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Matt Evans reacts to his versatile portrayals through the years, reminisces bonding moments with co-stars

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Liezel dela Cruz

Matt Evans was one of the fourteen housemates that comprised the pioneer batch of Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition in 2006. Like most of his batchmates, he has remained active in showbiz through the years, taking on a variety of portrayals ranging from action to drama, comedy, and fantasy. Join Matt as he looks back at his career highlights in this edition of Kapamilya React.Matt reviewed memorable scenes from his projects through the years, beginning with “Da Adventures of Pedro Penduko.” “Doon nagsimula lahat,” he said, recalling the breakout series that gave birth to his loveteam with Melissa Ricks, the popularity of which landed them in more TV shows.For Matt, playing Pedro Penduko was a real adventure and a life-changing one at that. Since it featured episodic narratives, he was able to work with a lot of seasoned actors. One he would never forget is Albert Martinez who advised him, “Lumaki na ‘yang buhok mo, ‘wag lang yung ulo mo.” Then-newcomer Matt sported big curly hair, thus the pun.Matt will always be grateful to the ABS-CBN management and the show’s creatives for entrusting him the iconic role right after PBB, “Sobrang mahiyain kasi akong tao. So, pakiramdam ko nung nagsisimula ako, hindi ko alam ‘yung gagawin ko. So, nung binigay sa akin ‘yung Pedro Penduko, ‘yun ang nag-pave ng way para magkaroon ako ng, I think, sarili kong identitiy sa industry kahit papaano.”From recreating Pedro Penduko, Matt also reprised the role of Scheduler in the Kapamilya series “<a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/purelove">Pure Love</a>,” an adaptation of Korean drama “49 Days.” Jake or The Scheduler was one of the most loved characters in the teleserye, thanks to Matt’s on-point portrayal. He said the characters and narrative were sketched as faithful as possible to the original version. He fondly remembers the bond with his co-stars as well, especially with Alex Gonzaga, who played the soul that Scheduler was guiding on Earth.Matt went all-out in drama via afternoon soap <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/thegreatestlove">The Greatest Love</a> in 2016. He played Andrei, the gay son of Sylvia Sanchez’s character, with Dimples Romana, Andi Eigenmann, and Arron Villaflor playing the other Alegre kids. The show filled our afternoons with lessons on family rendered through dramatic scenes, and one of the most remarkable was the confrontation among the Alegre siblings witnessed by their Alzheimer’s disease-stricken mom.“Sobrang intense n’un! Grabe ‘yung araw na ‘yun! As in, ilang araw namin pinaghandaan ‘yung eksenang ‘yan, ang haba ng length ng eksenang ‘yan,” recalled Matt. He added, “Ang tapang ng eksenang ‘yun. Ang tapang ng lahat ng actors. Grabe ‘yung tiwala namin sa isat isa.”Admittedly, he had qualms about playing Andrei, but his co-stars especially the more experienced like Sylvia and Dimples were helpful. “Nagpapasalamat din ako kay Nanay Sylvia talaga kasi siya ‘yung laging nakaalalay sa akin. Si Ate Dimples, si Andi, alalayan talaga kaming lahat. Sa mga lalaki naman, walang probelma kasi after naman namin umarte, normal na lahat sa amin.” He also credits his friendship with Aaron, and Joshua Garcia who portrayed their nephew and Dimples’ son in the story. Like any other actor asked about behind-the-scenes trivia about Sylvia, Matt talked about the veteran actress’ penchant for cooking for the cast, and her extraordinary taco recipe.Matt accomplished his dream to do action via military-drama series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/asoldiersheart">A Soldier’s Heart</a>, which started airing in January 2020 just before the pandemic, was halted, and resumed under the new normal setting. “Sabi ko, ang tagal ko nang pangarap ‘to’ kasi madalas tayo drama, comedy, bihira tayo nakakagawa talaga ng pure action,” he watched the death scene of his character Rasheed, who clashed with the military while seeking peace alongside his fellow Muslims.With a delicate narrative that aimed to open the eyes of viewers to the realities of war and the relationship between Muslims and Christians, <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/asoldiersheart">A Soldier’s Heart </a>required considerable research and three years of training for the actors.“Ang daming pag-iingat ang ginawa. Ang daming pagsasaliksik. Sobrang butas ng karayom ‘yung dinaanan ng prod at ng lahat para maitawid ‘yung proyektong ‘yun. Not to mention pa ‘yung pandemya,” said Matt, proud of the project. “Sobrang nakaka-miss ‘yung ‘A Solider’s Heart,’” he said.Matt is back to his comedic roots in the KathNiel-starrer <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/2good2betrue">2 Good 2 Be True</a>. He dons the character of Ays, one-fourth of the “4 na itlog,” a group of scammers, with Daniel Padilla, Yves Flores, and Gillian Vicencio as his partners. Watch <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/2good2betrue">2 Good 2 Be True</a>, weeknights, on <a href="https://kapamilyachannel.com/">Kapamilya Channel</a>, <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/kapamilya-channel-livestream-12685">Kapamilya Online Live,</a> and A2Z.

Matt Evans reacts to memorable scenes from his biggest projects in the past 16 years. 