Will JLC win vs JLC?

MANILA, Philippines – John Lloyd Cruz was among the celebrities who expressed happiness over Jaclyn Jose’s Best Actress win at the recently-held Cannes Filmfest. Like Jaclyn, John Lloyd is able to plunge into every character given to him, regardless of genre and medium.

In fact, the 32-year-old actor has already won acting recognitions from different award-giving bodies. This year, he earned a nomination for the Best Actor category in the 39th Gawad Urian Awards (slated for June 21) for his effective portrayal in not just one but two movies — Erik Matti’s religious/crime drama Honor Thy Father and Cathy Garcia-Molina’s romantic drama A Second Chance.

John Lloyd believes it is a must to deliver what is expected of him as an actor, while setting his eyes on the goal of contributing excellent acting performance to the entertainment industry.

“As an actor, a body of work is important to me. Three or four years ago, I came to realize how much it meant to me because that is what I will leave behind,” said John Lloyd while on a taping break on the set of ABS-CBN’s Home Sweetie Home. “You know in the end, when all this (fame) is gone and I am old, I’d like to look at my body of work with pride. I always say that whatever you do today does not only affect the present time but more so the future. It’s like you are investing in your choices so that in the end and when you look back, you can proudly say that you’ve done your best.”

No wonder a life in acting appeals so much to John Lloyd since the day he became part of Star Magic Batch 5. Until now, he has not lost that feeling of “there’s still a void to fill.”

“I don’t think that kind of feeling will go away. Nag-e-evolve lang because if you’re no longer eager to do more, then it will all become nonsense to you. Kung wala ng mystery at alam mo na ‘yung mangyayari parang ano pa yung point? Ako sobra pa din akong interesado dun sa unknown at kung ano ang kakalabasan; it fascinates me and that keeps me interested with my work. Nare-renew ang energy ko everytime there’s a new project.”

Asked if getting nominations and winning acting awards fuel his passion for the craft, John Lloyd cannot exactly tell. He admitted though about feeling good whenever his hard work is being recognized.

“To be honest, in this particular nomination in Gawad, gusto ko manalo for the first time but not to validate my performance in those two movies. Well, it’s a little bit sentimental. I want to win for my mother because when she saw Honor Thy Father, it was the first time I saw her really affected by my acting. ‘Yung iyak n’ya iba when she watched it during the premiere of Cinema One as an opening film. All the while I thought wala s’yang pakialam sa ginagawa ko, especially Honor kasi di n’ya alam kung ano ba yang indie. Syempre, it was my first venture in indie. Alam lang n’ya ‘yung mainstream movie sa Star Cinema. For that reason alone, I really wanna win.”

He continued, “That’s why when I heard about the nomination, ‘yung mom ko ang una kong naisip. Before, I never wish to win because for me, being recognized through nominations is synonymous to winning. But for my mom, iba pa din yung panalo.”

Meantime, John Lloyd enjoys acting out his character Romeo in Home Sweetie Home opposite Toni Gonzaga who plays his wife Julie. The Saturday night sitcom started airing two and half years ago when John Lloyd and Toni still felt awkward about acting as husband and wife.

Fast-forward to 2016: John Lloyd and Toni are now comfy delivering their parts as real as real can be. Call it a coincidence that Toni’s Julie is also expecting a baby. Toni is now on her fifth month of pregnancy with her and husband Paul Soriano’s first baby. Except for a growing baby bump, John Lloyd shared that nothing has changed in Toni, especially in her attitude towards work.

“Toni has always been professional and not much has changed now that she’s pregnant. Of course, there were some adjustments to the story since we have to adapt to the situation.”

When the time comes that Toni is required to take a maternity leave, John Lloyd is confident that the show’s creative team will be able to come up with situations that will compensate for her absence. “Meron silang magic na they can turn a particular challenge into something funny.”

Is he excited to become Daddy Romeo?

“Yes,” answered John Lloyd with a smile, “because we are telling a story of a typical family na nag-e-evolve so yeah, I am excited.”

Asked about his future plans as an actor, John Lloyd revealed that he still has two years with the network. “I am supposed to be hearing pitches from production and Star Cinema in the next two weeks or in July so nothing is concrete as of the moment.”

(Home Sweetie Home airs Saturday nights at 6:30.)