi doon sa Iron Heart isn’t like Bungo. May style, may class, and hindi gano’n ka-heavy ’yong… kumbaga, gray character siya.”
I bring up issues in past productions where his drinking had been a problem, and he responds with genuine honesty.
“I know, as creatives, it’s hard to cast me because you don’t know if I’m going to be sustainable, if I’m going to sustain my sobriety or not. The would say, ‘He’s like a ticking time bomb. He’s a loose cannon.’ But as I said earlier, the production, even the actors, they are embracing me now, G3. You know, from Maja Salvador to everyone, even the girls. Doon mo ma-aano, eh, ’yong sa girls who are not afraid of me, to talk to me on the set, who laugh with me on the set. Even Dimples Romana will hug me na parang, ‘Hey, so happy for you.’ And before each take, Richard [Gutierrez] and I would laugh and people could feel that. You cannot fake that kind of dynamic or that kind of relationship at work, where the production could see us enjoy working together as a team. And what I’ve learned also in the past is…Paano ko ba sabihin ’to? I was always aloof before and I was afraid to just be myself. But after recovery, and I’m still in recovery, I’ve learned to embrace the good and the ugly in me.
Find out how Baron Geisler’s life took a complete turn in MEGA Entertainment’s January 2023 issue, now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Creative Direction NICOLE ALMERO
Photography CYRUS PANGANIBAN
Grooming Direction MIA CASTRO
Fashion Direction and Styling RYUJI SHIOMITSU, assisted by JOAQUIN RODRIGO of NEW COLLECTIVE STYLE
Grooming KIM ROY OPOG
Video Production AUDREY SISON
Videography RAVPROD
Shoot Coordination KZ FRANCISCO and MJ ALMERO
Shot on location at CAIDEN STUDIO
Special thanks to JESSA PROCHO of CAIDEN STUDIO
The post Baron Geisler Talks About Being Called a “Ticking Time Bomb” and How His Faith Saved Him appeared first on MEGA.
Baron Geisler Talks About Being Called a “Ticking Time Bomb” and How His Faith Saved Him
Source: Insta News Pinoy
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