usapan with christopher paloma

usapan with christopher paloma

i first met christopher paloma when i was studying in college in a university in makati city. he was my classmate. he was a very shy person, didn't talk much, and quite reserved. never did i know that he's a talented child star in the 80's and had worked with the biggest and brightest stars in philippine cinema.  my most memorable and most favorite movie of his was inday bote with maricel soriano.

sixteen years after we first met, i found myself contacting him for the first time, asking him if he's willing to do a personal interview for biyaheng pinoy's new segment, usapan. without any hesitation, he immediately said yes.

biyaheng pinoy: can you tell us about yourself, christopher?
christopher: i’m a 32 year old programmer analyst and i currently live in las pinas city.
biyaheng pinoy: how many members are there in your family?
christopher: i have 2 sisters living in the us with my mother, and a father (laughs).  i live with him.
biyaheng pinoy: any family member from the same business?
christopher: one of my sisters appeared in a movie (lost command) with ramon bong revilla jr. when she was still young where she played one of the held captives by a group of npa. lala montelibano played the role of her mom.
biyaheng pinoy: did you take any drama lessons prior to acting?
christopher: no, i didn’t.
biyaheng pinoy: how were you discovered?
christopher: ayun, i think i was just 3 years old then. me and my mom went to broadcast city in old balara (now known as the rpn 9 station) to watch a pepe pimentel and nova villa show. we were sitting on front row when pepe pimentel invited me to come on stage for a quick interview. he asked me if i could sing, i said yes.
biyaheng pinoy: what did you sing?
christopher: imelda papin’s taksil. then he asked me what i would like to be when i grow up. i told him i wanted to be a movie director. they liked me because i was smart and responsive. after the program, the show’s director asked me to stay for a talk. he offered me a role in a tv drama program called “gulong ng buhay” (book 2 of the defunct drama program “gulong ng palad”) with romnick sarmenta. i was earning p50 an episode.
biyaheng pinoy: what was your screen name then?
christopher: it was always christopher paloma. i was never given a screen name because no one asked me to use one. there were times when it was misspelled to palomo or palma, but it had always been christopher paloma.
biyaheng pinoy: what came after “gulong ng buhay”?
christopher: i appeared in an episode of “balintataw” and “kulit bulilit” coinciding with smokey manoloto and lea salonga.
biyaheng pinoy: were you close with lea salonga?
christopher: yes. i remember when we were little, she was much older than i was, and she had this really long hair down to her waist and i would make fun of her and pull her hair. i made her cry because of that. i still feel bad whenever i think of it. 
biyaheng pinoy:  why did you leave showbiz?
christopher:  i never really quit.  i was in my teenage years and getting a part for a movie was so difficult because of my age.  either i was too old for a child part, or i was too young for an adult part.  so i would never say i left showbiz.  it's just that the movie offers stopped coming in. and i would never say that everything was over, because if given the chance, i would do it again.
biyaheng pinoy:  so you wouldn't really say that you've made a good or a bad decision?
christopher:  yes, since i never made any decision.  i just continued my studies until i finished college.
biyaheng pinoy: how many movies have you done and can you name the biggest starts you've worked with?
christopher:  i think it was around 21 movies.  i've worked with fernando poe jr., maricel soriano, ramon revilla sr., ramon bong revilla jr., eddie garcia, rudy fernandez, robin padilla, philip salvador, charito solis, paquito diaz, roderick paulate, nova villa, dennis padilla, manilyn reynes, tito vic & joey and more.


read the complete version of the christopher paloma interview . view more photos of the interview by clicking here.