Ricky Davao: He's very good when he's very bad

No other actor can be very good when he's very bad, can be at his best when he's at his worst. It's an art and it takes great talent to make people hate you to the point of making them want to claw your face and gorge out your eyes. It takes a lot to be very bad, especially if, in real life, you're very good.

Take a bow, Ricky Davao. You're in a class all your own.

In true life, Ricky is an ideal husband (to Jackie Lou Blanco) and an ideal father to their three children (Kenneth, 11; Rikki Mae, 7; and Arabella, 3). But in the movies, Ricky is very bad, playing characters that are the epitome of evil: as a wife-beater in Abot Hanggang Sukdulan (for which he won two awards as Best Supporting Actor, one from the FAMAS and the other from the Urian), as a man obsessed with a married woman in the twinbill Ipaglaban Mo The Movie (for which he won as Best Supporting Actor, Film Academy Awards and the Urian), as one of the four rapists in The Maggie dela Riva Story, as a bad cop who kills a boy flying a kite at the rooftop in Saranggola (for which he won four Best Actor trophies -- at the Metro Manila Filmfest, at the CineManila International Film Festival, the Star Awards and the Urian) and now, as a dysfunctional head of the family who batters his wife (Glydel Mercado) and who rapes his own daughter (newcomer Alessandra de Rossi) in the new Carlitos Siguion-Reyna movie, Azucena (from Enrique Ramos' Palanca-winning screenplay, produced by ReynaFilms and released through Millennium Cinema).

Has Ricky ever encountered a moviegoer who wants to hit him for being so bad in most of his movies?

"None so far," laughs Ricky who immensely enjoys being, that's it, very bad. "Like me, movie fans can separate the reel from the real. They even congratulate me for being so convincing in my portrayal of bad-man roles. I'm flattered."

The truth is that Ricky started in showbiz (even before he tucked up a degree in Engineering from Mapua) playing good-boy roles in such light fares as Rock 'n' Roll (with Nora Aunor) and some such harmless flicks. When you watch Azucena, you will blink and ask yourself again and again, "How did he become so 'bad'?"

When did you start turning "bad"?

Actually in Viva movies, such as Kung Aagawin Mo ang Lahat sa Akin, Saan Nagtatago ang Pagibig? (as Tonton Gutierrez's bad brother), Huwag Mong Itanong Kung Bakit where I played a character na nangri-rape ng katulong ... marami!

Was it hard shifting from good-boy roles to bad-boy roles?

Well, actually, hindi ko masyadong naramdaman because early on, I was doing more bad-boy roles than good-boy roles. It came naturally to me.

You are among the few actors who can play a gay role with ease and without being guilty or defensive about it (in ReynaFilms' Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya where he played a closet-homosexual teacher married to Rosanna Roces).

There are a few others, like Albert Martinez (Pusong Mamon) and Raymond Bagatsing (Burlesk King, etc.). What I noticed -- and I hope people won't accuse me of pagtataas ng sariling bangko -- is that, after Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya, parang it was okay already for a lot of other actors to play gay roles. Parang nawala na ang "phobia" nila. But, of course, long before Lalake, there were some actors who dared play gay roles, like Eddie Garcia in Tubog sa Ginto where he did a shower scene with Mario O'Hara (as the driver-lover) na hinimas-himas pa ni Eddie sa dibdib. The other day, I watched a videotape of (the early '80s drama) Hindi Mo Ako Kayang Tapakan where Joel Torre and William Martinez as gay characters had a kissing scene.

So you sort of paved the way for other actors not to be afraid to play gay roles (owing, no doubt, to the box-office success of Lalake).

Kasi, there's a belief noon that if you played a gay role, it's as if you're committing suicide as an actor, that it's the end of your career.

But you never thought of it that way, did you?

Hindi kasi ganoon ang attitude ko as an actor. I practise what I preach -- you know: if you're an actor, you should do anything, you can play any kind of role as long as it's a good role. But, of course, there are limitations.

When you played the title role in Berdugo (the man who pulled the plug on death convicts during electrocution time), how did you feel about it? Did you, so to speak, go inside the character and maybe feel guilty about all the convicts who, in a way, he helped kill?

Well, I am pro-death penalty so when I played that character, okey lang; I wasn't bothered.

In Saranggola, you played a bad cop who killed a boy flying a kite in the rooftop. Are you pro-gun?

