VIC SOTTO
It seems Vic Sotto has a new daughter.
No, we’re not talking about Talitha “Tali” Maria Sotto, his one-year-old girl with wife Pauleen Luna – it’s Maine Mendoza.
The dynamics of Vic and Maine’s daddy-daughter tandem is a hit on screen. They also played such roles in the film “My Bebe Love” (2015), then on the “Eat Bulaga!” 2018 Lenten special “Taray Ni Tatay,” and now on the comedy series “Daddy’s Gurl.”
In an interview with Bulletin Entertainment, Bossing – as he is fondly called – said he and Maine might as well have inked a contract that has them playing father-daughter in the years to come.
“It’s going to be forever!” said Vic, who will also play father to Maine’s character in the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival Entry “Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles.”
Vic admitted he initiated the sitcom for Maine, believing she has good comedic timing.
“To be honest, Maine has the knack for acting in general,” he revealed. “I know she will be effective in a sitcom like this. And she’s enjoying it so far.”
Maine has been in the industry for almost three years now, and Vic said she has grown gradually into being celebrity. She’s now more serious and comfortable doing what is required of her.
“We all know she came from out of the blue. She didn’t know what she joined. In fact, during her first taping day as actress, she was nervous. She had no idea of what’s going to happen. She didn’t know how to mingle with other people,” he shared. “But now, she’s more comfortable in this environment. She evolves because she’s a good learner.”
Despite treating the young star like family, Vic reiterated he doesn’t meddle with both her professional and personal lives. Also, he doesn’t give her advice when it comes to handling intrigues and bashers.
“Aside from the fact that I’m not a meddler, I believe she has to learn on her own all the good and bad things in this industry. I’d been there also, but no one gave advice to me. Maine is an intelligent person and she knows to handle things. So I let her discover these things by herself.”
Daddy Vic
On “Daddy’s Gurl,” Vic is Barak Otogan. He is a devoted husband and the owner of Otogan Farm in Batangas. Visitacion (Maine), on the other hand, is his daughter. When she moved to Manila, she changed her name to Stacy, a trendsetter slash influencer whose daily goal is to trend on social media.
The show is doing good ratings-wise and Vic couldn’t help but be grateful over the positive reception.
Going back to his role, he described it as the “conservative father,” the way he is even behind the camera.
“The conflict in this show is two persons from different generations with corresponding perspectives,” he explained. “But in real life, as a father, I know how to adjust. I’m open-minded when it comes to generation gap. I believe I also have to enjoy this generation and adapt to it in order to build good relationship with my children.”
His daughter Tali just turned one and Vic didn’t organize a big party for her. He’s just being practical, he noted.
“She’s too young to understand that kind of things. And I bet she will just get annoyed when there’s a lot of people around,” he quipped.
MAINE MENDOZA
The 69-year-old described Tali as a “very chill baby” and that, “Pauleen and I are very lucky to have her.”
Vic will support Tali all the way should she pursue showbiz as career in the future. However, he doesn’t encourage it.
“If it is up to me, I hope she will not (enter show business). But I also have huge respect for this industry. Everything I have known is the product of all the things I’ve done here. So let’s just see in the future,” he said.
Go, girl
In a separate interview, Maine admitted it’s a challenge for her to portray a daddy’s girl role given that she’s not one in real life.
“My dad and I are close with each other but not too clingy the way Stacy is,” she noted.
“Daddy’s Gurl,” which airs every Saturday night after “Pepito Manaloto,” is Maine’s second TV series since entering showbiz. Her first was “Destined To Be Yours” opposite Alden Richards.
“I think doing sitcom is less stressful for me. I’m more comfortable doing comedy,” she said when asked if she’s willing to do another teleserye.
Humble as she is, the young actress said she’s not aware if she’s already improved as an actress. But Oyo Sotto, who plays Lance Saadvera, Stacy’s strict boss on the show, said so.
“She really improved a lot. She’s a good actress,” he said.
Maine blushed. (Photos by Lester Ramos)