Sometimes, when the world gets really crazy, Dingdong Dantes finds the need to go very, very fast.  “I like speed,” the 31-year-old actor admits. “When I’m alone especially, I just want to ride my bike and go somewhere and be back in three hours. That’s therapy for me.” Riding his Ducati Diavel and just getting away comforts him, the actor says; it reminds him that he’s in control.

Dantes’ career has been an exciting ride as well. Ever since he burst into television over a decade ago, he has been a man living between time slots, caught in a hurricane of movies and TV shows.  He’s been plastered half-naked on gigantic billboards and is dating FHM Philippines’ 2008 Sexiest Woman, Marian Rivera.

But it isn’t easy being Dingdong Dantes, who started out as a good-looking guy and graduated to become the nation’s favorite heartthrob.  After enjoying the perks of fame, he is now looking for a deeper sense of where he is and where he is headed. He’s looking for what’s next.

Born Jose Sixto Dantes III, he is the eldest of four children to businessman Sixto Dantes, Jr., and homemaker Angeline Dantes. Growing up in Cubao, Dantes seemed fated for the screen at an early age. “I liked portraying roles and creating scenes with my toys,” he recalls. Called “bibo” or energetic, Dantes was discovered at the age of 3. The way he remembers it, his family liked going to the malls, where he got into mischief, like hiding under the skirts of salesladies. That was, until an agent noticed him and cast him in his first TV commercial for Carnation milk. “Everything just followed,” he says.

The early 1990s were the heyday of male dance crews, among them the Universal Motion Dancers and the Streetboys. Dantes, then a high school student at the Ateneo, joined a group called the Abztract Dancers for a year.  Though short, that time proved instructional for the actor who, to this day, can tear up the dance floor.

The stint with the Abztract Dancers led to actual TV appearances, first on German Moreno’s juggernaut teen show “Saturday Entertainment,” and then that noontime staple “Eat Bulaga!”

After high school, Dantes got the opportunity that would change everything. An agent who did TV commercials offered him an afternoon show on GMA-7. “That was the springboard that started it all,” he recalls. The show was “T.G.I.S. (Thank God It’s Sabado).”

Dantes would work steadily on TV, his roles growing more prominent with the years until he started getting lead roles in the network giant’s teledramas and eventually, the movies. He currently headlines GMA-7’s latest primetime series, “My Beloved,” set to air this month and where he stars opposite real-life girlfriend and Kapuso star Marian Rivera. “My Beloved,” described by Dantes as “a story of death presented in a different light,” marks the fifth time he has worked with Rivera. They were previously paired in “MariMar,” “Dyesebel,” “Ang Babaeng Hinugot sa Aking Tadyang” and “Endless Love.”

Working with Rivera is a case of extremes for Dantes. “There’s a certain comfort zone which I know I can always get to but on the other hand there’s also that funny feeling that instead of challenging one another, I end up taking care of her. And that might not meet the objective of the scene because your personal concern overtakes what should be done,” he says. The good thing about the two of them, he adds, is that they know how to balance things once they’re on the set.

Contrary to his pretty boy image, Dantes takes acting seriously. He uses phrases like “the objective” of a scene and takes nothing lightly when it comes to what he does onscreen. A recent career high was winning the Best Actor award at the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival for his role as Ivan in the horror thriller “Segunda Mano,” where he appeared opposite Kris Aquino.  In a risky change of pace, leading man Dantes played the movie’s psychopathic killer.

Dantes admits to a moment of hesitation when he read the script and figured out what was up with Ivan. “It was part of the objectives for Ivan’s role to be a shocker not just for me but for the audience. [But] I wanted to challenge myself and do something different.”

Still, the actor doesn’t see himself playing more villain roles. “I’d like to play characters in the middle who have reason [to be such]. It’s kind of like Ivan, who’s offbeat but has a reason for it.” Dantes professes a devotion to the kind of movie that provided the scaffolding for his film career. “I won’t let go of romantic movies because majority of our viewers are fans of [that genre]. But if I were to have it my way, I really want action dramas.”

