At the age of 13, barely starting awkward adolescence, Jake Cuenca was already a head-turner—a lean, long-haired mestizo with full brows and a defined jaw. His handsome face and confident stance stereotyped him as a rebellious teen whom schoolgirls would love to get into trouble with.

It doesn't come as a surprise that when newbie talent manager Neil de Guia first saw the 13-year-old Jake, he immediately saw the boy's potential to become a heartthrob and a matinee idol. "Noong una ko siyang makita, alam kong sisikat siya," Neil recalls. "Nakatatak sa utak ko 'yon."

From television commercials, Jake was thrust into the limelight via the now-defunct GMA-7 teen series Click, where budding young stars such as Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin were also starting out.

He was given a steady stream of supporting roles and minor leads in project after project. By 2005, after five years with GMA-7, the young actor was raring to take on more challenging roles.

"I was already becoming an adult," Jake says in an interview with YES! "I knew for a fact na I was capable already. Kung bigyan n'yo lang ako ng isang break, alam kong magagawa ko nang tama, e."

At that time, Jake was already appearing opposite Maxene Magalona in the soap opera Hanggang Kailan (which had Christopher de Leon and Lorna Tolentino in the lead roles). But that was also the time when the Kapuso station had hit a gold mine with its new talents, the first batch of the hit reality-TV talent search StarStruck.

"Kahit papaano may sarili siyang soap opera, sila ni Maxene Magalona," Neil says of Jake. "Kaya lang sumabay ang StarStruck. Siyempre 'yon ang pinakamalakas talagang show ng GMA noon, 'tapos gabi-gabi pa 'yon. Kahit sabihin mong magaling na siyang umarte, wala talaga. Doon naka-focus ang tao sa StarStruck."

After Hanggang Kailan, it took a while before Jake was given other projects in hit shows like Encantadia and Majika. But even here, he played supporting roles. He found himself asking: "Nasa'n na 'ko? Am I even gonna get there?"

Adding insult to injury, he was further put down by a showbiz reporter who told him straight that his career was going nowhere.

Neil recalls: "May nakausap siyang press na tinanong niya, 'Do you think sisikat ako?' Ang sabi raw sa kanya, 'Ay, hindi. Kung ako sa 'yo, 'wag ka nang magtuloy.' Parang diniscourage siya."

The talent manager understood his ward's sentiments, but he didn't let Jake think less of himself. He reminded the aspiring actor that his time would come.

"He's the one who motivated me," says Jake of his manager. "He told me, 'Mangyayari 'yan, Jake. Maghintay ka lang. Mangyayari 'yan. Pag nangyari 'yan, hindi na natin pakakawalan 'yan.'"

THE PRIVILEGED KID. Unlike many other pop stars, Jake doesn't have any sob stories that the masa can relate to. He didn't join any reality-TV show, he wasn't abandoned by a parent, and he wasn't entering show business to alleviate his family's poverty. In fact, he lived quite a privileged life.

Born in San Jose, California, U.S.A., Juan Carlos "Jake" Cuenca is the second son of a Filipina businesswoman, Rachele Leveriza, and a Spanish architect, Juan Tomas Cuenca.

His dad is from the Spanish clan of the Moratos. (Controversial former censors' chief Manoling Morato is an uncle.)

The Cuencas lived in the States and in Spain for a few years before moving back to the Philippines. Both Jake and his older brother Rufo hold dual citizenship, American and Filipino. The youngest child, Bea, was born in Spain 16 years after Jake.

Although the two older siblings grew up together, mom Rachele says her two boys are exact opposites. Rufo "did everything by the book," she says. "He finished school. He has a good job. He's conservative. He doesn't like the limelight, and he's very, very mabait—sobra! Everything was normal. After having him, I thought having a second child was going to be easy...Oh my God! Hindi pala. Jake is different."

