Joshua Garcia is enjoying the ride.

The man is 26, a charmer, at six-feet fairly tall beside his contemporaries, and quite handsome by leading-men standards. But here’s his calling card: the man is handsomer than anyone in the room when he flashes that smile.

Joshua stepped into the world of showbiz at 16, when he auditioned for the 2014 edition of CBN’s reality show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB). It’s been ten years.

PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an April 3, 2024 interview at PEP headquarters asks him whether it feels like he’s been around a long time.

Joshua Garcia answers: “Matagal na parang hindi.”

He says there was a stage in the waiting game when the days felt long: “Siyempre, yung time na parang pinapatunayan mo pa yung sarili mo, kailangan mo ng mga project na gagawin.”
Then there came a time when the days seemed to go faster: “Pero nung nagkakatrabaho na, medyo bumilis na rin.

“Hindi mo na napapansin na tapos na yung taon. Tapos nag-pandemic pa, ilang taon din kinuha sa atin. So, hindi ko rin naramdaman.”

In the here and now, he says, upbeat: “Ini-enjoy ko lang yung ride. Saya din ng journey dito sa industry, e.”

JOSHUA GARCIA’S WAIT AND PATIENCE

Joshua’s journey into the limelight is no different from those not born into a showbiz family.

A native of Bauan, Batangas, the boy was a reluctant celebrity, candidly admitting that his initial push for pursuing a career as an actor was financial.

Joshua’s life story growing up is not a secret. He has spoken in the past about the complications of his life, having been separated from his parents at the very young age of five, to be left in the care of his paternal uncle, a priest.

“Actually, bago ako pumasok sa PBB, hindi ko pa gusto mag-artista talaga. Ano lang yan, kasi sumali ako for the prize, gawa ng siyempre nangangailangan kami ng pera.”

“Wala akong experience talaga. Nag-audition lang ako nun, diretso PBB, sa Marikina Sports Complex. It’s a very, very long audition.

“Nakakapagod since hindi kami taga dito sa Maynila. Dinayo pa namin yung Maynila para doon.

“Lakas-loob na kaming sumugal na lang doon sa audition. Yung mismong audition na maraming stages, one day lang siya. Pero maraming time na pababalikin ka para parang second screening.”

Looking back, Joshua admits he felt his chances of getting into PBB were slim, but says he put himself in “survival mode” throughout the run of the competition.

“Kasi parang once in a lifetime na opportunity yun, parang hindi na siya babalik,” he muses. “Alam kong parang hindi na mauulit sa akin yung ganun. Wala ka nang time mag-isip, gagawin at gagawin mo na lang talaga lahat.”

Despite not winning — celebrity Brazilian model Daniel Matsunaga clinched the top prize, while Maris Racal, Jane Oineza, and Vickie Rushton secured runner-up positions — the teen from Batangas nevertheless decided he would try showbiz.

After all, he thought, he’d already gained some exposure from PBB. Why waste it?

JOSHUA GARCIA: “KAILANGAN MAY ISANG TALENT AKO”

The path to stardom was far from smooth. There were moments when he felt his fledgling career had hit a standstill before it had even gained momentum.

Joshua narrates, “Nung paglabas ko ng PBB, parang napansin naman ng tatay ko na parang walang nangyayari sa akin dito sa Maynila. Hindi naman ako nakakaipon, wala naman akong proyekto. Pagkatapos ng first project ko, yun, nabalik na lang kami ng Batangas.”

But instead of giving up, Joshua gave it another try— telling himself, “Seseryosohin ko na ito,” and determining, “Kailangan may isang talent ako na yun lang yung gagawin ko.”

Armed with a newfound drive, Joshua attended acting workshops organized by ABS-CBN’s talent arm, Star Magic.

“Six, seven months na consistent workshop lang sa acting. After nun, yun, doon ako nagkaroon ng sariling mga project — tuluy-tuloy na,” remarks

Joshua, who mentions John Lloyd Cruz, Piolo Pascual, and Jericho Rosales as the actors he looked up to in his formative years in showbiz.

The workshops paid off. Television and movie projects started coming in, the first of which was Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita, an afternoon drama series that paired him with Loisa Andalio in 2015.
In 2016, he landed a role in the film Barcelona: A Love Untold starring Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, where Joshua earned a FAMAS Best Supporting Actor nomination.

It was not the lead role, but his confrontation scene with Aiko Melendez, who played his mother in the story, caught moviegoers’ attention.

That same year, he made his mark as a promising young actor in the afternoon family drama series, The Greatest Love.

Joshua earned praises for his role as the loving grandson of Sylvia Sanchez, a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.

Then he got his first leading role in the movie Vince & Kath & James, which premiered at the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival.

A member of the MMFF selection committee noted that Joshua had the makings of the next John Lloyd Cruz, an actor effective both as matinee idol and as dramatic actor.

BENEFITTING FROM A LOVE TEAM

Like many young stars made marketable to a young demographic, Joshua was packaged as part of a loveteam with Julia Barretto.

The pair first worked together in Vince & Kath & James in 2016; followed by Love You to the Stars and Back in 2017, and I Love You, Hater and the TV series Ngayon at Kailanman in 2018.

Their relationship transitioned from reel to real, with the two dating for two years, 2017 to 2019, before parting ways under a cloud of controversy.

Despite recent criticisms of the loveteam culture and the premature end of both his onscreen and real-life partnership with Julia, Joshua remains cool about having been associated with a female co-star.

