John Lloyd Cruz to newbies: Don’t look at me

MANILA, Philippines — Many  actors want to become John Lloyd Cruz. They admire his pained look when his character breaks down. They adore his naughty smile he flashes at his rom-com leading ladies, Sarah Geronimo among them.

The AshLloyd (Sarah Geronimo-John Llloyd) love team has produced not one, but three hits: "A Very Special Love" (2008), "You Changed My Life" (2009), and "It Takes A Man and A Woman" (2013). So Star Cinema’s decision to field their reunion movie, "I Finally Found Someone," starting today, July 26, is not surprising.

What is surprising is John Lloyd’s reaction to his growing cult following among newbie actors.

“They shouldn’t study my acting,” John Lloyd says in Filipino.

Instead, he wants newbies to chart their own path, to discover their own way of playing a role.  He calls it  “living a life geared towards originality and self expression.”

He frowns on copycats because John Lloyd sees them as persons who take shortcuts, who do not want to work harder and dig into their role.

“Having a peg is the easier way,” he explains.

If John Lloyd talks this way, it is because he chose to enter by the narrow gate as an actor. He immerses himself into his role and refuses to be distracted before a take. He holes himself up where there is peace and quiet, and emerges from his "hiding place" once he’s in the zone and the cameras start to roll.

Then he morphs into a character he can call his very own, not a duplication of the work of his idols (Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln," Ronnie Lazaro and Irma Adlawan).

John Lloyd’s eyes light up and the words come tumbling down like a waterfall when he talks of the joys of discovering his character.

”It’s a special journey you can make your own. Living someone else’s life is a privilege not all of us enjoys. Can you imagine how beautiful that is? So why mess it up in ways you think are superficial?”

John Lloyd’s tone is not holier-than-thou. It is concerned.

He wants actors to savor the joys of expressing themselves as much as he does. He wants them to find their own way, so they will end up, not as another John Lloyd, or any one else but themselves.

“I want to see them dying to be original,” he stresses.

Oh yes, John Lloyd adds. Go ahead, watch movies that help you play your character. But you need not pattern yourself on them.

He cites watching gay-themed movies as preparation for a gay role as an example.

“It’s not enough that I watch these movies when I play a role. You have to find its heart,” he points out.

John Lloyd prefers to follow his heart, even in real life. He falls in love, speaks in riddles when media grills him about it, and does not mind if they crucify him for it.

His detractors call it refusal to play the game. John Lloyd calls it protecting his core.

“What you see is what you get. Life is too short. You only live once. I don’t want to live a boring life. So I follow my gut instincts.”

His steady stream of movies and endorsements prove that the public can deal with his colorful life. After all, what matters more is how John Lloyd makes them laugh, cry and forget their worries as he plays one convincing role after another.

At the end of the day, excellence is the way to go.