While David Licauco said he is enjoying his time working in front of the camera, the self-confessed introvert added that the hardest part about being an artist is the attention from people.

“I find it hard to adjust to fame, especially because I’m an introvert. Since I will be talking with a lot of people during this media conference, I know this will take a lot of energy from me. I appreciate this kind of interview with you because it’s intimate,” David told Inquirer Entertainment. “But when I’m at a mediacon, I change. If you see me there and notice that I’m talking nonsense, that means I’m already stressed. Being surrounded by a lot of people really stresses me out. I tend to open up when I’m in a more intimate setting.”

The media conference held on Thursday was to promote Catherine Camarillo’s romantic comedy “That Kind of Love,” which is also David’s first big-screen project with love team partner Barbie Forteza.

“I think there are two kinds of artists. The first does this for passion and the second treats it as work,” David began. “I don’t walk around feeling like I’m an artista, a celebrity. I look at this as work, that it’s not so different from the work of a doctor, for example. It just so happens that a big part of this particular kind of work is that people know me. I try not to let that get to my head.”

David continued: “Of course, I’m not perfect. If someone approaches me for a picture, I would obviously smile. But there were times when, in my mind, I would say, ‘I want some alone time!’ Of course, I understand where they are coming from. They don’t know that I’m tired, or that I suffer from sleep apnea, or that I’m an introvert.”

David said there were even times when people would approach him while he’s in the middle of a business meeting. “I understand that they’re not aware that a meeting is happening. They just know that I’m David, the artista. Of course, I’d say ‘yes’ to their request for pictures because I’m naturally friendly. I can’t tell them, ‘I’m busy, and so you can’t take pictures with me!’”‘Blessed’

Despite the drawbacks, David insisted that he is “super blessed” to be part of this industry. “Everything I earn from show biz work, I put in to my business ventures. With the kind of business I’m into, I need my show biz connections because I meet with big-time people. I’m not your typical businessman who started in a corporate setting. I need the artista image so people will take me seriously. Their impression of me changes when they talk to me,” he pointed out.

“I love acting so much, that’s why I really work hard to give my best in ‘Pulang Araw,’” David said of the war drama series he stars in with Barbie. “This has become my main career. I don’t think I’d be successful in my businesses without show biz.”

David now has six restaurants all over the country. He is currently busy working on a branch in Taguig that will open soon. “I’ve been doing a lot lately. Prior to coming here, I had a meeting for the space I’m eyeing in BGC. Yesterday, I was taping, and we finished late. Then I’m here now, and I have a meeting again later. I still have to study my script for the next taping day. Then there’s my workout, too. Sometimes, I myself wonder how I’m able to find time to do all these things,” he said.

David explained that the stress was partly because he is “the type of businessman who really does the legwork. I’m really hands on. I’m the CEO. Of course, I have people under me, but I do everything from operations to marketing.”

Failures

David admitted to having experienced failure in his past business ventures, too. “I bought a franchise and lost. The same thing happened to my boxing gym. In those failures, you learn. I guess if you don’t fail, you won’t win in life also. You just have to take that risk. As long as you have an open mind to learn, you will eventually be successful,” he pointed out.

David said Pocket Media Productions also took a great risk when it decided to produce a movie featuring BarDa and have it shown in the cinemas. “The story is well-written and the shots are all beautiful. Budget wasn’t a problem for this project. I hope that this will be promoted well. Our producers invested in this, they trusted us, so I really want to help them,” said David.

In “That Kind of Love,” Barbie plays Milagros Maharlika, a renowned dating coach and certified psychologist. She takes it upon herself to transform Adam de Dios, a stuck-up and controlling CEO of a prestigious company, by finding him the perfect partner. The chance encounter between the two at a restaurant challenges Adam’s belief in his own perfection and leads Mila to confront her own doubts about love’s complexities.

Scene from “That Kind of Love”

“Adam is misunderstood. Because he seems perfect, because he is rich, people think he is doing OK. They just see that he owns a helicopter and a jet plane, and that he is handsome. This is just a wall that he has put up, and this wall has to be broken down by someone—that someone is Mila,” explained David. “In real life, you can’t have it all. Sometimes, you may have a lot of money, but you have no time for yourself. In this life, you have to choose happiness all the time.”

“That Kind of Love,” written by Ellis Camarillo and distributed by Regal Entertainment, opens in cinemas nationwide on July 10. INQ