Yes, I am. But it has to be responsible gun-ownership; hindi puedeng kung sinu-sino lang. There are so many loose firearms ngayon. Just the other day, there was a story in the papers about a woman na namaril, all because of a karera.

Have you ever fired a gun in real life?

Never!

Talking about Azucena, you're playing another "bad" character which could be your worst so far because you rape your own daughter (Alessandra de Rossi). Of course, we won't reveal what happens to your character in the end so as not to spoil the suspense.

I saw the movie in full for the first time last Wednesday night at Glorietta during the premiere. Naano ako... I was bothered. I kept on asking myself, "Paano ko nagawa 'yon?" You know, molesting your own daughter. There's nothing good in the character; wala siyang redeeming value. When you see what happens to him in the end, you feel like shouting, "Buti nga sa 'yo!"

Is it the first time that you're so bothered by a role you're playing?

When I was doing it -- during the shooting, I mean -- I felt like I was just playing one of those roles. But when I saw the whole film, iba ang tama sa akin. I found the film very disturbing.

Which scene in Azucena did you find, well, "disturbing"?

When I made love with my wife (Glydel) after beating her up. And, yes, when I raped my own daughter.

Azucena means dog meat (eaten as pulutan during a drinking spree). Have you ever eaten dog meat? (In the movie, Dante Rivero plays a man who catches and kills dogs whose meat he cooks and sells. He develops a friendship with Alessandra, a dog-lover, and eventually uncovers the dark secrets of Alessandra's family.)

I don't remember having eaten dog meat. But there have been times when I was in the province when people would tell me, maybe tease me, that what I was eating was dog meat. I thought what I was eating was kaldereta, although they insisted that it was dog meat.

Did you feel like throwing up?

Not really. But if I know that it's dog meat, I won't eat it.

Azucena is your third movie with Carlitos (after Misis Mo, Misis Ko and Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya). How is it working with Carlitos (said to be a perfectionist and a "slave driver")?

Everytime I work with Carlitos, I notice that he becomes more meticulous. He's a totally different person on the set. At pack-up time, nag-iiba rin siya. He becomes the nicest person on earth. Masayang kasama. Very positive.

Is he, uh a "slave driver"?

In a way. One time, on the set of Azucena, I was running a fever. When Carlitos learned about my condition, he approached me. I thought he would tell me to rest. What he did was look hard at me and say, "Okay, take your time; I'll get back to you in a little while." Soon, hayun, we resumed shooting na.

I heard that during the shooting of Azucena, you started smoking again, a habit you had kicked long ago.

It was because of my love/kissing scenes with Glydel. Everytime mayroon kaming kissing scene, I would brush my teeth. Kissing scene kami nang kissing scene kaya brush ako nang brush ng teeth ko. Then I noticed that Glydel would smoke and smoke before the shooting of our love and kissing scenes, so what I did was, instead of brushing my teeth, I asked a stick or two from her at nag-i-smoke na rin ako para pareho ang amoy ng hininga namin during the take. But I stopped smoking again as soon as we finished shooting.

Carlitos' next movie is Larawan (still another filmization of Nick Joaquin's Portrait of the Artist as Filipino) and he's eyeing you for the male lead as Tony Javier.

Well, I'm flattered!

Of course, the Tony Javier role is familiar to you.

I've done the role twice, with Tessie Tomas and Noemi Manikan as Paula and Candida. Nag-repeat pa kaming tatlo n'un. Then, I did a parody of Larawan, playing the son of Tony Javier (played by Mario O'Hara, with Armida Siguion-Reyna and her sister Irma Potenciano as Paula and Candida). I also did the Larawan musical twice, one by Rolando Tinio and the other by Ryan Cayabyab. I auditioned for both.

You seem to be at ease even in (theater) roles that call for singing and dancing (The King and I where he played King Mongkut of Siam, etc.).

Not many people know that I started in showbiz as a dancer, long before I began acting, as a member of the Vicor Crowd. First love ko talaga ang dancing.

Obviously, your career as a dancer has been rudely interrupted by your career as an actor.

Well, na-sidetrack, sort of. I was in fourth year high school when I started dancing professionally. I was only about 16 then. When I was a student, girls would line up to dance with me, hindi naman sa pagmamayabang. I was the best dancer in school. Nobody else knew how to dance the Swing, the Boogie and the latest craze at that time, kaya ako ang pinipilahan ng mga girls. My dancing career, if you can call it a "career," was actually interrupted only when I started doing action films. But before that, in my films with Jackie (Lou Blanco), with Sharon (Cuneta), Dina (Bonnevie) and Cherie (Gil), I always danced, especially during the TV promo.

