Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 29) — Amid new project offers, newly awarded 49th Metro Manila Film Festival best actor Cedrick Juan is seeking to go back to where he started – theater.
“If I’ll be given the chance, if the schedule permits me, I want to do theater again. As in, I’ll give my 100% to theater again,” the artist told CNN Philippines’ New Day on Friday.
Juan, who played Padre José Burgos in the festival’s 2nd Best Picture “GomBurZa,” said it was in theater where he truly learned the discipline of acting.
“Most of the actors, at least kailangan nila magkaroon ng (they should have) theater experiences because the discipline is there, the core is there,” Juan said.
“They will not tell you to focus on your vanity, like kung ano magiging itsura mo (what you will look like) whenever you act kasi gusto nila na (because they want you to) find the truth in every script, in every text, in every context,” he added.
Before playing roles in past MMFF film entries “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” and “Die Beautiful,” the 33-year-old artist was part of an FEU student production inspired by “Moulin Rouge” and had a stint with Dulaang UP.
The theater native also played Dusyanta in “Dusyanta: Ang Singsing ng Kapalaran” (Art Theater Manila) and Maximo in “Mula Sa Buwan” (Barefoot Theatre Collaborative).
Juan said his theater experiences played a big part in his development, both as an artist and individual.
The actor also believes that the local industry should be collaborative with the theater industry, where talents could easily switch platforms from the screen to the stage and vice versa.
“Pwede siya maging collaborative talaga. We’ll get to teach each other kung ano ‘yung mga edge natin at ang magpo-prosper rin naman ay ang Philippine entertainment industry,” he said.
[Translation: It could really be collaborative. We’ll get to teach each other our edges and what will prosper most is the Philippine entertainment industry.]
Aside from theater, Juan said he also wants to do more movies.
He said he wants to continue to “stretch his skills” and try a contemporary film of either the horror or comedy genre.
“GomBurZa” bagged the 2nd Best Picture title behind Zig Dulay’s “Firefly” in the most recent MMFF awarding ceremony.
Apart from that and the Best Actor award, the film also took home six other recognitions including Best Director, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and the Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.
