Good boys gone bad
MANILA, Philippines -They play (hot) troublemakers in the book-turned-movie Talk Back and You’re Dead. But are Joseph Marco and James Reid bad boys in real life?
Every girl in the world has, at some point, fantasized about/chased/loved a bad boy. Your brain tells you he’s nothing but trouble, but your heart just can’t resist the challenge of taming a wolf. Enter: Sam (played by newcomer Nadine Lustre), who falls in love with Top (hello, James Reid), a.k.a. the ringleader of the Lucky 13 gang, a handsome hooligan who chain-smokes, cusses (he loves to drop the word “bitch”), and just comes with a lot of baggage. Throw Top’s best friend Red (oh hey, Joseph Marco), whose hair is literally red, into the mix, and you have a story that’ll horrify (“How dare he do that!”) and make you giddy (“I’m not a prince. But I can be your slave.” Ahhh.) in equal measures. Main stars Joseph Marco and James Reid tell us just how bad (or good) they are in real life.
James Reid on…
Getting into fights:
“We have a lot of fight scenes in the film, but in real life, I’ve never been involved in any kind of fistfight. I’m really not a hot-tempered person.”
Falling in love:
“I like my character Top a lot. Sure he swears, he smokes, and he’s very hot-headed, but he has depth. He runs deep and believes in true love. He falls in love with someone at a young age and promises to love her forever. He goes around the world to search for her, fights an entire gang alone to save her…I can relate to that. And for the record, I don’t smoke. I only did it for the movie.”
Putting his family first
“My dad was sick and he wanted to move to the Philippines. I didn’t want to, but I relented. Seeing him grow healthier and stronger here made the sacrifice worth it. And now that my career is taking off, a lot of people tell me this is the good I get for being there for my dad and putting his happiness first.”
Joseph Marco on…
Women
“I’m not dating anyone right now. From age 15 to 21…ang dami kong girls. I’m glad I experienced all that when I was younger, because now, I’m mature and I don’t need to play around or whatever. My kind of woman is someone responsible, someone who takes good care of herself. Ayoko yung mundo niya yung relationship namin.”
Not having an ego
“To be honest, management was hesitant to let me do the movie. They thought Red’s character was too small. But when I read the script, my immediate reaction was, ‘Wow! I want to do it!’ No role is too small kung naniniwala ka talaga sa project.”
Clean living
“I barely have any down time, so when I do, I just sleep, watch movies, hang out with my family, and go to the gym. That’s it. I’m not a party person.”
Photos by KOJI ARBOLEDA
Produced by DAVID MILAN
Grooming by CHUCHIE LEDESMA
of Maybelline
Hair by MYCKE ARCANO
Shot on location at EDSA BDG
