Christian Bables unbothered by typecasting, sexuality questions amid gay roles
What draws Christian Bables to portraying gay roles is the chance to bring laughter to audiences.
“Yung alam ko na may tao akong mapahalakhak,” he told The STAR during an event for the film “Drags to Riches” in Quezon City when asked what he enjoys most about representing gay roles.
He credited his training under Jun Robles Lana and Paolo Ballesteros in LGBTQ comedy films “Die Beautiful” and “The Panti Sisters” for helping him effectively play such a character. “Lagi kaming magkasama. So, parang, I must say 80 percent of me being the actor that I am today, they are a huge influence on me, especially when it comes to being spontaneous. Ngayon ang bilis kong makaisip ng ibabato.”
Still, he admitted that each gay role presents challenges — from his performance in “Die Beautiful” to his recent project “Drags to Riches.”
“With every character I play, I take a different approach and characterization in order for me to bring that character to life,” he said.
“The heart of the character is always a challenge for me,” he furthered. “As a person, sino ba gustong masaktan? It’s like our normal defense is I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to dive deep kung ano yung makakasakit sa akin.”
“As an actor, lagi mong ni-re-refresh and lagi mong pinupuntahan yung danger zone na yun. That’s the challenge for me always because again, actors are masochists. Pain is our friend. But I see to it that each time I revisit the pain, it becomes cathartic for me but (at the same time) critique dapat siya for me,” he added.
But one thing he has realized from taking on several gay roles is that he does not worry about being typecast.
“As long as you do your work as an actor, hangga’t passionate ka, hangga’t punong-puno ka ng pagmamahal sa ginagawa mo, pagkakatiwalaan at pagkakatiwalaan ka, eh, ng iba’t ibang mga character. Hindi lang kulong lang duon na sinasabi na typecast ka sa ganitong characters because I had ‘Signal Rock,’ ‘Dirty Linen’ and ‘Saving Grace,’” he explained.
In “Dirty Linen,” he portrayed the “avenger” Max and the abusive stepfather Chito in “Saving Grace,” roles that stand in stark contrast to the colorful gay roles he previously took on.
“There have been many opportunities for me to play outside my usual roles, and there’s nothing wrong with doing these kinds of roles. I think the main goal of an actor is to bring life to characters, and these characters are full of life.”
Christian said he is no longer bothered when people question his sexuality because of the gay roles he takes on.
“Hindi na rin. Sa panahon ngayon, I don’t think a person’s sexuality matters anymore,” he asserted. “What matters more is the money being stolen from us. That matters more than a person’s sexuality. I’m very happy that we live in a society that is more open-minded, as long as hindi ka nakakatapak ng dignidad at pagkatao ng ibang tao.”
“I think it’s clear that people today are no longer bothered by a person’s gender or preference unless may balak tayong asawahin yung taong yun or meron something beneficial tayong makukuha sa gender ng isang tao. Otherwise, we don’t have a say in it. I mean that’s their personal life. It’s something you give that person out of respect.”
Meanwhile, “Drags to Riches,” a film by Victor Villanueva, recently held its pink premiere at SM Cinema Megamall, which was attended by Christian’s co-stars Elijah Canlas and Inigo Pascual, along with other cast members. It is produced by Cornerstone Studios and is now showing exclusively in SM Cinemas in time for Pride Month.
Christian shared how much he missed cinemas after two years.
“These past years, I needed to rest. I focused on my physical and mental health. And when I felt that I was ready (to come back), I was glad for the full support of Cornerstone management. I’m very excited and happy that I was able to do this because I really missed it a lot.”
Christian also appeared in John Lapus’ “TAKSYAPO!” at this year’s Virgin Labfest (VLF), where he played a gay character. “TAKSYAPO!” marks both Christian and John’s first participation at VLF.
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