Ramon de Ocampo: Another Pinoy in Hollywood

This long distance Conversation with Ramon de Ocampo is a spin-off of Funfare’s broken series on Pinoys "sighted" in foreign films and TV shows, starting with a passing mention of the Pinay who plays a possessed woman (reminiscent of Linda Blair in The Exorcist) in the opening scene of the recently shown Keanu Reeves starrer Constantine.

"Did you know that Ramon de Ocampo has just done an important role as a leukemia patient in the popular US TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation?" asked Miss "D." "And not only that, he’s cast in a supporting role as Agent Meadows in XXX 2: The Next Level. It’s not just a mere ‘Pinoy sighting,’ he’s an important character in both projects."

Ramon de Ocampo doesn’t just yet ring any bell locally even if in America he has been making heads (mostly those of producers and casting agents) turn. You will be pleasantly surprised to know that Ramon is the son of former Finance Secretary Roberto "Bobby" de Ocampo who quit the Cory Aquino administration to run for Senator in the 2000 elections. Ramon took time out from his busy schedule in the US and came home to campaign for his dad.

Two years later, he came back to star in a play (what’s its title again?) at the CCP and back he flew promptly to the US.

And now, comes XXX 2: The Next Level, directed by Lee Tamahori (the James Bond movie Die Another Day, etc.), where Ramon co-stars with Samuel L. Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman (of Underworld fame) and Ice Cube who plays XXX, the agent played by Vin Diesel in the first XXX flick.

Released locally by Columbia Pictures, XXX 2: The Next Level is another edge-of-your-seat action-thriller about a popular president being targeted for assassination by a radical splinter group of dissenters deep within the United States government. Only two people stand between anarchy and freedom: Augustus Gibbons (played by Jackson) who’s on the run after surviving a hit on the National Security Agency’s top-secret headquarters and Darius Stone (Ice Cube), a decorated Special Ops soldier under close guard in a military prison.

Ramon tackles his role as an NSA agent supported by his rich movie/stage experience. Besides CSI, his other notable TV guest appearances include Law & Order (as Michael Sanchez in the episode American Jihad, 2002), The Education of Max Bickford (as Young Man in the episode The Good, The Bad and The Lawyers, 2002), Wasteland (in the episode Pilot, 1999) and Cosby (as Pablo in the episode The Wedding, 1999).

He played bigger roles on the TV shows Personals (1999), Night Ride Home (1999), Hamlet (2000), Darkened Sky (2002) and The Look (2003).

After XXX 2: The Next Level, Ramon will be seen in two other films, Happy Endings and The Most Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, slated for release also this year. (XXX 2 will be released in the Philippines on April 27, two days ahead of the US showing.)

Ramon was in L.A. (where he has moved from New York) during this overseas Conversation.

How did you get the role?

"Well, you know, I hate to say it but the most traditional way you can think of – auditioning, you know. I think there are a lot of people who know people who work with different people and they get it through trial-and-error. But I think I was very lucky. I liked to think that (my) talent showed, so I was called back and I got the role."

Of course, you have an agent who arranged everything.

"Yes, I have. Actually, he’s the same agent I had when I was in New York. I have an agent on both coasts from the same office."

How many showed up during the audition?

"I don’t know how many. But I heard that they searched for a really long time for this role. They didn’t know what they wanted. By the time I got there, they were nearing the end of the rope. You know, they were gonna shoot soon. My agent said that they had seen everybody in town and they had seen everybody in New York as well. So, whatever that means...They didn’t have any idea how the actor should look."

Oh, they didn’t have any specification how the actor should be like, whether he should be Asian, Latin or Caucasian.

"Right. The character’s name is Agent Meadows so that’s pretty open. I was very impressed that, in fact, they did decide to go with somebody who wasn’t, you know, like everybody else."

What were you made to do during the audition?

"Well, like in most auditions, you have a little interview and you read a scene from the movie’s script with the casting director and then you do it in front of the director."

And what scene was that?

"Hmmmm. I had to do the monologue where I briefed the NSA squad on who the new Triple X should and why we’re looking for him. I was also asked to do a couple of other scenes."

When did you start shooting for the movie?

"It started in July-August last year and went through October. I think I shot for three months."

How did you prepare for the role? Did you have to take up martial arts?

