In fact, he even deemed the latter as the “Richard Gere of the Philippines.” “Siya ‘yung talagang medyo iconic — tall, super gwapo na leading man material na hinahanap mo,” said he about the 31-year-old star. According to him, he has been working with Xian ever since his days as Personal Assistant or PA. That’s why it was double nice for the director to work with him through “Parang Kayo Pero Hindi,” Vivamax’s first original series. Based on the bestselling book by Noreen Capili a.k.a. Noringai who is also the writer for the series, it is the story of Joaquin (Xian) and Daphne (Kylie Verzosa), two strangers who start hanging out with each other after a series of encounters in Pangasinan.