As early as five years old, Jake was already showing signs that he was destined to be in the spotlight. During a Christmas party at his lolo's office, the young boy went to the stage, grabbed the mic, and started performing. At nine years old, he was already doing TV commercials, where Cosmo Modeling Agency discovered him.

The way Jake sees it, things were late in coming. "Matagal bago ako nakakuha ng trabaho," he says. "I got my first job when I was 13. The first commercial I did was Safeguard, and I was just an extra. I started talaga sa ibaba."

With his P3,000-peso talent fee, the kid bought a pair of high-end headphones, which he used for his DJ gigs in parties. As he was cast in more modeling jobs, he wanted to challenge himself. "Nabitin ako," Jake admits. "I saw myself acting more [than modeling]."

At that time, showbiz writer Neil de Guia was being encouraged by the late Douglas Quijano—then the talent manager of such big names as Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, and John Estrada—to try his hand at talent management.

For three months, Neil immersed himself in the advertising industry, looking for possible talents. Then, one day, Douglas introduced him to one of Jake's relatives, who told Neil about the 13-year-old.

Neil recalls: "Noong 'pinakilala sa akin, ang haba ng buhok! Hanggang dito"—indicating his shoulders. "'Sige,' kako. 'Kung gusto mong mag-model, gupitin natin ang buhok mo.'"

Jake refused to have his long locks cut, but he agreed to let the talent-management newbie Neil take hold of his career. Before long, Jake found himself auditioning for GMA‑7's afternoon teen series, Click. "They made me act," he says. "I didn't know how to act! At that time, I really didn't know how to act."

Despite his lack of acting skills, he made an impression on the show's director, Mac Alejandre. "Masyado daw akong mayabang," Jake says, chuckling. "Masyadong presko 'yong dating ko, pero he said it was my advantage. 'So don't lose it,' sabi niya. Hahaha!"

To top it off, Jake wasn't even fluent in Tagalog at that time. Still, he was cast as one of the new stars replacing the senior actors who had left the show.

"It was definitely a good start," he volunteers. "I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for GMA. My knowledge in acting, my interpretation of show business—all of that, I learned in GMA. More or less, parang to me, my five years in GMA, it was definitely a learning experience."

He adds: "I just observed everything; [I was] like a sponge. With the small and big roles that they gave me, I learned. I had an open mind and I learned, and I learned, and I learned."

With most of his time being devoted to honing his craft, something had to give. For Jake, it was his studies. He was in his third year of high school when he stopped schooling to concentrate on his showbiz career.

"He was a hyperactive kid," says his mom Rachele. "I think, entering the business, he was able to channel his energy into something that he really passionately loves, kasi he loves to act."

She reveals that, prior to her son's baptism in show business, Jake was becoming a "rebellious teenager." He spent most of his time doing "kalokohan" in school than actual studying.

"At some point, I was really calling my dad, 'I don't know what to do with Jake...' But when Jake entered showbiz, he learned how to discipline himself. He became more responsible, especially when it came to work. Maybe sa personal life pumapalpak minsan, but when it comes to his work, he's very serious."

And so, Rachele helped finance her son's career. She bought him clothes, gave him a car, and hired a driver for him.

"I was thinking na lang, since I'm not spending on his school, I might as well spend for this," she reasons. "I was the only one who said, 'Okay, I'll support you.' Everybody in the family didn't want him to enter showbiz."

Since he comes from a family of professionals, Jake was criticized for not pursuing a college degree. The family further disapproved of his decision to become an actor when they saw him getting nothing but supporting roles and spending more than he was earning to fund his career.

"Before talaga, super nilalait siya sa family," Rachele reveals. "My dad would criticize his acting. But he proved to everyone that he could make it."

THE DARING HUNK. In 2006, the clothing brand Bench held its biennial denim and underwear fashion show. That year, the event, titled Bench Fever, had a sizzling male endorser on its roster of models. The hunk strutted the catwalk in white briefs and black short vest. When he got to the end of the ramp, he stopped to pose for the cameras—and then he thrust his hand inside his tighty-whities. The crowd went wild over that risqué act, and began asking: "Who is Jake Cuenca?"

