The child superstar who brought us the iconic character of Santino is now all-grown up and is ready to take his acting chops to the next level. Zaijan Jaranilla is playing as a teenage gay in the movie “Boyette (Not a girl, yet).”
While Zaijan isn’t a stranger to the ins and outs of filmmaking, his portrayal as Boyette brought him exciting new challenges. With an intriguing title and plot, the movie will showcase Zaijan’s versatility as an actor as he takes the leap from an innocent boy to a teenage gay.
Zaijan is grateful to the Kapamilya Network for entrusting him his first titular role and for taking care of his career since his first appearance in the 2009 series May Bukas Pa.
Growing up in the public eye had both its ups and downs. On its pitfalls, Zaijan said that he didn’t have a normal childhood. He couldn’t even go to the mall without limitations.
On the bright side, the responsibilities as the family’s breadwinner at a young age shaped his mature perspective about life. “Mas maaga kong naintindihan ang mga bagay-bagay… Simula bata ako hanggang ngayon, nasa isip ko talaga na kailangan ko silang tulungan,” he said. Helping in his family’s finances is a big part of Zaijan’s motivation to stay in showbiz.
Asked if love has already made him cry, the 19-year-old actor smiled and said ‘yes.’ He then talked about his first break-up and how a good support system helped him move on easily. “’Yung mga kaibigan ko, sobrang supportive po nila sa akin. ‘Yung mga gusto ko parang sinasakyan na lang po nila. After a few weeks, parang hindi ko na siya naiisip sa isang buong araw,” Zaijan shared.
After the heartache comes the lesson. The experience made Zaijan realize that falling in love is easy but the real challenge comes with staying in love. “Parang madali lang magsawa,” he added.
Zaijan also admits to having a non-showbiz girlfriend for one year and one month. And he thinks he’s found the one! “Parang siya na ‘yung gusto kong makasama hanggang sa pagtanda. Kasi sobrang understanding po niya tapos nagkakasundo po kami sa lahat ng bagay. ‘Yung mga friends ko, friends niya na rin. Tapos ‘yung family niya, close na rin po kami. Ang hirap nang makita ‘yung sarili ko sa ibang babae,” he said.
As a boyfriend, Zaijan gives more weight to privacy than social media posts. He isn’t the jealous type as well. When asked how Gen-Zs like him view relationships, Zaijan said that most people his age are affected by how social media depicts modern love.
“Sa panahon po ngayon, ‘yung mga ka-edaran ko po, sobrang taas na po ng mga standards nila pagdating sa ganyan. Kasi po ‘yung mga nakikita nila sa social media,” he said. But Zaijan stressed that the youth must not be blinded by these unspoken rules.
“In reality, hindi mo naman ‘yun makukuha. So, maging kuntento ka na lang kung sino ‘yung mga nagmamahal sa’yo at nag-aapreciate sa’yo. Siyempre darating naman ‘yung right person,” Zaijan added.