Paolo Contis, despite being given more mature roles when he got older, cannot seem to outgrow the image of “Pedring”, a character which he has long been associated with having played it in the 1990s kiddie gag show “AngTV”. He has played recurring teeny-bopper roles in ABS-CBN dramas, has appeared as the main villain in some of GMA7’s popular soaps and has even won an acting award for an independent film, however, for me, he has not totally detached himself from that AngTV character we have known and loved. Don’t get me wrong, he has grown to be an effective actor (and the acting award can prove it), but whenever I see him I am reminded that he was once the lanky child who had that impeccable comedic flair.

Paolo has attempted to repackage himself in the past (from being a teen heartthrob to a major villain) and was successful in the transition. Now, he again undergoes another one – a physical metamorphosis of sorts – as he attempts to transform himself from being a boy-next-door to a hunk via his exposure in this year’s Cosmopolitan Magazine’s annual September supplement, Cosmomen.

Paolo finally decides to show off the ripped muscular body he has worked hard in the gym for in the latest issue of Cosmomen. He shares the limelight with Jon Avila, Billy Crawford, Geoff Eigenmann, Macky Escalona, Ron Morales, Bruce Quebral, Derek Ramsey (who is also this year’s Coverboy), Rocky Salumbides and Akihiro Sato, as one of the 10 Cosmopolitan Bachelor Centerfolds this 2008 and the lone Kapuso star to make it to the shortlist. In an interview, he says he is very fortunate to have been included in the list and it is his first time to be included in any Top Ten list. By now, I’m sure, Paolo has successfully erased the child-actor image of him which has long been stuck in our heads as he metamorphoses into a hunk.