No more daring roles for LJ Reyes

John Lloyd Cruz won the Gawad Urian best actor award for his crackerjack performance in Erik Matti’s action-drama movie “Honor Thy Father.” When we heard the actor’s opening sentence in his speech, we thought he was courting controversy.

What immediately came to mind was the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival where “Honor Thy Father” was disqualified in the Best Picture category. The Festival Execom explained that the film violated a rule because it was shown in the Cinema One Originals Festival as an opening film prior to the December filmfest, hence its disqualification. One thing led to another, including a Congressional inquiry which resulted to changes in the people running the festival and in its implementing rules and guidelines.

We quote a portion of JLC’s speech translated into English: “I don’t believe in awards. But I believe there is honor in hard work, patience, perseverance and timing. This film gave me the opportunity to be enlightened by my own choices. This film taught me how to get my own time and embrace my desires as an actor. This film taught me that it’s okay to be different.”

He ended his speech by saying, “And I also came here tonight as an actor to give honor and celebrate pure love for cinema.”

In an interview with reporters after the awards night at the Kia Theater, John Lloyd was asked to clarify what he said. “I do not believe in awards. Hindi yung award. It’s the honor that goes with it. Yun ang mas kailangan, mas mahalaga para sa akin,” the Kapamilya star said.

He said he waited for the right time, and doing so was a long process. JLC explained that he didn’t expect his gamble in accepting the offer to do “Honor Thy Father” would amount to something.

He said what he expressed in his speech was important because it was the sum total of his journey and of what he has been through as an actor.

John Lloyd also commented on those who believed he was sure to win because he got two nominations, the second one for the rom-com movie “A Second Chance.”

“I never thought of this as competition. One of the reasons why I am not comfortable with awards is because I really find it subjective. If it was up to me, I would not give this (trophy) to myself.”

He said he was nervous when he came up onstage to receive his award, his first from the Manunuri. He said he was overwhelmed by the presence of great actors, who are his colleagues in the movie industry.

He also said he didn’t expect anything, thinking that it was John Arcilla (nominated for the period film “Heneral Luna”) who was a shoo-in for the award. “I saw what he did and he was breathtaking,” the actor added.

Well for someone who was not expecting to win, John Lloyd was dressed to the nines and even had a prepared speech.

When asked if his win for “Honor Thy Father” would inspire him to accept more indie films, he replied: “In my mind, filmmaking should not be divided into commercial and independent. There are so many who abuse the term ‘indie.’ For me, I’d rather treat cinema as a whole.”

John Lloyd is currently filming a new Lav Diaz movie titled “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” with former ABS-CBN president Charo Santos also in the cast.

With his victory as Best Actor in Urian, John Lloyd has put one over his fellow actors in the Kapamilya network.

Piolo Pascual and Coco Martin have yet to win Urian best actor trophies although both of them have Urian Awards for Best Supporting Actor – Piolo for “Dekada ’70” and Coco for “Jay.”

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Even if LJ Reyes had a falling out with director Jun Lana after she finished the movie “Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan” for which she won her very first Urian best actress trophy, she still mentioned her director’s name in her speech.

She thanked Direk Jun for trusting her with the project and she shared her award with the entire production team of “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan.”

“We had a hard time doing this film. It is hard to imagine what we went through. I am so happy and my heart is bursting with excitement that I was recognized and so with the entire team. This award is not just for me but for everyone who worked in our movie,” she mentioned in her speech.

Asked if she would be willing to do another daring role as the one she did in “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan,” LJ answered in the negative. She already gave her all in the movie. Besides, she has become a Christian and her faith dictates that she ought to shy away from projects as daring as her last movie.

Aside from that, she also has a son whom she wants to protect. LJ even revealed that her son Aki wanted to come with her to the awards night but he had school the next day. Maybe if there is another awards night that she has to attend, she might be able to bring Aki along.

But someone in the know said that LJ was being inconsistent. When she won two international awards for “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan” last year, she was very ecstatic and was profuse with thanks for Direk Jun Lana. But when she was invited to attend two local film festivals where “Anino sa Likod ng Buwan” was being screened, she was a no-show. This made her director feel bad.

Anyway, that is already water under the bridge. She had won her first acting award from the Manunuri and we hope that inspires her to continue with her career.