Patrick Garcia and Carlo Aquino : Little Drama Princes of Philippine Cinema

At 15, Patrick Garcia won two Best Actor awards (Star and YCC) for his performance as an Amerasian boy who becomes the self-appointed protector of his gullible mother, Zsa Zsa Padilla, a slow-witted woman easily deceived by men.Strangely, after that, he was not given any other challenging movie role. He felt winning the awards at such a young age put some undue pressure on him.

"I did Nagbibinata and Mula sa Puso, The Movie, but my roles there were not as demanding as my role in Batang PX," he says. "ABS-CBN made me concentrate on TV and I have regular exposure on three shows: Tabing Ilog, Pangako Sa’Yo, and Richard Loves Lucy. Pero siempre, I also missed making movies."

Now, he has a new drama movie Sugatang Puso, and those who have seen it say that he has a good chance of winning another award for his performance here. Sugatang Puso is megged by the same director of Batang PX, Joey Reyes.

"I play a very difficult role here," he says. "I am the illegitimate child of Christopher de Leon and Cherie Gil. I feel neglected because my mom has lived with so many men in her life, most of whom maltreat me. When her latest lover, John Apacible, beats me up, I decide to run away and to live with my father, who by that time, is already married to Lorna Tolentino. Tita Lorna here is a widow who has a son, Carlo Aquino. I’m a very troubled teenager in the story, always quiet and withdrawn. I refuse to talk to other people and have trouble in school. But because Tita Lorna and Carlo accepted me warmly and are so nice and caring to me, I slowly open up to them. With them, I get to experience what it is to have a real family."

But just when everything is getting to be bright and rosy for him, a tragic incident occurs. His dad has forbidden him to drive their car, but when a girlfriend, Jodie Santamaria, calls him up in the middle of the night to ask for his help, he takes the car, with Carlo insisting on coming along, and he figures in an altercation with a rival group in a billiard hall. They hurriedly leave in the car to avoid further trouble, but their enemies chase them, resulting in a car crash that kills Carlo.

"Tita Lorna becomes very bitter because of what happened. But she doesn’t verbalize her anger with me. She just keeps very quiet and ignores me. She doesn’t even talk to me. I feel so guilty about what happened and I go back to being quiet and withdrawn. I tried to take revenge on the guy in the billiard hall who causes the accident but I get shot and was confined in a hospital because of my impulsiveness."

Patrick started his showbiz career as a child actor on Ang TV. He got his first big break on the big screen as one of the title rolers in the youth-oriented movie about skateboarding, Rollerboys, also directed by Joey Reyes. His next important role was in Madrasta, as the only son of Christopher de Leon and Zsa Zsa Padilla who became a problem child after his parents separated.

Patrick does not hide the fact that, in real life, his own parents have already parted ways. "I’m the youngest of three kids, after my brother, Pichon, who’s 25, and my sister, Cheska, who’s 21. My dad has his own family now and has two new children."

He was affected by the breakup and grew up to be a quiet kid. "People think I’m aloof or suplado but I’m not. I just don’t know then how to deal with people in showbusiness. But now that I’m more mature at 19, I’d like to think na mas nag-improve na rin ang pakikitungo ko sa mga tao."

What he misses is going to school, "I only got up to third year high school in Southville in Alabang. After that, my schedule became so dreadfully busy so I wasn’t able to continue my studies anymore."

So far, the rumor that really hurt his feelings was the story that he has become a drug addict. "About two years ago, I was very thin and they accused me of being on drugs. The truth is I was gaining more height at that time at kapag tumatangkad ka in adolescence, you don’t gainwight that easily. I was really hurt by that accusation because it simply is not true, but, I guess, sa showbiz, ganoon talaga, hahanapan ka talaga nila ng intriga."

Patrick says he is now more serious with his craft. "I was playful then on the set. Now I really study my role well, like the one in Sugatang Puso. Because my role here as Eric required me to be silent and withdrawn, when I am not needed on the set, I really just stay in my car and keep quiet. I’m also very thankful to my director, Joey Reyes, because he helps me to understand my role and each scene I’m involved in better. Pati na rin sa senior co-stars ko who are all very supportive. Tito Christopher, and especially Tita Lorna and Tita Cherie who I both get to work with for the first time."

How was he and Carlo Aquino on the film’s set? "At first we’re uneasy with each other because we belong to a different batch at ABS. He’s with the group of John Prats and Stefano Mori in G-mik. I’m with Paolo Contis, Baron Geisler and John Lloyd Cruz in Tabing Ilog. Pero nakatulong ito sa amin dahil, sa story, talagang uneasy kami sa company ng isa’t isa sa umpisa. Then we became close as the story goes along, which was also what happened sa amin ni Carlo sa set off camera."

He’s currently being linked to Paula Peralejo and Jodie Santamaria. It’s understandable because I’m paired with Paula in Tabing Ilog and with Jodi in Pangako Sa’Yo and also here in Sugatang Puso. But they’re both just good friends. I have never had a girlfriend because I’m always busy with works. If ever I’d have one, I’d prefer a non-showbiz girl para less ang intriga."