Of the bad-boy roles that you've done, with which do you react with intensely?

Intensely? I guess my current role in Azucena. It's abot hanggang sukdulan. The character is so bad, wala siyang kasing-sama.

You were also hateful in Abot Hanggang Sukdulan where you beat up your wife (Snooky Serna) to a pulp.

I was a drug-addicted husband in Sukdulan, a character alien to me, noong una. First of all, I don't take drugs -- and I have stopped smoking. Much later after talking to and observing a lot of drug addicts, I thought, "Sayang, I could have done a lot to improve my characterization." I talked to my action-friends who used to be on drugs and they were telling me. "You should have done this, you should have done that; ganito, ganoon." I should have done more research then. However, I didn't have the luxury of time because at that time, they'd tell you today that you were shooting a movie and tomorrow, siyuting na kaagad.

Weren't you tempted to try drugs so you would be realistic and convincing in your portayal?

(Laughing) Realistic ako but I won't go to that extent. That's what I meant a while ago when I told you that mayroon din akong limitations as an actor.

After doing Saranggola, how do you look at cops, especially bad cops?

Pikon ako sa kanila. I could see some cops na nangungutong (mulcting), but what can I do? As a concerned citizen, although I don't approach the cop and confront him, baka barilin ako, I try to get his name and report him to a higher authority. In my own little way, I feel that I'm doing something.

Shifting between films and theater, where do you find more fulfillment, considering that you get good roles in both media (getting the best of both worlds, so to speak)?

There was a time na talagang theater was very fulfilling for an actor...

...even if there's no money in it?

For a while, medyo wala, but now mayroon na rin. Not as much as there is in the movies, pero mayroon na rin. Anyway, noong una, mas fulfilling ang theater because the audience response and reaction were immediate; you could at once see for yourself if the audience was reacting favorably or unfavorably, if they're enjoying the show or not. That's why theater is considered an actor's medium; you're in control of everything. During the play, you feel that the audience is in your palm. Kikilitiin mo sila, sasampalin mo sila, aaliwin mo sila. When you cry and the audience cries with you, you get a high; when you laugh and the audience laughs with you, you feel ecstatic. When the audience reacts to your dialogue, lalo kang ginaganahan.

Is there any theater role that you'd like to play (after the varied characters that you've so far done)?

(Without batting an eyelash) Hamlet!

Why Hamlet?

Mahirap daw, e!

What about a bad-man movie role you'd like to play (if you haven't done all of them yet)?

Similar to the one played by Robert De Niro in Cape Fear.

You've been to several filmfests abroad (Berlin and Toronto for Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya; Moscow and Palm Spring for Saranggola). What do you think are the chances of Filipino films against foreign films?

We have a big chance. Definitely, we can't compete with Hollywood films, but we can easily do something like Joy Luck Club. Our films are at par with foreign films. Based on my experience and observation, I can say that we have to spend to have our films noticed by the international crowd. For example, to get booth at a film market, you have to pay $5,000 to $10,000. Aside from that, you have to spend on printing of posters and pamphlets. Malaking pera ang kailangan d'un. You spend maybe even more than what you spend in doing your movie.

You're now also directing, even if only on TV (Okatokat sometimes and Munting Paraiso regularly, both on ABS-CBN). If you were to direct your first movie, what project is ideal for you?

You know, frankly, I don't know. I'm open to anything, as long as the material is good, something like Saranggola and Azucena, with a good cast -- and a good budget.

What do you think is the worst movie scene that you've done, where you're at your worst, at your most hateful?

Aside from the ones in Azucena I mentioned a while ago, siguro 'yung eksena ko sa The Maggie dela Riva Story where I played one of the four rapists (of Dawn Zulueta as Maggie). Also, in Sukdulan where I raped the two sisters (Snooky and Vina Morales). You know, ang dami ko nang na-rape sa pelikula. Name any actress and I have raped her.

Jackie Lou Blanco?

I have raped her!

Sharon Cuneta?

I have raped her!

Cherie Gil?

I have raped her!

Dina Bonnevie?

I have raped her!

Who else are among your "victims?"

Si Nora (Aunor), si Vilma (Santos), si Lorna (Tolentino), si Rio (Locsin), all of them!

You're a record-holder!

What a record!