Jake Cuenca
One of Philippine Cinema’s most promising young stars is Jake Cuenca who was born Juan Carlos Cuenca to Filipino parents on December 30, 1987 in San Jose, California. Though he spent his early years outside the country, he was in the limelight as early as when he was nine years of age when he started appearing in TV and print advertisements for some of the country’s biggest brands.
Soon after, Jake Cuenca started appearing in Filipino movies as a child star. Some of these movies include ABS-CBN’s Wansapanataym and 1998’s Hiwaga ng Panday.
In 2003, he appeared in GMA-7’s youth-oriented teen show Click as a part of the show’s second batch of teen stars.
His role in 2005’s hit fantasy series Encantadia was what further catapulted Jake into stardom. In the show, he took on the role of the mystical Kahlil, the son of Ybrahim and Alena, who were in turn played by the then more established stars Dingdong Dantes and Karylle. He next went on to take part in another one of GMA’s fantasy shows, Majika, which was broadcast on Philippine TV in 2006.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Jake began to reinvent himself and started to shed off his boy-next-door role, appearing in local magazines as a full-fledged male sex symbol. He has since gone on to capitalize on his dashing looks and athletic body as he started to model for some of the country’s biggest clothing brands such as Bench.
Another big turning point in Jake Cuenca’s career was his move from GMA to rival TV station ABS-CBN. In the Kapamilya Network, he appeared in the successful nighttime soap opera Sana Maulit Muli in 2007. He appeared with fellow young stars Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu in the show. Perhaps ABS-CBN took notice of the chemistry between the three young stars as they were soon reunited in another hit TV soap opera in 2009, Tayong Dalawa.
Many critics praised the show for its unconventional twists and turns as well as the matured acting prowess of the three lead stars. Jake and Gerald played the role of twin brothers who go on to become law-enforcement officers and end up falling in love with the same woman. Critics were also pleased with Jake’s nuanced acting as he played a character who could be classified as an honorable antagonist who often garnered the audience’s sympathy and respect.
Jake Cuenca would continue to get roles in ABS-CBN shows such as Rubi where he starred alongside sexy actress Angelica Panganiban. He also managed to snag the title role in Agimat: Elias Panaki. In this show, he took on a role that Senator Ramon Revilla popularized, that of a hunter of evil supernatural creatures.
In 2011, he continues to get TV roles through ABS-CBN such as in Green Rose where he was cast in one of the main roles. However, when it comes to movie roles, he isn’t tied down to taking only acting jobs coming from his parent company. In 2010, he had starred in Super Inday and the Golden Bibe, another remake of a Filipino classic, this time by Regal Entertainment. He was cast alongside a big name from GMA-7, Marian Rivera in this fantasy flick.
His most recent movie role is in My Neighbor’s Wife which is another movie that has Jake Cuenca fans talking about his steamy love scenes alongside female costars Carla Abellana and Lovi Poe . According to Jake, this is his most daring movie so far and it has the steamiest sex scenes among any that he’s ever shot. The movie had proven to be quite a challenge, he said in an interview but he was really happy with the result as well as the opportunity to work with GMA-7 director Jun Lana.
Outside of his professional roles, Jake is also known for having been in relationships with several popular local actresses such as Melissa Ricks and Roxanne Guinoo.