Mark Herras is proud of his gay parents. The actor, who was raised by a gay uncle and his life-partner, says he never felt ashamed about having two gay fathers as parents.
“My parents are both gay. I’m proud sa parents ko (I’m proud of my parents),” he said during a press conference for his new weekly comedy show, Conan My Beautician, which will air on GMA.
In an article by Bernie Franco on PEP.ph, Herras said his mother gave him up to her gay brother, who also happened to have a boyfriend. Details of Franco’s article follow.
“Yung nag-ampon sa akin, yung tito ko, kasi kapatid siya ng nanay ko. So, parang hindi na rin siya itinuturing na ampon, it’s like ibinigay ako ng nanay ko sa kapatid niya.”
(The one who adopted me is my uncle, who is the brother of mother. So it wasn’t an adoption in the strictest sense. It’s like my mother gave me to her brother.)
Read on for more on Herras’ childhood
Growing up with gay parents
Herras grew up calling his tito’s life partner his “daddy”, and the two have been great influences in Herras’ life.
“They are the two people who’ve had a great impact on my life,” Herras said in Taglish.
“Ever since I was a baby, they have been with me…except for my dad, who already passed away,” he added in the vernacular.
“Yung tito ko kasama ko pa rin (My uncle is still my companion),” he also said.
He added that he grew up without questioning his family set-up, except for a brief period when he was younger.
“Of course as a child, I experienced feeling ashamed while at the mall, because I did not understand everything about life,” he also said in the vernacular.
“Hanggang sa lumaki ako…hindi ko naman siya actually ikinahiya. (Until I grew up…I did not actually feel ashamed about it),” he explained.
In fact, Herras said he has never hidden from anyone the fact that he has gay parents.
“I’m very proud and I’m very open about telling people kung ano yung background ng family ko (my family background),” he shared.
“I’ve never been ashamed of them. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he also said in the vernacular.
Read on to find what Herras thinks of his new role
Family background prepared him for “beki” role
Conan My Beautician is about a man who pretends to be gay so he can work in a beauty salon. Conan, the main character who is played by Herras, is forced to hatch the scheme when his family goes through a financial crisis after his mother becomes seriously ill.
But while working in the salon, poor Conan becomes besotted with a customer–Ava (played by Megan Young), whom Conan has to work with in a makeup session.
This is the first time that Herras is portraying a gay character, but the transition came easy for him, though he admits it still takes some getting used to.
“Alam naman po ninyo ang buhay ko (You all know about my life),” he told the entertainment press.
“I grew up with gay parents. Kaya kahit noong una akong pumasok sa showbiz, hindi po ako nahirapang makisama sa mga tulad nila sa industriyang ito. (That’s why even when I first started in showbiz, I never found it hard to get along with those like them in the industry),” he shared.
Herras, however, admitted that it took a while for him to adjust to dressing like a woman.
“I adjust each time I put on women’s clothes, because I am not used to it,” he said in the vernacular.
He hopes to deliver a more convincing act within the next few weeks of shooting.
“Hopefully mas mabibigay ko pa nang todo ang character ni Conan. Mga first two weeks pa lang kami sa script. Mga third-fourth, mas magiging natural na yun (Hopefully I will be able to really give it my all. We are only in the first two weeks of the script. By the third, fourth [week], it will come more naturally to me),” Herras also said.
Read: SG scientist and mom shares her thoughts on having two gay sons
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