Who is David Chua and Why is He Being Linked to Kelley Day?

 

During last week’s sendoff press conference for Kelley Day, the country’s official representative to the forthcoming Miss Eco International 2021 pageant (to be held in Egypt on April 4), tongues were wagging when one of the special guests, actor/producer/director David Chua dropped by the venue to wish her luck. 

Many were wondering if David is courting Kelley, who openly admitted that she had broken up with her non-showbiz boyfriend last year.

However, as Kelley and David’s manager Arnold Vegafria pointed out, the couple’s closeness may just be an offshoot of their getting-to-know-you phase before they start buckling down to work on their forthcoming movie and TV suspense thriller project, which also stars world-class actor Raymond Bagatsing.

Despite being linked to the Kapuso actress-turned-pageant queen, David just shrugs off the intrigues. After all, he isn’t exactly a stranger to showbiz and the gossip mill.

Prior to his showbiz career, David was a Fine Arts student at the UST, where he was discovered via Mr. and Ms. Ideal Thomasian, the campus-based personality pageant (2006-2007). This led to modeling stints, where he became a staple in high-profile fashion shows and print ads.

The "accidental celebrity" was thrust into the showbiz limelight in 2008, when he was cast in ABS-CBN’s ‘My Girl,’ the Kim Chiu-Gerald Anderson starrer, where he played the twin brother of Alex Gonzaga and Kim’s close friend.

During his 10-year tenure with Star Magic, he appeared in over 30 teleseryes, including Imortal (2010), Saturday Night Chills (2013), and Love Thy Woman (2019), his most recent project. He won Best Supporting Actor in the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival 2013, where he played the role of a gambling lord in Saturday Night Chills.

He may have started off doing drama roles, but David finds more challenge in character and kontrabida roles. His role models include local celebs Christopher de Leon, Joel Torre, Bembol Roco, John Arcilla, Albert Martinez, Tirso Cruz III, Eula Valdes, Maricel Soriano, Sylvia Sanchez; and Hollywood A-listers including Clint Eastwood, Leonardo diCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman and Viola Davis. He also admires Korean actors Kang-Ho Song, Gong Yoo, and Ko Kyu-Pil.

When not busy with his showbiz commitments, goes full blast with his athletic pursuits, including biking, mountain climbing, swimming, boxing and running, especially while listening to his favorite rock groups like Bon Jovi, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, The Script, Guns and Roses and Maroon 5.

David always falls back on his painting to balance out his high-adrenaline pursuits. He idolizes local artists Ronald Ventura and Ben Cabrera, and dreams of mounting his own exhibit soon.

Because of his extensive acting experience, David has taken a keen interest in taking creative control over his acting medium, and seems equally as interested in working behind the camera as producer and director. 

“It’s high time we move away from clichéd storylines,” David asserts. “There are so many genres worth reinventing, and the same goes for staid, one-dimensional characters who are so painfully predictable.” 

Fortunately, David was able to lay down his blueprint for a TV and movie project, and was feels equally lucky to have gotten his manager’s nod to enlist Kelley and Raymond Bagatsing for his pilot project.

“It’s a great honor to work with kuya Raymond, who is definitely one of our A-listers and a globally-acclaimed actor, whose depth and intensity are just so unreal. Kelley is just as promising. Hers is a fresh face that definitely deserves to be a fixture in teleseryes and movies, because she’s got a vast reservoir of talent waiting to be unleashed.”