Since bagging his breakout mainstream role in Angelito, Batang Ama, JM de Guzman has become an important TV star. At the same time, the 22-year-old actor has been building up an impressive resume in indie films and on the stage. Because of his penetrating gaze and the intensity of his acting, people have started to call JM “the next Coco Martin.” While Coco and JM both trace their provenance in the industry to indie films, and while both are very deep, sensitive actors, they are also very different from each other.
I know JM from way back. A Theater Arts major, he used to do plays at UP with my good friend Floy Quintos. JM’s father and grandfather, reporter Ronniel and veteran journalist Cornelio de Guzman, are also friends of mine. JM is a very promising actor. I’ve seen him in projects like Mula sa Puso (in the role of Gabriel, originally played by the late Rico Yan); Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Midnight Phantom; and Angelito (and Angelito, Ang Bagong Yugto), and he is one actor who knows what he is doing. He’s what film critics call an instinctive actor, which he probably owes to his theater background. Just for the record, yes, like Coco Martin, mahal siya ng camera.
Although he is making good on the small screen, JM enjoys the creative freedom offered by indie filmmaking. That’s why he grabs every opportunity to do an indie, and really makes time for it in spite of his frenzied schedule. Among his more memorable screen outings in this genre were the short live animation film Pintakasi, produced by Imee Marcos, which won for him a Best Actor award in the New Wave category at the last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). He’s also appeared in other indie flicks like Last Supper No. 3, Rekrut and the much-talked-about Ang Babae sa Septic Tank. Soon, he will be seen in the biopic of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, who is set to become the second Filipino saint after Lorenzo Ruiz.
JM has played a variety of characters in these films, but probably none as challenging as in his latest Cinemalaya entry (in the New Breed Full-Length category), Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino. His character Intoy is a tahong farmer who falls in love with a prostitute, played by LJ Reyes. The movie was based on a Palanca award-winning story by Eros Atalia and adapted for the screen by Jerry Gracio, with direction by Lem Lorca.
Doing Intoy Syokoy was a very personal journey for JM. It was fraught with difficulties, especially in terms of balancing his shooting schedule with his tapings for Angelito. But it took a while for him to get into the character and the story, which revolves around the lives of mussel (tahong) farmers in Cavite. “Ang totoo n’yan,” he says, “before, pinabasa sa akin ‘yung script, ang dami kong questions. Hindi ko pa masyadong maintindihan. At n’ung una, hindi appealing sa akin ‘yung kuwento. Hindi ako na-attract sa istorya. Mahina ang understanding ko. N’ung nand’un na lang kami sa proseso ng paggawa ng movie, doon ko na lang talaga naintindihan.”
Playing Intoy challenged more than just JM’s acting; it called on him to prove how committed he is to his craft. He put himself at risk, health-wise, in the scenes where he had to dive into the murky waters of Cavite. But the thing he found most difficult were what he calls the “emotional parts” of the movie. JM sought to invest the character with as much realism as he could. He found a way to connect what was happening to the character with things that happened to him in the past so he could convincingly act out the role. Thus, it became a highly personal experience. At the end, he came out of it with a deeper understanding of who he was as a person and as an actor.
“Yung movie, pinaalala sa akin kung sino talaga ako.” shares JM. It was, he says, a little too close to home in some parts. The film affected him on a personal level. He saw himself in Intoy, especially in how he would do anything for his family. “At one point in my life, naging ganoon ako. Through this movie, na-realize ko na I don’t just live for myself. I’m the type na gagawin ang lahat para sa family.”
Intoy’s humble beginnings also made him more appreciative of where he is now, and what it took him to get here. He’s not complaining over the fact that he didn’t bag the Best Actor award. JM is just grateful for all the opportunities coming his way. “Sa award naman, hindi ako nag-expect, pero siguro, tamang sabihin na part of me, nag-hope because if I did win, that would have been a rare chance and the perfect opportunity na makapag-thank you ako sa mga tao na naging parte ng journey ko, kung bakit ako nandito.”
JM is very proud of the work he did in this film. “Sobrang thankful ako na na-entrust sa akin ang project na ito,” he says. “In terms of the story, makikita dito kung paano pinaglaban ng isang mananahong na diver ‘yung love niya na prostitute. Simple na love story, pero dito mararamdaman kung paano talaga ‘yung pagmamahal na ‘yun.”
He would like to continue making more indie films. He enjoys acting on TV, but finds that in indie films, there is more room to explore creatively. Producing Intoy Syokoy and working with bright young actors like JM was an experience for me, an experience that I look forward to repeating. I predict a very bright future for this young actor in the years to come.
In a recent interview, JM when asked as to how long he will pursue (romantically) young actress Jessy Mendiola, he quietly quipped, looking straight at the eyes of the inquisitor, “hanggang mapagod ako.”
That spoke volumes about the heart and soul of this young man who will rock and rule his craft with honesty and tenacity.