Just days after Toni Gonzaga was announced for the title role in the local adaptation of the Korean hit movie “My Sassy Girl,” now we know who’s set to play as her main man in the film — none other than Pepe Herrera!
Gonzaga’s production company, Tin Can Films, broke the news on Monday. “Grateful for your warm response for our Sassy Girl. Today, let us celebrate the guy who will tell her story. We are proud to share with you Pepe Herrera as our leading man for My Sassy Girl,” the post’s caption read.
Released in 2001, My Sassy Girl is based on a true love story told through a string of blog posts written by Kim Ho-sik, who later turned the series into a novel.
At the time of its release, My Sassy Girl’s commercial success translated to its becoming Korea’s highest-grossing comedy movie ever, and one of the country’s top-five highest-grossing films ever. Today, it’s still regarded as playing a pivotal role in pushing the Korean Wave to a greater audience and has spawned various adaptations across other Asian countries and even a Hollywood remake in 2008.
Herrera will take on the role of Gyeon-woo, originally portrayed by Korean actor Cha Tae-hyun.
On Tuesday, Herrera took to Instagram to get the fans of the much-awaited romantic-comedy film excited.
“Visualise natin – Ngayon, Hanggang maipalabas ang #MySassyGirlPH, marami kaming mapapaligaya ni Fifth at ni Tin. Sa ngalan ng Pag-ibig. Kasi nga, I believe,” the actor wrote.
Herrera broke into the scene with his portrayal of Tolits in the hit musical Rak of Aegis in 2016. He was also a mainstay character in ABS-CBN’s FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. Fans remember him fondly in his big-screen roles such as Paul in 2016’s Sakaling Hindi Makarating, for which he won a Best Actor nod at that year’s CineFilipino Film Festival; Eman in the cult-favorite Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap, which was one of the most-watched films of 2020; and finally, as Jesus Prominente in The Hopeful Romantic, playing Ritz Azul’s leading man. (The last two are up on Netflix, by the way.)
As far as remakes go, we’ve always been wary about if and how local production companies would do the original material justice. With Pepe Herrera’s charming humor joining Toni Gonzaga’s candid allure, now we’re twice as hyped.
Screw the “perfect leading man” stereotype — funny is the new pogi now!
