Filipinas Magazine January 1988 Cover Story Actor Paolo Montalban Hopeful Romantic By Marites N. Sison As a bespectacled teen, Paolo Montalban had auditioned for his school's production of "Oliver," His mother was incredulous when he later told her that he had gone for the lead role. "How can you be Oliver? You're brown, Ollvers white!" she said, hoping to cushion the impact of what she felt would be a sure rejection for her dreamer son, who had vied for the role alongside his white classmates. Montalban not only got to play Oliver, but a decade later, he surprised his mother again by landing the role of the Prince in Disney's television adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," released last Fall. The bulky eyeglasses have long been replaced by contact lenses, and today, this Filipino American actor finds himself at the center of a growing frenzy. The chat rooms on the Internet are jammed with women (and men) gushing about his performance shortly after "Cinderella" was aired on prime time at ABC. His parents, Vivian and Paul Montalban, are barely recovering from the flurry of phone calls requesting for autographed pictures of their son. He gets stopped on the streets of New York and asked "Aren't you the Prince?" National Inquirer magazine is even busy speculating on whether or not he's dating Brandy, the African American actress who played Cinderella. Filipinos are convinced: Paolo Montalban is the next best thing to happen to them since Lea Salonga. It's a compliment that he laughs off: 'I wouldn't put myself on the same scale. She's a star, I'm just a guy." Not even the fact that Salonga herself called him up to congratulate him has made him think he's now an actor to watch. It's easy to see why Montalban became Disney's choice for Prince Charming. At 6'1" he not only has the regal bearing and stature of the man you hope would sweep you off your mortal feet and well-chiseled features with skin the color of honey that makes him our post-modern Prince. On-screen, he projects intensity, intelligence and sensitivity. Off-screen, he's the same and more. He touches your hand when he wants to emphasize a point, looks you in the eye, quotes Kahlil Gibran and apologizes for being a "space cadet" because he not only believes in God, but in the universe and the whole concept of karma. He's a New Age Prince who also wants to be the next Cary Grant. Montalban had his eyes set on Broadway shortly after graduating from a pre-med course at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A dutiful son, he had acquiesced to his parents' wishes that he get a college degree. There was no stopping him, however, after he got his diploma. "My parents supported me in my decision primarily because I was fortunarte enough to have a New York agent during my last year in college, and shortly after I signed with him I got my first professional job which was to go on a national tour with 'Man of La Mancha' which paid." he says. "Not to say that there weren't long periods of time when I wasn't working, when I was on unemployment and my mother was pushing the real-estate and accounting courses on me." Fortunately for him, the work did come. Last year, the 24-year-old actor became part of the Broadway production of "The King and I." He played a minor role until early last year when he became the understudy for the lead role now played by Lou Diamond Phillips, another Filipino American actor. Months later, he walked into the grinding days of auditioning for the role of the Prince in "Cinderella." People magazine said his was "a Cinderella story within 'Cinderella."' Disney had heard 700 or so aspirants and still hadn't found the Prince, until Montalban came in and sang, alone and then with Brandy. After a "nerve-wracking" week, Disney called to say he got the job. Montalban says he would've been crushed if he hadn't gotten the part. "I Fell in love with the character. I just understood him. I understood what he was looking for." he declares. "He's not your typical Prince who comes in the end to save Cinderella. He's looking for the life partner, the soul mate." What made it more meaningful, he adds, was being a part of this seminal, multicultural version of a fairy tale. "On all fronts, not only on Brandy's side or my side, everyone involved wanted to make this a Cinderella of the millennium. This was a Cinderella that would reach all races. I mean, black girls believing that they could be Cinderella, or little African American, Asian or Hispanic boys thinking they can be the Prince," he says. "I didn't only represent the Filipino community, I represented the entire ethnic community. We all grew up with the standard versions of Cinderella, and it was always portrayed in an all-white aspect." Of course, it helps also that in his first TV show he has worked with big-name acrors-Whoopie Goldberg, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander and Brandy--and still managed to hold his own. Born in the Philippines, Montalban moved to America with his family when he was one year old. Home was an apartment in Manhattan, and then New Jersey, where he grew up surrounded by many things Filipino. "The great part about Jersey City is that whites are the minority. It's truly, more so than New York, a melting pot. It was nice to be able to juggle both worlds. I wouldn't be completely out of touch with my American world or out of touch with the Filipino community," he says. "We had our santacruzan and the novenas." One of two children, Montalban grew up in a musical family: His father played the piano, two aunts studied the violin and piano at ]ulliard and his mother, who was involved in the theater while a student at St. Paul's College in Manila, sang Broadway tunes to put him to sleep. At age six, Montalban and his sister (then seven) memorized the lyrics of "Jesus Christ, Superstar," singing them over and over again like a broken record on family trips. He learned to play the piano, violin and saxophone. Does he still play them! "No, sayang(what a waste)," he laughs. His powerful singing voice, though, is au naturel--no voice lessons there. Montalban knows the pitfalls of being an Asian actor in Hollywood, where he's currently setting his sights. There's the danger of being pigeonholed as a stereotypical Asian who knows kung fu, who's a gangster boy or a member of the Yakuza. But he's determined to help bring back glamor, music and romance to the screen. "I want to be the other leading man, the interesting leading man. The guy that they would've gotten Brad Pitt for, but instead they got me," he says with an embarrassed laugh. He has assembled what he calls his "dream team" to help him get to Hollywood. In the meantime, he's busy auditioning for other roles and relaxes by doing not-so-profound things: He plays video games and watches the Cartoon Channel. This Prince confesses to being a kid at heart. Sitting for the interview at The Coffee Pot on 49th and Ninth Avenue near the Manhattan theater district, Montalban is distracted. An African American woman with a British accent sees him, and they hug each other like long-lost friends. She's Lilith, and she conducts "spiritual psychic readings" in the resraurant, which has long been Montalban's watering hole. "She rocks. Liiith rocks," he beams. Three days before the Disney offer came, she had told him to let go of stagnant energy, which was distracting his natural flow. His aura now, she says, has changed. "You look different. You're happier," she tells him. He jokes that his skin is just exfoliating because of a new moisturizer he has tried. Before they part he hugs Lilith again and gives her arm an affectionate squeeze. She smiles and leaves me the same calling card she has given Monltalban. On the card, it says: "Reach for the Moon and Have the Stars." Marites N. Sison is a journalist in New York