Desidido ang Brazilian-Japanese model na si Daniel Matsunaga na matuto ng wikang Filipino. Kaya naman nag-hire siya ng tutor para turuan siyang magsalita ng Tagalong.

"It's okay, I can understand but there's a lot of words that I have to understand and memorize. A lot of verbs, a lot of nouns...it's really different from Portuguese. But then, I'm studying just being here in the Philippines and talking to you guys. You guys talking Tagalog, I can understand most of the meaning," sabi ni Daniel nang makausap siya ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) sa presscon na ipinatawag ng Mercator Model and Artist Management para sa kanilang tatlo ng mga kapwa niya Brazilian-Japanese models na sina Akihiro Sato at Fabio Ide kahapon, March 4.

Ayon kay Daniel, nasa "60 percent" na raw ang mga Tagalog words na naiintindihan niya.

STAYING IN THE PHILIPPINES. Sumabak na rin sa pag-arte si Daniel sa pamamagitan ng GMA-7 telefantasya na The Last Prince, kung saan gumanap siya bilang werewolf na prinsipe. Kung noong una'y hindi pa siya masyadong convinced to join showbiz, ngayon daw ay buong-buo na ang loob niya to penetrate Philippine showbiz.

"Yes, now, I decided to stay," sabi ni Daniel. "I had plan to go back to Brazil before. That's why maybe I'll stay, maybe no. It was two months ago. That's why I had a break. But I decided to stay. I didn't go back to Brazil and decided to just bring my family here soon so they can visit Philippines. I just wanted to go back last time because I wanted to see them. So, if they come here, there's no reason for me to go back there. I can focus with my acting."

Nag-iipon lang daw si Daniel ng pamasahe para sa kanyang pamilya dahil medyo mahal daw ang plane tickets.

Tinanong din ng PEP si Daniel, ano ang naging deciding factor niya to stay here in the Philippines?

"It's because I have some jobs in modeling and I have to do some scenes in The Last Prince," sagot niya.

Isa sa most sought-after international models si Daniel. Dito na lang sa Pilipinas ay ilang TV commercials niya ang kasalukuyang napapanood. He also has a modeling career in Thailand, Singapore, and other Asian countries.

Pero bakit nga ba ang Pilipinas ang pinili niya?

"Because of you guys!" mabilis niyang sagot. "You're all very nice, funny, everybody here are nice. The food is also very good. Masarap!"

Aminado si Daniel na malakas siyang kumain, pero binabawi raw niya ito sa pagdyi-gym araw-araw at paglalaro ng football.

THE LAST PRINCE. Ayon kay Daniel, nag-enjoy siya nang husto sa The Last Prince.

"It's been very, very nice. I love it! It's very challenging and I love challenge. With The Last Prince, everything was new for me. To be part of acting, it's the first time and I really like it," sambit ng model turned actor.

Kumusta na sila ni Kris Bernal na siyang lead actress ng The Last Prince?