"Oh, I have a black belt in Taekwondo. I also studied Arnis (a Filipino form of martial arts) there in the Philippines. The physical preparation is very important because it’s an action film – you know, jumping over fences and running down hills."

How did you internalize the role?

"Oh, as far as that is concerned, I’ve been reading a lot of action-thriller novels, suspense-mystery novels and detective stories...I’ve been watching a lot of action movies. I’ve been imagining what goes on in the mind of the lead characters."

I supposed you’re physically fit. How tall are you?

"Oh, about 5’10"."

How much do you weigh?

"About 155 lbs., all lean muscle."

How do you keep trim? What sort of diet do you follow?

"I follow a high-protein diet. I’m basically Filipino and I love pork and steak."

What workout do you do?

"I go to the gym six times a week. Every day I do some heavy lifting (weights) and I do the treadmill."

Do you have a nightlife?

"Oh, I do have a nightlife...sometimes."

Do you have a girlfriend?

"Yes, I do have a girlfriend."

A Filipina?

"No. She’s French but an American citizen. She’s an actress and a dancer. I met her in New York and we’ve been together for a while. She was with me when I was in the Philippines three years ago."

Are you based in New York?

"I used to be. Now, I’m based in L.A."

Did you have any scenes with Samuel L. Jackson or Ice Cube or Willem Dafoe in XXX?

"I have a scene with Ice Cube where I basically run after him. I did not meet Samuel L. Jackson at all but we did talk on the phone. We talked mostly about theater. It’s an interesting topic to me because I’m also a stage actor."

How was it working with Ice Cube?

"Oh, he’s cool! No wonder his name is Ice Cube. You know, he’s got all these people who hang around there. I just think he’s very good... he’s very simple."

Friendly?

"Yeah, sure! He’s a big star and I just kind of get out of his way. Friendly? Sure, he was! But as I’ve said, he had a lot of stuff to do and we didn’t really have much time for small talk."

By the way, late last year you appeared on the popular US TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, playing Daniel Lopez, a leukemia patient, in the episode Harvest. I remember you killed your sister to spare her the pain of having her donate one of her kidneys to you.

"I thought it was fantastic! I had memorable moments working on that show. I did several scenes but my big scene was with William Petersen who is a fantastic and incredibly supportive actor. He’s also a stage actor; he’s from Chicago and he works for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It was a five-minute monologue scene and it was fantastic."

Did playing a leukemia victim make you more sympathetic to cancer patients?

"Well, I think my knowledge of cancer patients and my sympathy for people who are sick in general, I guess, may have helped me land the role."

Aside from XXX and CSI, what other projects have you been busy with?

"Well, I just finished a guest spot on a show called Uncommon Sense, with Larry Miller. It’s for the show’s NBC pilot."

XXX is not your first Hollywood movie but it’s your biggest break so far, right?

"You’re right. I also have a good role in my next movie called Happy Endings."

How long have you been in the States?

"Oh, quite a long time. I’m 29 now. I came here when I was barely a year old. I was raised in the States."

Did you take up Drama?

"Yes, I took up Acting at Carnegie in Pittsburgh and then I moved to New York."

Are you the eldest among the De Ocampo children?

"Yes, I am. We are four."

And you’re the only one who ventured into showbiz?

"Oh, my youngest sister is an accomplished classical opera singer. Her name is Rica."

Being an Asian, did you have any difficulty penetrating Hollywood? I heard that it’s not that easy for Asian actors to get a break in Hollywood.

"Sure! I don’t think you can deny that. I am Asian but I can pass for a Latin. But I think it’s important that you are American and your training will out. I think New York has been open to Asian-American people that’s why we see so many of them on Broadway. I think we are on the forefront hopefully of a new movement."

Have you by any chance worked with any Filipino actors out there, like Lea Salonga or Paolo Montalban? Or Hollywood actors with Filipino blood like Lou Diamond Philips or Rob Schneider?

"I actually did a radio play with Lou Diamond Philips called Jaguar Hunter a while back. I did a few different roles in that radio play. Another Filipino was in it, Chito Rivera. It was on satellite radio."

Come to think of it, how would you like the idea of working on a movie or a TV series in the Philippines?

"Oh, but there’s a little problem – I don’t speak Tagalog. As I’ve told you, although I was born in the Philippines, I moved to America before I was even one year old."

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