Dantes the plain moviegoer however prefers comedies, but also watches dramas as long as he is alone. A favorite among favorites is Christopher Nolan’s sleight-of-hand offering “The Prestige.” Dantes gushes about how much he loves Nolan’s films, professing admiration for Leonardo DiCaprio and the way he involves himself in his films, as well as Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.  He says he likes the dramatic challenges that DiCaprio set for himself, opting to work with top directors instead of just banking on being a matinee idol. Dantes could easily be talking about himself. “I just don’t want to be stereotyped and put in a box.”

He gets his wish in his two upcoming films-the international release “Dance of the Steel Bars,” a prison drama set in Manila and inspired by real events starring the Irish actor Patrick Bergin, and the horror film called “Aswang Chronicles.” Dantes is excited by the film that he says is a Philippine first because it is shot entirely against chroma.

“Aswang Chronicles” is also important because the movie is a collaboration between Dondon Monteverde’s Reality Entertainment, Post Manila and Dantes’ own production company, Agostodos Pictures, which co-produced “Segunda Mano” with Star Cinema and Kris Aquino’s MJM Productions.

Agostodos can also be taken as part of Dantes’ master plan to point his career in the direction he wants. Directing is something he’d like to do, having taken up formal courses in production and filmmaking back in college. Dantes’ longtime manager, Perry Lansigan of PPL Entertainment, says Dantes “will be one of our country’s courageous producers, tapping social issues relevant to our everyday life and Filipino culture.”

Veteran entertainment writer Ricky Lo says that Dantes’ directorial plans and his becoming a producer proves that he is looking at the big picture. Lansigan hopes that Dantes will be able to “represent a Filipino film in the global market and bring home awards.” Indeed, in ten years’ time, Dantes sees himself both facing the camera and working behind it, “definitely still very much in the industry.”

Dantes’ success is also due to his preternatural savvy for working with others, says Lo. “Besides his exceptional looks and talent, he knows how to deal with people, especially the media, something that most stars today take for granted. His having a good manager who knows how to protect his image and plan his career is a big help, too.”

Being a heartthrob isn’t something Dantes regrets. “Everything that happened to me in the past contributed to where I am now. If I were to go back, I would do the same thing all over again.”

His current involvement however shows that he is also looking to do something different and completely new.  Like NGO work.

The YesPinoy Foundation office is located on the fourth floor of a Makati office building.  Dantes’ office is a cross between Batcave and a museum, full of dark wood and a lot of what he calls his toys.

An avid toy collector, Dantes says his place in Quezon City is so full of statues and figurines that some of them have migrated to his YesPinoy office. Right behind him is a life-sized replica of the circular shield worn by Leonidas and his Spartans in the film “300,” a gift from TAPE, Inc. president Tony Tuviera, a man Dantes describes as one of his mentors and also a collector of toys. There are busts of Batman and the Joker, as well as a life-sized bust of Darth Vader. There are statues of Superman and Sauron. There are various scale models of fast cars and fast bikes. There’s also a bronze statue of Marian Rivera as Darna, one in a production of three commissioned by Dantes and made by artist Richie dela Merced. Dantes gave one to Tuviera and, of course, another to Rivera.

Dantes’ interest in superheroes has more to do with what the heroic characters stand for.  He totally understands a different class of hero, and has most likely modeled his NGO after it.

Founded by the actor in 2009, the YesPinoy Foundation is evidence of an ideal that Dantes is pursuing, a family heritage you might say.  The Dantes family has serious ties with the military. The elder Dantes is heavily involved with the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, while the actor’s grandfather Sixto Dantes was a general with the Philippine Constabulary. Dantes himself is proud to be a reservist with the Philippine Marines with the rank of Master Sergeant.

While training with the Marines, Dantes heard about the devotion and sacrifices of the nation’s fighting men and women, and wondered about their dependents. The answer?  YesPinoy Foundation, which was originally founded to benefit the children of fallen military men, mainly by providing them scholarships. It has since expanded into helping provide educational assistance to those who need it. The Foundation recently donated school supplies to the children of Cagayan de Oro who lost their school during typhoon “Sendong.”

Dantes has a personal interest in his own education as well. After graduating high school, he spent two years in San Beda College, attended the Ateneo for four more years and now is currently enrolled at West Negros University with his eyes set on earning a degree in techno management. The course at the Bacolod school allows him to finish his degree while also allowing him to work. He goes to Bacolod once every two months to attend class and adjusts his class load to fit his work sched. As if that degree weren’t enough, he’s also looking to taking up post-graduate studies.

