Isa sa mga pinakatanyag na heartthrob noong dekada 1980s si JC Bonnin.
Ka-batch niya noon sina Aga Muhlach, Herbert Bautista, Raymond Lauchengco, William Martinez, at ang yumaong si Francis Magalona.
Sila rin ang mga bida sa box-office hit movies na Bagets at Bagets 2 noong 1984.
Nakasama rin siya sa TV series na Flordeluna (1981), na pinagbidahan ni Janice de Belen.
Nakasama naman siya ni Sharon Cuneta sa pelikulang Cross My Heart (1982).
Kabilang pa sa di malilimutang proyekto ni JC ay ang action-adventure films na Ninja Kids (1986) at Kamagong (1986).
Pero anim na taon lamang ang itinagal niya sa industriya dahil sa kasagsagan ng kanyang kasikatan, tinalikuran ni JC ang mundo ng showbiz sa edad na 19.
Ang dahilan: dininig ni JC ang aniya ay “deeper calling.”
Naging isang pastor si JC, na ngayon ay 54 anyos na.
JC’S DEEPER CALLING
Noong 1991, lumipad si JC patungong London, England para maging bahagi ng isang ministry.
“I pastored for about 20 years,” pagbabahagi niya sa YouTube video ni Bunny Paras nitong April 16, 2023.
Sineryoso ito ni JC na pumasok sa Bible School at meron ding Master’s Degree in Pastoral Theology.
Noong 2011 naman ay lumipad siya papuntang Amerika.
Ngayon ay nakatira siya sa San Clemente, California, kasama ang kanyang second wife at dalawang anak.
Malapit din sa kanilang lugar ang kanyang first wife, kung saan nagkaroon siya ng pitong anak.
Kasalukuyan siyang nagtatrabaho bilang isang full-time hospice chaplain.
Kay JC dumudulog ang mga taong may malubhang karamdaman.
Sabi ni JC: “Hospice basically is where people go at the end of their life, when doctors can’t do anything for them anymore.
“So it’s basically their family chooses comfort care instead of any form of aggressive treatment.
“So they're confined until basically they die. But sometimes they recover so they're discharged.
“I worked with families that are grieving, provide grief support.”
Si JC Bonnin kasama ang kanyang pamilya at ang aktres na si Bunny Paras (far left)
Inilahad ni JC kung paano niya nalamang mayroon siyang calling.
“I wasn’t really a good boy before. I was a little bit of a player,” pag-amin niya.
“At that time, I didn’t really know that I felt that God was calling me.
“But I just felt something very, very deep, profound, spiritual…
“I felt like I was being pulled. It was a very strong pull, and it was definitely a calling.
“I [was] called to a deeper life, to help me understand more about life.”
JC LOOKS BACK ON HIS ARTISTA YEARS
Nami-miss ba niya ang pag-aartista?
“Sometimes. Yeah. Siyempre naman,” sagot ni JC.
“Every once in a while, I run into old movies. It brings back memories.
“I’ve come a long way, for sure.”
Si JC ay pamangkin ng former actor na si Bernard Bonnin, na ama naman nina Richard Bonnin at Charlene Gonzalez na pareho ring nag-showbiz.
Asawa ni Charlene si Aga na kakontemporaryo ni JC.
JC AND HIS PURPOSEFUL LIFE
Sa buhay niyang malayo sa showbiz, ang pagkakaroon ng matibay na pananampalataya ang isinusulong ngayon ng dating matinee idol.
Pahayag ni JC: “Life is very short in this world. There’s a lot of crazy things.
“If you don’t have a strong heart and a strong core faith, you can get lost in this world.
“It’s really importat to have a sense of purpose.
“A lot of people, when they lose meaning and purpose in their life, they just feel they’re just existing and they’re not living their life anymore.
“So it’s really important to have a personal relationship with God.
“He lives in our hearts but it’s important to know your purpose, discover a higher purpose.”