Jordan Clarkson, Darren Criss and Erwan Heussaff are the three cover stars of GQ Philippines' maiden issue. MJ Felipe, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — GQ has finally arrived on Philippine shores, and for its maiden issue, NBA star Jordan Clarkson, Hollywood actor Darren Criss, and food content creator Erwan Heussaff grace its cover.
Criss, who flew in just this morning, told ABS-CBN News, “I can’t believe it. It really is extraordinary. It means a great deal to me. I am very honored to be part of anything related to GQ, but of course I wanted to be part of any public facing, cultural representation of the Philippines. It means a lot to me.”
As far as he can recall, Criss last visited the Philippines back in 2019. His mother, Cerina Bru Criss, is a native Cebuano. During the GQ launch, event host Matteo Guidicelli had the chance to chat with Criss onstage in Bisaya and a little bit of Italian, as the Hollywood actor spent time studying at the Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo back in 2008.
Two weeks ago, Criss was in Los Angeles and honored Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga at her Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. Criss is undoubtedly happy to see more Filipinos taking up space on the global scene — may it be in television, streaming, film, music, or even sports.
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“Well, first of all the joke that everybody loves to make is a wonderful stereotype about the Philippines is we have a lot of music and a lot of performance in our bones. I think it's a proud stereotype that I'm happy.”
He added, “It's how we take care of each other. It's how we connect to each other. So, outside of the more predominant stereotypes of home care and medical care, you know the performing arts is an integral care for the world. And so I don't know if that's in our blood or if it's in our culture of the heritage. But I think that's where it comes from and people have always responded to it with open arms.”
Wherever he goes, a lot of Filipinos are taking pride and making it big out there, known or unknown. “I mean, there's so many other people that we may not have in our Spotify. We may not follow Instagram, but are around the world doing really amazing things in the performing arts. So I don't care if it's on a cruise ship or at the O2 in London. I'm always celebrating.”
GQ Philippines also unveiled its editor-in-chief, Danyl Geneciran. A-list celebrities like Anne Curtis-Smith, Pia Wurtzbach-Jauncey, Nadine Lustre, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, and husband JC Intal also graced the launch held at the Marriott Ballroom in Pasay City.