A Name All His Own

I agree with “RG” when he insists that Sid Lucero is the more deserving to be called King of Indie Films. No objections, I suppose.

In his barely five years in showbiz, Sid has starred in only one mainstream movie and shone in several indies, including Donsol, Tambolista, Tukso, Batanes, Selda and Jeremias, Aurora (rated X) and Independencia (unreleased); and is now shooting two more, Sabungero (directed by Rozie Laurel Delgado) and Astig (by GB Sampedro).

He has been reaping accolades and, so far, five awards, one of them an Urian from the Manunuri (Best Actor for Selda) which literally sent him to the hospital on the day Conversations met with him. I asked Sid to bring his trophies for the pictorial and in his rush to get off his car, he dropped the pointed Urian trophy, built like a deadly weapon (by whoever the “designer” was), and it pierced his leg. It bled so profusely that Sid drove to the nearby St. Luke’s Medical Center and came back limping, with his injured leg in a bandage.

A descendant of the showbiz clan headed by Eddie Mesa (Eduardo Eigenmann in real life) and Rosemarie Gil, Sid, 26 (last March 12, Pisces), chose to take the road less traveled and opted to use a screen name, which was that of his dad Mark Gil’s character in the Mike de Leon movie Batch 81, unlike his kith and kin who are known by their real names: Sid’s sister Max Eigenmann and his half-brother Gabby Eigenmann; cousins Geoff Eigenmann and Ryan Eigenmann; uncle Michael de Mesa (ex-husband of Gina Alajar and father of Geoff and Ryan); and aunt Cherie Gil.

It was done on purpose.

“My dad saw to it,” according to Sid, Mark’s son with ex-wife Bing Pimentel (former model and part-time actress), “and I wanted it that way so I could make my own name.”

Sid is managed by Ricky Gallardo’s The Talent Factory.

Why didn’t you use your real name, Timothy Eigenmann? It’s very cinematic.

“My dad said, ‘You know what, there are so many Eigenmanns already in the industry. Why don’t you drop the last or use a screen name?’ I said, ‘I don’t really care; it doesn’t matter what name I use.’ He said, ‘Perfect!’ Then, my manager, Ricky Gallardo, asked me, ‘Have you seen Batch ’81?’ I said, yes. I was a kid then. My dad is in it. His character’s name is Sid Lucero.”

Of your dad’s films, what’s your favorite?

“Kid, Huwag Kang Susuko. I love it! It’s an action film, with Richard Gomez in the title role. I love it because it was full of martial arts. I was four years old when that movie was shot and I remember crying on the set because my dad was dying in one scene and I thought it was for real.”

Any other movie that made you cry?

“Yes, Magnifico. I am a crybaby. Mababaw ang luha ko. I’m not ashamed to make hagulgol.”

When did you realize that you came from a showbiz dynasty?

“People would ask me, ‘How was it like growing up in a family of actors?’ I don’t know any other way of life; this is as normal for me as it gets. It’s the same as growing up in any other family, except that we grow up in the limelight.”

When did you know that you have several half siblings?

“There are six of us Mark Gil children — two with my mom, two with Tita Irene (Celebre), one with Tita Jane (Guck, a.k.a. Jaclyn Jose) and one with his present wife, Tita Maricar (Jacinto). My mom has remarried and has one child.”

Are you close to your siblings?

“Oh yes, I am. We are closely-knit. One thing I notice about some families...they may be functional but they fight a lot, they argue during dinner. In our family, the fact that we are not living together makes us long for one another. So when we get together, it’s always masayang kuwentuhan, we talk about the good times. We seek out one another when we have problems. I wouldn’t choose to grow up in any other family.”

Are you a true Piscean?

“I’m impulsive in almost everything. But I have a hard time making a decision. As far as women are concerned, I follow my first instinct and it’s almost always right. I’m pretty picky but if I like a girl, I stick to her na, I go all the way na. I’m faithful. If I’m not going out with my girlfriend I stay home.”

In Selda where you and Emilio Garcia play prisoners in love, how did you feel during your love scene (involving a lips-to-lips kiss)?

“It was a very, very passionate scene and, yes, I was nervous. In another scene, I was raped by Allan Paule. I thought it was easy to be raped by a man; hindi pala. My character is traumatized by the rape and that leads him to confide in Emilio’s character. They become close and the love scene between them is tender.”

What effect did that love scene have in you?

“That I know that I would never kiss a guy again. Hahahaha! That was my first and maybe my last.”

How much of you is Mark Gil?

“A lot of people say that I have my father’s mannerisms and his temper. I used to have a volatile temper. Five years ago, I was very, very, very quick-tempered...very angry all the time.”

Can you beat your dad’s record with women?

“I don’t think so...I hope not! Hahahaha! So far, I’ve only had two serious relationships and they are four years apart. I was with my first girlfriend, who was non-showbiz, for one year and a half; and I met my present girlfriend five years ago.”

You must have started very young.

“Oh, you mean when I lost my...? I was 16. Somewhat late.”

At what point in your life did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?

“It was on the second day of my acting workshop with Peque Gallaga, designed, without our knowing it, to be an audition for a TV show called Hanggang Kailan. I was still at De La Salle College of St. Benilde taking up Technical Theater at that time. I was already doing commercials and I was paying for my studies. When I watched movies, especially if there was a child actor in them, I would tell myself, ‘Sana ikaw ‘yan’. You know, I was shy as a kid. My mom would take me to VTRs for commercials and I couldn’t say a word.”

What kind of roles would you like to specialize in?

“I want to try all kinds of roles. I want to try them all.”

Which of your dad’s role would you like to play?

“In a docu interview, I was asked what it’s like following in my dad’s footsteps. I was about to answer when my dad said, ‘Wait. I have my own shoes and you have your own. The shadow may be long but you have your own path.’ So when somebody asked me if I wanted to be in the remake of Miss X and reprise the role my dad played (opposite Vilma Santos), I thought, ‘Should I?’”

Which of your dad’s movies would you like remade?

“Batch 2009! A sequel but not a remake. I would love to be in it, playing another role.”

In Batch ’81, your dad and the other actors go nude in the initiation rite for a fraternity. Would you dare do the same?

“Partial nudity may be okay but not frontal nudity. I can’t say that what I do doesn’t affect the people around me.”

Any pointers or pieces of advice from your dad?

“When I was accepted for my first show, he wrote me a letter: ‘Welcome to the brutal world of show business. Now I know what to talk to you about. Love your job and it will love you back. Everything else will fall into place.’ I bear that in mind.”

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