The Leading Man: John Lloyd Cruz

With his latest movie Just The Three Of us reminding us of everything we fell in love with about him, read about what else there is to love about the Philippines’ favorite sweetheart.

“It was the first quarter of 1997. You know the actor Allan Paule? He was the scoutmaster and I was the scout boy that he was going to molest. Imagine that!” laughs multi-award winning actor John Lloyd Cruz, then 26, of his first TV apperance on the show Compañero y Compañera, which dispensed legal advice to viewers writing of their misfortunes.

“It was a reenactment scene so we couldn’t really show a lot,” he says, laughing. He remembers it as a milestone in his career. “That was the very first one. I was 13.” At 18, John Lloyd won his first award. (It was for Best Drama Actor for the Dawson’s Creek adaptation Tabing Ilog). 

John Lloyd thanks his lucky stars for being so blessed and thanks his fans for their support – which include both the loyal and the odd. He shares, while on one of his meet and greets, one of the fans hit him at the back of the head. “Binatukan ako. As in sadya yun (He smacked me in the head intentionally)!” he exclaims. John Lloyd was dumbfounded to find a full grown man smiling at him like a little school girl, shaking with excitement. “He just gave me the thumbs up sign. I guess he just got excited. It was weird and creepy at the same time,” he laughs.

Even though he has grown from a teen heartthrob to the matinee idol he has become today, John Lloyd has yet to experience having fans who would throw bras and panties at him on stage. “They say I’m handsome but I’m not that handsome. Sayang!” he chuckles.

Making the common extraordinary

Often portrayed as the wholesome good boy-next-door in movies and off screen, John Lloyd confesses that “It’s imaging, it’s a package.” When asked if he gets frustrated being packaged so, he simply replies, “Well, there are things that you need to compromise. But sometimes, given the proper timing, they give us roles that we really want.” And one of those opportunities was his controversial gay role in Star Cinema’s In My Life where he acted opposite Luis Manzano and Vilma Santos. He had no qualms doing the intimate scenes with another male character even if he is straight. He accepted the role because he liked the challenge of playing real, everyday characters.

There’s mastery to subtlety; what looks easy onscreen is rather sophisticated, he says. “It’s not easy portraying a character that is very common and ordinary. It is (actually) harder to portray a real and common character than let’s say, a serial killer. When you think of a serial killer, the audience can already imagine the character in their head – and the actor hasn’t even done anything yet. But with an ordinary character, it’s challenging for the actor to flesh out the role and build layers. As an actor, you think about how you’re going to make your character engaging for the next two hours. That is the most engaging part of my job.”

“(On the other hand) that’s the downside of commercial actors (who choose such roles). People think, ‘Ano ba yan puro pa-cute, napaka-common, napaka-safe (That’s so common. That’s too safe), but I just look at it from the perspective of ‘How will  make this character interesting?”

“I believe that every character is your creation. You give birth to a character then you become a creator. In our own little ways, in our own little world, we are creators. So imagine a scene where all the actors are collaborating. I guess this is why they say that film is the biggest form of art.”

Contrary to popular belief, he says you don’t need to experience a lot of things in order to be a good actor. Because most of he caracters you portray, you haven’t experienced their lives. You don’t need to try to kill yourself in order to know how to portray someone who is suicidal.

But he, however, believes that, “You have to be in touch with your emotions (to be a good actor) because it’s your tool. If you’re in  touch with your emotions it’s easier to access them. It gives you the flexibility to play other characters.” John Lloyd doesn’t have any particular dream role in mind and simply states that he just wants to be able to portray as many characters as possible.

Beyond the silver screen

“Acting is not my life,” he says firmly. But then backtracks. “I’d like to correct that. Acting plays a big part of my life but I have a bigger part of my life that is more precious to me.

I’m the type of person who will do my job, who’ll wake up in the morning, be on set, do my job the best way I know know and I’ll give my 110 percent. But at the end of the day I still have my own life to live and as of the moment that is more precious than what I have.”

(By KRISTEL DACUMOS  – LAGORZA | Photography by SARA BLACK)

Editor’s note: The article containing these excerpts was first featured in PeopleAsia’s June – July 2010 issue. John Lloyd Cruz was given a PeopleAsia “Men Who Matter” award in the same year. 

Share on Facebook

Tweet