When the actor says he really wants to take flight, he’s not kidding.  Learning how to fly is on his to-do list. “I have a list of things I want to do next,” he explains. “Whenever I achieve it, I cross it out.”  Already marked off the list are: founding his own production company, establishing a non-profit organization and winning a best actor award. Still on the list are: flying school, going bungee jumping, going to Germany to experience Oktoberfest, and driving down the Autobahn.

But beyond his need to do new things, Dantes knows he has “to choose [his] battles wisely.”  He adds: “I need to think if I should engage or not. You can’t do too many things at once. For me, when I’m working on something, I like to concentrate.”

Ask Dantes about very serious things and he gives very serious answers. He bemoans the fact that the gap between the country’s rich and poor is actually getting wider. “As a normal citizen, what I’m looking for is a solution I can be part of. I think that everyone can do that just by doing one simple thing for our country. It would mean a lot.  I’m a big believer in people power, that if everyone just came together for one common reason and use their individual strengths, we would really get somewhere.”

No, he says, preempting the thought: He has no interest in a government job or public office. “I’d rather focus on my strength, which is in the [movie] industry.”

And no, he doesn’t really mind its close and often intrusive scrutiny of his love life.  He is in fact sanguine about his past romantic exploits, first with Antoinette Taus, and later with Karylle Tatlonghari with whom he had a very public breakup in 2008.  He maintains a good relationship with Taus, he says. “We never had a problem from the start, and we’ve been fine since.” But he has little to say on Tatlonghari: “We don’t talk. We have not communicated since [the breakup]. Let’s put it that way.”

Originally dismissed by cynics as a publicity gimmick, the Dantes-Rivera real-life love team is apparently going strong.  Dating in such a public profession isn’t easy but the two try their best to spend time together. “It’s very, very hard to find time,” he admits. “That why when our shows end, we make it a point to do something and probably go somewhere to have a vacation. For us, three days is fine, three days of not thinking about anything.”

The first thing he loves about Rivera is her great sense of humor. “It’s how she cares for me and the people I love, and that’s one of the best things I love about her.” Together, he admits they can be “magulo [rambunctious].” Sometimes, he’s the one’s who’s makulit and she’s the quiet one; sometimes, it’s the other way around.

Lolit Solis, publicist for both Dantes and Rivera, says that the fact that the couple has been dating exclusively in real life for so long does not affect their individual projects. “Magkaiba naman yung projects nila. Yung kay Dingdong, sa kanya, yung kay Marian, sa kanya din. Successful naman at nagre-rate yung mga project nila. [They have their individual projects and they are all successful]”

It’s not true, for example, that Dantes and Rivera had asked to work together when “My Beloved” came along. Dantes had originally been slated to work with Heart Evangelista, but Evangelista and Rivera had a feud. It wasn’t that Dantes refused to work with Evangelista, Solis says, but that he “thought this was not the time for them to work together.” Rhian Ramos was then tapped to replace Evangelista. Ramos had actually begun shooting “My Beloved” with Dantes when Ramos exited the project to deal with personal problems after a video from ex-boyfriend Mo Twister emerged online. Instead of junking the series, the decision was made to choose another leading lady, and this time, it was Rivera.

Solis believes that the two being together offscreen and on, is a good thing. “People want the best for them,” she says, adding that the two ending up on “My Beloved” was “destiny.” Maybe, she says, the time the two spend together during this project will enable them to get even closer and maybe even decide to marry.

Dantes admits to thoughts about marriage. “[But] that’s very sacred to me and I really want to keep it to myself and it’s the same with her. That’s something we really don’t talk about because if we ever do, we want to be at the right time and the perfect moment.” Having a family, after all, is one of the greatest goals in his life.

At this point, Dantes’ iPhone chimes and he picks up, quickly apologizing for not picking up earlier because he was being interviewed.  There’s a quick “I love you” and he’s back. It’s Marian, of course. She’s on her way over. “She just got her hair cut and she wanted me to be the first to see it,” he says, breaking into a grin.

Moments like this and you realize that the heartthrob label is for real. But that despite that label, Dantes can still go anywhere he wants. •