Cruz is boy-next-door cute, but as he would tell you himself, he isn’t drop-dead gorgeous. Certainly, from our perch, he isn’t the handsomest face in local show biz.
His popularity with the ladies, from teenage girls to cougars and even gays, not to mention in the box office, however, offers evidence to the contrary. Cruz’s dating life of late, for instance, rivals the buzz on his movie projects.
Personal life
In a press event last Wednesday for Greenwich, the pizza chain he’s endorsing for four years now, the organizers reluctantly allowed interviews, as they feared the media would pry too much on the actor’s personal life. When he finally sat down for a chat with reporters, Luis Velasco III, Greenwich’s marketing director, had to act as buffer.
Cruz went off-script, though, and shared a few things that clued us in on the secret to his enigmatic charm. And if we deduced it right, it has little to do with his looks. (He deadpanned about not liking the gym as much as the next matinee idol; he said his mom might disapprove of him becoming a hardbody.)
Seen those hapless boyfriends or husbands in boutiques looking painfully bored, slumped on a couch, head bowed, as their girlfriends/wives spend eternity going through racks and racks of clothes?
Cruz is not that kind of guy. On the contrary, he’s the type who, likely, will himself be picking out stuff for his girl to try in the dressing room. Unlikely to happen here without him getting mobbed, but you get the picture.
Cruz, by his own admission, likes to do girl things—go to nail and hair salons, the spa, even do grocery shopping. Like a gay BFF—only he’s straight as a rod, if gossip is anything to go by.
When asked what it felt to be getting all the attention (read: lusted after), he said he didn’t believe that to be the case.
“At most, maybe they just find me cute. It’s hard to entertain that thought,” he added.
Not show biz
But surely he must know what it is that so captivates his admirers?
He turned to Velasco, as if wanting to be rescued. “Honestly, I don’t know,” he said. “Modesty aside, I think I was cuter when I was a kid. I look okay, but I’m just an average-looking Pinoy.”
“He’s very real, he’s not ‘show biz,’” Velasco chimed in, in an attempt to explain the John Lloyd charm. “He doesn’t get it into his head [that women are running after him].”
Earlier, Cruz gamely rolled and tossed pizza dough with Greenwich R&D head Suzanne Cruz (no relations) to introduce the resto’s new freshly made crust, which claims to be crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
Women will surely find endearing Cruz’s generosity to his family. The actor, who said he had a personal Greenwich delivery hotline, turned to Velasco and said he now pays for his pizzas. His pizza blowouts for his nieces and nephews have gotten too frequent that he now feels obliged to pay for the food.
After Christmas, he plans to take his young relatives on a Singapore vacation. He’s not even thinking of Christmas gift for himself; he said he’s planning to get his own place soon.
Quizzed on his shopping habits, he admitted difficulty buying for girls. He does, however, shop for himself even as he works with a stylist for his public appearances.
Fashion appreciation
Though he said he doesn’t consider himself stylish, he credits his fashion editor ex-girlfriend Liz Uy for his appreciation of fashion.
“When I was with Liz Uy, my tastes became adventurous. I tried loud colors…. It was when I was with her that I learned paisley was called paisley. There’s also houndstooth. She taught me about textures and patterns.”
Post-Liz Uy, Cruz said his style evolved to “more relaxed, more laidback.”
Would Uy approve of his outfit? He was wearing regular blue denims and a pale striped polo shirt under a black blazer. He was shod in loafers. On his wrist was a Swatch.
“She would find this boring,” he replied without hesitation. “Very boring.”
Now, Cruz says he enjoys quality over quantity. He loves shoes, but he doesn’t keep count: He gives away to make room for new ones. He turned coy when asked his most expensive fashion purchase.
“I like to say that I have a budget limit when I’m shopping,” he began, sounding almost embarrassed. “But once you’re there…. That’s why I said I’m like a girl. I have that disease.”