At that time, the young actor's fantaserye on GMA-7 was wrapping up, and he had not gotten any offers for a new project. Neil received word that rival network ABS-CBN wanted to get Jake as a kontrabida in Sana Maulit Muli, a new teleserye that would launch the love team of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson in the primetime block.

"It was my dream role," says Jake. "Kasi that was the opportunity for me to showcase my craft, to show my acting abilities. At that time, it was already a big deal for me na I was doing a kontrabida role na kasama si Gerald, kasama si Kim. So nagpikitmata na lang ako."

As Jake's talent manager, Neil made sure that the transfer from Kapuso to Kapamilya would go as smoothly as possible. He didn't want to burn bridges with the network that had launched Jake in show business. "Nagpaalam naman kami nang maayos, kaya wala kaming naging issue pag-alis namin doon," Neil says.

For Neil, the pressure to guide Jake on the right path to success was extra hard. By then, the actor's parents and sister had already migrated to Valencia, Spain. Jake had chosen to stay in the country to see what showbiz had in store for him.

"Pray ako nang pray," Neil admits. "Parang inano ko, na ang future niya, nakasalalay sa akin, kasi siyempre, nagpaiwan siya. Bukod pa do'n, tumigil siya sa pag-aaral. Ayoko naman in the future na magsusumbatan kami. Inako ko talaga na kailangan ganito. Pinag-isipan ko talaga lahat."

At the Kapamilya network, Jake bloomed as an actor. He topbilled his first primetime series Palos in 2008, played a memorable antagonist in the Kim-Gerald love team in Tayong Dalawa in 2009, and is currently starring as the leading man in Rubi. He is also set to star in Huling Sayaw, a Star Cinema offering that has Aga Muhlach and Angel Locsin in the lead roles.

Jake can only be happy with the way things are going. "I am at this level because of ABS-CBN," he says. "They gave me my break. I wasn't offered a contract right away. The deal was, I had to do this right now. Kung maganda 'yong trabahong magawa ko, may kasunod 'yon. So, ayun. I did my best, kaya tuloy-tuloy na 'yong trabaho."

But like other successful actors, Jake has had his share of intrigas—from harmless rumors linking him to fellow young stars, to more nasty gossip accusing him of shady acts. His mom, Rachele, expresses her irritation over such reports.

"There's a blind item saying Jake is nagpabayad daw ng one hundred thousand for one night with a gay politician...E, di, sana nag-mall-shows na lang siya. Mas madaling kitain 'yon kaysa sa one night with a gay politician. Sobra naman 'yon. That's inventing things! They don't say the name, and then they'll point it to him."

Showbiz insiders have advised Rachele to ignore the bad press, but she reasons that these things have their way of reaching her, no matter how hard she avoids them.

"People ask you, 'Is it true? Is it Jake? Is it Jake?' Especially now that he's more famous, people come to me even if I don't read it—or come to my mom, or to the others. Nagtatawanan na nga lang kami, pero parang nakakasakit din ng damdamin...It's part of the game. Wala tayong magagawa. It comes with the fame and fortune."

Last July 2010, Bench once again held its much-anticipated fashion show. In the past few years, the clothing brand's biggest star endorser was always the last to walk the runway. In 2008, that was actor Richard Gutierrez. This year, donning a Russian czar's cape, Jake had his turn—and this time around, everyone knew his name.

Echoing his manager's words to him a few years ago, he tells us that he has no time for anything but his career. It is his main focus. It is what drives him.

"Hindi naman lahat nabibigyan ng pagkakataon," he stresses. "Pinaghirapan ko 'tong pagkakataon na 'to. Ang tagal kong hinintay 'tong pagkakataon na 'to. Bakit ko pa pakakawalan, di ba?"