He actually says he would not alter a thing if given the chance to go through the journey all over again.

“Ang laking tulong ng loveteam sa akin,” Joshua says with a smile, reminiscing about the short but successful run of “JoshLia.”

PEP.ph asks if, in the long run, being part of a loveteam is a drawback.

Joshua answers, “Iba-iba yung tao, e. Ako kasi, hindi ko hinahanapan nang mali yung mga bagay-bagay.”

JOSHUA GARCIA BREAKS OUT AS SOLO STAR

PEP.ph next asks him if, at this point, he would rather be tied to a loveteam or work as a solo artist.

Joshua says he’s fine either way. But, he admits, he would enjoy the freedom of selecting various roles and engaging in projects with more complex and thought-provoking themes.

Following the end of his loveteam with Julia, Joshua was seen in the horror-thriller film Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan and the television series Viral Scandal, Darna, and Unbreak My Heart.

While Ang Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan, an adaptation of a Bob Ong novel, got mixed reviews, Joshua’s performance earned mostly positive feedback from critics, who called his portrayal “solid” and proof that he can deliver the goods outside of a loveteam.

For Unbreak My Heart, Joshua tells The Philippine Star in an October 2023 interview that assuming the role of Lorenzo “Renz” Isidro — a nurse who gives up his career in the Philippines in the hopes of a better future in Switzerland — made him realize that “kaya ko pala lumabas sa comfort zone ko” and that it’s possible “to take on a higher and different role in acting.”

Of his recent projects, Joshua says, “Na-enjoy ko yung marami akong nakakapareho. It’s a different experience. It’s a different learning experience for me.

“At mas lumalawak yung knowledge ko sa pag-acting kapag marami ako nakakasama at iba’t iba na pwede kong magamit sa mga susunod pang proyekto.”

Joshua’s enthusiasm and curiosity extend to life behind the camera. He tells the story during the making of Darna when he pitched something to the creative team to add a bit of edge to his character Brian Robles, an honest policeman and Darna’s love interest.

He recalls happily: “Nag-experiment ako nung Darna. Since nagbe-brainstorm yung mga writer ng kalaban. There was one time may napanood ako, yung Teen Wolf [an American supernatural teen-drama series].

“May time doon na naging kalaban yung character ni Stiles (portrayed by Dylan O’Brien). Sabi ko, ‘Bakit hindi natin gawin ‘to?’ Tapos pinapanood ko pa sa mga writer.

“So, nung Darna, naging kalaban ako ni Darna, yung ‘Dark Brian.’ Natuwa naman ako na game naman yung mga writers.”

Dark Brian is a doppelgänger of Brian Robles who sets out to tarnish the good reputation of the noble policeman.

Joshua’s Dark Brian portrayal was praised by viewers, with one netizen commenting on X (formerly Twitter), “Super best actor si Joshua parang ibang katauhan talaga!,” and with another remarking, “Para talaga akong nanonood ng magkaibang tao!”

“Wala naman akong problema sa roles,” says Joshua, whose latest film, Fruitcake, hits cinemas on June 12, 2024. “Acting is acting. Kaya kung kontrabida man ako o bida, o supporting role, okay lang.”

He observes that the current landscape of local showbiz fosters a culture of collaboration and versatility.

The shift, he believes, is driven by the multitude of platforms available nowadays, which encourage experimentation not only in roles and stories but also in the manner of presentation.

He enthuses, “Ngayon kasi parang mas may freedom na yung actor sa atin to portray ng kung anu-anong mga roles. Which is mas okay, ‘di ba? Mas nagbabago yung industriya.”

Alongside these new possibilities, it seems that a little dose of nostalgia here and there won’t hurt.

Joshua surprised many when the announcement was made on April 25, 2024, that he and ex-girlfriend and ex-loveteam partner Julia were reuniting for a movie titled Un/happy for You to be produced by Star Cinema and Viva Films.

It speaks of Joshua and Julia’s professionalism that they’re open to working with each other again despite their falling out.

And while their on-screen chemistry may prove a bit rusty going into the project, their managers are confident that the JoshLia magic, aided in no small measure by their familiarity with each other, will come to the surface as they work on the movie.

DREAM OF MAKING IT OVERSEAS

“Gusto ko makagawa ng international [film] or series,” Joshua beams, revealing a career goal. “Kahit isa lang muna. Yun muna sa ngayon.”

He makes clear, though, that he treasures every project he has done, adding that the excitement never wanes—reading a script, reporting to the set, acting before the camera, and doing promotional work.

“Every time na may proyekto ako, para akong nasa cloud nine. Kasi parang ang daming nangyayari,” Joshua enthuses about being an actor.

Then there are the friendships built on the job. Joshua mentions Unbreak My Heart as a challenging yet fun project precisely because of the friendships that developed among its cast members.

“Ibang relationship din kasi na-build namin. Gawa ng, siyempre, nag-shoot kayo sa ibang bansa [Switzerland] and araw-araw kayo-kayo nakikakakitaan.”

Morevover, Joshua raves about the caliber of artists he worked with in the series, the likes of Jodi Sta. Maria, Laurice Guillen, and Eula Valdez.

Asked about a local celebrity he admires today, Joshua names Kathryn Bernardo, saying she has real poise: “Ang ganda niya lang i-handle lahat ng mga bagay-bagay.”