Half-brother of Mike Vergel (on his mother's side).
Earned the nickname "The Bad Boy of Philippine Cinema" for his onscreen roles of a tough guy anti-hero as well as several brushes with the law in real life. He was charged for rape and illegal drugs, but the cases against him were all dismissed.
When the "Bad Boy" title was passed on to Robin Padilla in the 1990s, he was later tagged as the "The Original Bad Boy of Philippine Movies.".