Coco Martin looks back, give thanks to indie beginnings

CEBU, Philippines -  Of the 15 movies he has done since starting out in show business, 13 were indie productions.

Most were critically-acclaimed and reaped for him international and local acting accolades. Now that “Indie Prince” Coco Martin has made it to mainstream TV, he is grateful for the discipline he imbibed in working with indie outfits.

“Proud ako sa pinanggalingan ko kasi ang pinakamagandang na-contribute ng indie sa akin, yung pagiging professional. Dahil kokonti lang kami, kami na rin yung wardrobe, minsan ako na rin yung crowd director, make-up artist, kumbaga nagiging independent ka at natututo ka tungkol sa propesyon na pinasukan mo at mas nagiging malalim ka na tao.

"Minsan, ako mismo, nakahanda na ang damit ko, hindi na ako kailangang sabihan. Kung anong nakikita namin doon sa mga nakakatanda sa amin, pilit naming inaabot o ginagaya para wala silang masabi. So, maka-adjust yung lahat at hindi na dapat sabihan pa," says Coco during an earlier Cebu visit when his primetime soap was on its final week.

While his debut film, "Masahista", where he played a masseur providing extra services, and his gay scenes for "Daybreak" had explicit adult content, Coco does not regret taking on the said onscreen roles. “Kung ano man yung mga pelikulang ginawa ko noon, very proud po ako doon. Like sa Daybreak, nominated po ako sa Urian for Best Actor. Yun yung nagpalalim sa akin bilang aktor. Kung hindi ko pinagdaanan yun, at instant ang pagsikat ko, siguro wala kang matututunan or mailalabas.”

He adds: “Very proud ako kasi hindi man siya na-appreciate ng mga Pilipino dito, dahil alam naman po natin na pagdating sa indie medyo kapos po tayo at hindi ganoon nasu-suportahan ng gobyerno pero na-appreciate siya at nakilala internationally at nakapagbigay kami ng karangalan para sa ating bansa. Hanggang ngayon, kung lumalaban kami internationally, nagugulat ako minsan na may ibang foreigners na nagpapa-autograph sa akin. Ibig sabihin na-appreciate nila yung pelikulang ginawa ko.”

His portrayal of Ramon in the successful teleserye “Tayong Dalawa” earned him rave reviews and became his vehicle for penetrating mainstream consciousness. “Sobrang laki ng naitulong sa akin ng “Tayong Dalawa” lalo na sa mainstream. Sa financial at sa status ko bilang actor, mas nakilala ako ng mga tao. Sa indie ko kasi, mas sa international ako nakilala. Kaya talagang thankful ako na nakasama ako doon” he says.

The 25-year-old actor starting acting via college theater, then did a few commercials before he auditioned for what was to be his breakthrough film. Where did he get his skill and passion for acting?

He shares: “Noong bata pa ako, sobrang mahiyain po ako talaga. Ni sa pamilya namin, walang nag-akala na magiging artista ako. Siguro namulat ako sa pelikula dahil nung bata ako, madalas manood ng pelikulang Tagalog ang lola ko. Dahil bata ka wala kang choice kundi panoorin yung pinapanood nila. Siguro sa kapapanood ko, doon ko nakikita yung techniques sa pag-arte. Nagugulat nga yung ibang tao dahil kilala ko yung mga lumang artista tulad ni Lolita Rodriguez.”

But he didn’t really set out to be an actor. It’s an amusing story actually. In one of the previous articles about him, he shared that his dream was to work abroad as a seaman. When "Masahista" was offered to him, and he was told that the film had the potential to compete internationally, he thought this was his chance to be a TNT (or in immigration parlance, an “illegal alien”). So when they traveled to Switzerland, one of the countries where they submitted the film for competition, the crew was wondering why his luggage was so huge, as if he was never coming back.

His plans were halted when “Masahista” won in the festival. When he came clean on his real intention, they advised him to forgo with his plans of remaining abroad as a TNT because their film won and there might be a career waiting for him back home.

Coco is currently busy taping for “Agimat: Mga Alamat ni Ramon Revilla”, reprising the role of Tonyong Bayawak and for "Nagsimula sa Puso" with Maja Salvador.

In their afternoon soap, Maja plays a young and married school teacher who falls in love with Coco, her student. This is a remake of the film with the same title starring Hilda Koronel, Jay Ilagan, and Richard Gomez. Jason Abalos plays Jay Ilagan's character while Coco takes on Richard Gomez's role.

“Kakaiba naman ako dito. Happy ako kasi meron akong bagong proyekto na isa sa mga pinagmamalaki ko dahil combination ito ng iba’t-ibang magagaling na artista like si Maja, Jason, Jaclyn Jose, Gloria Diaz, Ronnie Lazaro, Irma Adlawan, Nikki Gil at Buboy Garovillo. Ibang combination, ibang istorya, at ibang atake naman po ang ipinapakita namin dito. In love ako sa proyekto, excited ako every taping day namin. Nakakatuwa kasi si Maja, very mature ang pinakita niya, dahil ito na yung chance na binigay ng ABS-CBN sa kanya kaya talagang bigay-todo. Sa mga stars ngayon ng ABS-CBN, feeling ko binibigay nila lahat, hindi na puro pa-tweetums, parang ang labanan ngayon, lahat sila nagiging aktres o aktor.”