The coming of age of Aga Muhlach

MANILA, Philippines — A child actor at age seven, a matinee idol at age 15 (Bagets), an unwed father at age 17, a full-fledged husband at 34 and now father of three in his mid-40s, Aga Muhlach likes to think of himself as one living between generations.

In the film Seven Sundays, directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, he plays the elder son with younger brothers Dingdong Dantes and Enrique Gil with a patriarch played by Ronaldo Valdez, whose character has only a few weeks left to enjoy his family life.

Says he: “I feel good in this role because I didn’t have to lose weight which is always a struggle. Sometime in the last six years, I live happily with my family with no fix plan about the kind of films I should do. I just felt I am not prepared for a comeback movie. I resisted suggestions of a romantic film because I didn’t have the body conceived for the role although I’ve been working hard to shed extra weight. But I am getting there. I don’t look that chubby now.”

With acting awards to his credit, it comes as a surprise to him that he is treated like a movie icon perfect as a role model. For one, he admits, he didn’t live a perfect life. He had his share of rebellious phases during his younger years and now he treats them as part of growing up.

He considers maturing as the long process of coming to terms with one’s strong and weak points and being resolute with what he has.

To be sure, nothing came easy for him even if he came from a showbiz family. His sister Arlene is also active in showbiz, his father is a younger brother of movie queen Amalia Fuentes and his cousin Niño Muhlach is an awarded child star.

Aga with co-actors Dingdong Dantes and Enrique Gil. The actor is admired not just as an actor but also as a person.

But through all his colorful life, he considers himself very much grounded.

Every film offers he treats as an opportunity to learn more from people he is working with for the first time. He likes being directed by Cathy.

“She is one of a kind,” says Aga. “She comes to the set ready for work but she has a way of letting us know that everything is not going to be easy. She has her own ideas. We, the actors, have our own. We exchange perceptions, which is good. Sometimes she says one approach should be good and often, she is right. When I have my doubts, I usually give my full trust to the director. After all, she is the main storyteller and she has an overall view of how the film should look and feel like. And that came easy for me because she is one who will not settle for the easy way. She will try many other things to make scenes natural and real. That she motivates very well is a gift as a director. She doesn’t tell you that in this scene you should do this and that. Instead, she tells you how best you can approach the scene and from there, she trusts his actors to the fullest.”

Direk Cathy has her own share of little butterflies in her stomach, so to speak, when she learned she would work with the actor. “Of course, he is the Aga Muhlach and he has the experience and achievements that I don’t have. What I like about him is the full trust he gives to the director. You can feel that in every scene you do with him. In that sense, it was pure joy working with him.”

Co-actor Dingdong speaks of Aga as his idol even in his younger years. “I like the way he approaches his roles and for that I only have admiration for him. But after working with him in Seven Sundays, I have admiration for him not just as an actor but also as a person. He inspires and he makes everyone feel good on the set. There is more to him not just as an actor. He is the kind you will admire even after the cameras had stopped rolling.”

Looking back, Aga admits marriage and fatherhood taught him a lot about being an actor. “Acting is not just something you do after reading a script. Most of the time, acting doesn’t come easy. From my experience, acting becomes a natural tool if you absorb the craft from life itself. You learn acting not just from your happy times but from those phases you undergo trials. Yes, indeed, marriage and fatherhood made me a better actor and a better person.”

Seven Sundays — also starring Cristine Reyes — opens tomorrow, Oct. 11 in cinemas.