Japanese-Brazilian actor, model and athlete Daniel Matsunaga has been appearing in films and television programs since 2010. But it was only last year that he landed what was considered his breakout role in the late morning teleserye “Be My Lady” opposite his then real-life sweetheart Erich Gonzales.
While he finally became a household name with said TV series, the show ultimately served as a bittersweet experience for Daniel as Erich announced their breakup (which he later confirmed) just days before Valentine’s Day this year. As a result, Daniel has regretfully admitted that a planned movie with Erich is no longer pushing through.
“It’s sad, because a lot of our fans are expecting a lot of things from us. I have to apologize to them because you know, everything that we do, is really for them. Unfortunately, it (the relationship) did not work so [it’s best to] just move on,” he recently told InterAksyon and other media during Avon’s Confidence-tial Diaries event where he was officially launched as the first male celebrity ambassador of the direct selling company’s Men’s Club intimate apparel line.
Although Daniel admits that he and Erich rarely communicate these days, he has only good things to say about his ex-girlfriend and admits that he is very much open to being a friend to her.
“I think friendship is really important…I have a huge respect for Erich. She is a beautiful woman [with] a beautiful heart. I have nothing wrong to say about her. I have a huge respect for her family. If I see her, I’m going to say hi. I’m going to be the same Daniel since I left Brazil when I was 15 years old until I die,” he declared.
Daniel insists that he is “fine now” and points to working out, playing football, spending time with his loved ones, family and real friends and just finding something to do as the things that helped him move on from the breakup.
“I’ll be leaving for Brazil soon and will stay there for one to two weeks to represent the Philippines in football together with six other players. We hope we can bring a trophy here,” he revealed.
As for his showbiz career, Daniel said he’s very pleased with the projects that he’s been handed.
“I’m very happy with my new show, ‘I Can Do That.’ I’m very much focused on my work. I hope I can do a teleserye again. There are several proposals to do movies but I haven’t confirmed anything yet.”
What about those rumors linking him to actress Arci Muñoz, a fellow contestant in “I Can Do That?”
“People are linking us. Bagay ba kami?,” he sheepishly asked. Turning serious, Daniel said he’s just leaving everything in God’s hands but is not ruling out any possibility at this point.
“Arci is a beautiful girl. She’s very smart, she’s very nice. We’re in the same show, we spend a lot of time together. You never know.”
