MANILA, Philippines — David Licauco is among the most honest interviews Philstar.com has done lately, with the actor being as candid as he can about his sudden fame, popular team-up with Barbie Forteza, admiration for Daniel Padilla and rating of himself as an actor through the years.
The actor did a more than 30-minute long interview, extending for a few minutes more while waiting for his next appointment.
He revealed that he did not expect his portrayal of Fidel Reyes, the bestfriend of Crisostomo Ibarra (Dennis Trillo) in "Maria Clara at Ibarra," will be a hit.
"They (the people behind the show) told me that he’s the best friend of Ibarra na medyo modern 'yung attack," said David. "They also told me that he is the love interest of Klay (Barbie Forteza). To my surprise, I didn’t expect that people would like the pairing of Klay and Fidel. Nakakatuwa talaga."
He has come a long way since his role as Malik in "Mulawin vs. Ravena," the 2017 fantasy series that was the sequel to the hit 2004 show "Mulawin."
Philstar.com asked him to rate himself as an actor, and he gave an honest self-critique of his own work throughout the years.
"Definitely 1. Naalala ko mine-memorize ko lang ang lines ko. Alam mo 'yun, masabi ko lang 'yung line?" he shared about his acting stint in "Mulawin."
His next assignment was a 4. He played the bestfriend to Bea Binene's character in the 2018 drama "Kapag Nahati Ang Puso."
The following year, he starred as the "Chinito Heartthrob" Kobe, the man who stood between the romance of lead stars Kylie Padilla and Ruru Madrid in "TODA One I Love." He gave his supporting role in the 2019 show a rating of 4.5, saying "medyo hindi pa ako confident doon sa acting ko."
His next two projects, "Heartful Cafe" (2021) and "Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune" (2022), both earned a 6.5 rating.
He said he learned a lot from both shows. In "Heartful Cafe," he was the male lead opposite Julie Anne San Jose with Barbie in a guest role.
David and Barbie were reunited the following year in "Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune" (MPL).
Interestingly, all three are co-starring in "Maria Clara at Ibarra."
His Valentine movie with Shaira Diaz titled "Without You," set for release on February 15 in theaters, also helped his acting a lot.
"Honestly, throughout the years, may nababasa ako especially sa MPL, may nababasa akong tweets na, 'Ang bano umarte ni David Licauco. Wala akong ma-feel.' Pero honestly ako, may na-feel ako. Na-feel ko siya e at nakaramdam ako e. Pati ang mga direktor nakaramdam din e. Pero para sa mga manonood kasi, iba siguro 'yung basehan nila ng pagiging magaling na aktor. Siguro mas magalaw, mas may facial reactions. Ganon e. Dati pag nagre-react nakatingin lang sa mata. Mata-mata acting ako dati e," he revealed.
David admitted that he was hurt with the posts that said he was "bano" or lacking in acting. Despite these, he is thankful for the constructive criticisms and these inspired him to research on how to "act better."
His currently airing project pits him in scenes with seasoned and acclaimed actors including lead star Dennis Trillo and Barbie.
"Na-realize ko especially being around Barbie na napakagaling mag-react. Even si Dennis Trillo na napakagaling mag-react. 'Ah okay. Siguro ganito nga para sabihin ng mga tao na medyo marunong naman akong umakting.'
"Kaya siguro ngayon nagkakaroon ako ng praises, like good feedback from this show, playing the role of Fidel. It was mainly because of that realization of mine na siguro nga dapat ganito umarte. Hindi dapat mata-mata. Hindi dapat ramdam-ramdam," David shared. He rates his portrayal of Fidel as 8.5.
For acting inspiration, David said he looks up to actor Daniel Padilla, whose romantic roles are similar to what he has been doing in his TV shows.
"Honestly, ang palagi kong pinapanood, si Daniel Padilla talaga. Kasi lahat naman ng nabibigay sa akin na mga roles is 'yung mga pa-kilig, love and I feel siya naman talaga 'yung magaling don," David said.
He revealed that some of his acting scenes in "Maria Clara at Ibarra" were inspired by Daniel's acting in the movie "Can't Help Falling In Love."
"Yung eksena ko nga sa Filay (love team of Fidel and Klay), ang inaral ko kanina, same siya don sa movie ni Daniel Padilla na 'Can't Help Falling In Love,'" he said, adding that he's a fan of Daniel and the actor's reel-and-real-life girlfriend Kathryn Bernardo.
"Kinikilig ako sa kanila, fan nila ko. Ginagaya ko 'yung mga ano niya (Daniel), kung paano niya sabihin," David added.
The 27-year-old actor also shared how he sees himself as an actor in five years. He said since he is blessed with youngish looks, he thinks he can still pass for the "cute and kilig" roles until he's 29. When he turns 30, he sees himself going into more serious roles.
David aspires to be recognized like any other actor as they spend more years in their profession.
"A Best Actor Award would be far-fetched. I don't know, but then, I'm aspiring to bag one of those awards. Hopefully, someday," he shared. — With reports from Kathleen A. Llemit
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