From The Manila Times, this should give everyone some insight into our new member Jiro's enthusiasm for the Philippines hottest new child star! 

Best actor Jiro Manio is still a normal kid

By Dennis  Ladaw

UNLIKE some of the young talent show contestants we met recently, Film Academy of the Philippines Best Actor 12-year-old Jiro Manio doesn’t talk in a cute and perky manner to please judges and TV viewers. When speaking with the media, he behaves just like any normal kid. What he has to say doesn’t sound scripted or something that had been coached a few hours ago.


The only difference is while other children collect toys, Jiro has a growing collection of acting trophies. For playing the title role in the movie Magnifico alone, he won seven awards. What he’s accomplished so far is equaled only by his much older colleagues like Piolo Pascual, Vilma Santos or Sharon Cuneta. These four actors have won all the acting awards in a single year for a single role. Jiro’s managers, however, are quick to admit that Jiro isn’t technically a grandslam winner—he didn’t win the Golden Screen Award.  Nevertheless, Pascual, Santos or Cuneta haven’t won that one either as it happens to be a new award.

Thankfully, Jiro is still every inch a kid and not some child star who missed out on his childhood. Yet he’s not too young to be cognizant of the significance of the awards he’s won. “They mean a lot to me because I know it’s not easy to win all those awards, especiallyfor someone my age,” he said. “It felt really good when the school put a streamer near the school entrance to congratulate me. Some of the teachers also ask their students to do analysis on my films,” he said.

The young actor attends the Holy Child Parochial School in San Juan. He never misses a day of school for the sake of show business, but he’s sometimes allowed to leave after lunch to film pivotal scenes for a movie.  His grades are good, according to the star’s daddy, Manny Manio. “My tutor makes sure I don’t miss any of my lessons,” explained Jiro.

The acclaim of Magnifico also gave him the opportunity to travel to Europe, particularly to Rome and Prague, where the film was screened. He thoroughly enjoyed traveling and was thrilled to see the Pope.  “We had to stand in a long line, but it was worth it!” he exclaimed.

He added  there’s no pressure to top this year’s achievements. “I just want to act in good movies,” he stressed.

Jiro has done six films so far and he’s in the cast of the TV sitcom Tanging Ina, which stars Ai Ai delas Alas. His other film credits include such major productions like Bagong Buwan and La Vida Rosa, which starred Rosanna Roces and Diether Ocampo. Both stars, who played a local Bonnie and Clyde of sorts, were Jiro’s onscreen parents.  Due to its adult content, Jiro never got to see La Vida Rosa until it was finally aired on television.

Manny Manio fondly recalled  a scene Jiro had hesitated to do. It was a “nude scene”—Jiro had to be shot being given a bath by Ocampo. “He simply didn’t want to do it. I had to explain, ‘Jiro you’re only 8 years old, practically a baby, there’s nothing to be shy about.’ So he did it.”

Jiro’s proud daddy noted that his son’s lifestyle hasn’t changed that much.  He plays with the  other children in their neighborhood and he goes to internet cafes to play video games. “But he’s not into playstations. He’s grown tired of it,” said the older Manio. “Sometimes, like most other boys, he can be hard headed so he gets a scolding. There’s no star treatment in the house.”

Manny Manio also worked in the movies once, as a stand-in for Lito Lapid (he does look like a Lapid). “But I earned just P300 to P500 for every movie I was in,” he laughed.

Jiro is managed by ABS-CBN’s Talent Center. Cris Navarro, the network’s manager for its talent development center, said  that Jiro had undergone a one-month acting workshop three years ago.  “Child actors are very easy to direct,” explained Navarro. “They also tend to adjust to showbiz better than teen-agers.  There are less hang ups.”

Jiro’s love for acting and  normal upbringing are also a help. As a result, temperamental directors like Maryo J. delos Reyes and Chito Roño behaved like pussycats when they worked with Jiro.  He could do a scene in one take, which makes any director very happy indeed.