Proud to be Pinoy

Lou Diamond Phillips and Tia Carrere may have dazzled us on the silver and TV screens for two decades now, but what we Filipinos will most likely remember them by showcasing Filipino talent to a global audience. Through their visibility and steady stream of work in Hollywood, Lou and Tia have helped raise awareness about the wealth of talent possessed by Filipino actors or those of Filipino lineage. And in cutthroat-competitive Hollywood, that is no mean feat.

While we can’t forget both actors’ string of performances, especially Lou’s critically-acclaimed turn as Richie Valens in La Bamba and Tia’s role as sexy villainess Juno Skinner opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies, the duo has succeeded in proving that yes, we Filipinos can more than hold our own in the world of entertainment, and that yes, true talent can make it with determination, hard work and perseverance – qualities which, as Lou and Tia rightly observed, are so very Filipino.

Lou and Tia, on a visit to the Philippines to grace the CineManila film festival where they received Lifetime Achievement Awards, met with The STAR to reveal how being Filipino has influenced them and helped them reach the top. They also shared how they hope to encourage fellow film artists who are trying to make a difference.

First we had a SARS scare and then the Philippines was threatened by a military take-over. After hearing about both of that, what convinced you to come over?

Lou: I don’t think you can live your life in fear. You can’t lock yourself in your house and try to protect yourself from what’s going on in the world, especially when there are important issues that need your support. I came not only to support President Arroyo who’s a friend of mine, but to continue to support the veterans of World War II. By ‘support’ I mean in terms of the Philippines’ international standing. I want to show how much I appreciate the Philippines and its people.

Tia: After (doing) research, I knew that SARS was under control. It was just a very small outbreak and mostly concentrated in Hong Kong than in the Philippines. And to be accurate, the people that died from it were generally elderly and sickly. SARS and the coup – or the public protest of soldiers which is more what it probably was – both of these issues have been sensationalized in the international media. I think that’s a little bit alarmist. Unfortunately negative publicity has more of a life than positive publicity and I wanted to do my part to get a positive word out there. I know that the Philippines is not a dangerous place! I know that everything is under control.

How much of your lineage is Filipino?

Lou: My mother was born here and I was born here (although) I left for the US before I was a year old.

Tia: My father was born and raised in Cebu. My mother’s grandparents came over from the Philippines on a boat. I was born and raised in Hawaii.

How much of your attitudes is Filipino? What similarity do you see between your personality and that of Filipinos?

Lou: It’s very hard to say because I was Americanized. But even if I was not exposed as much to the (Filipino) culture as I could have been while growing up, there are certain aspects of the Filipino lifestyle and the Filipino personality that are certainly inherent in me. Like manners, first of all.

Tia: I think I am – like Filipinos – hardworking, steadfast, determined and nurturing. A lot of Filipinos are people who take care of our sick or who take care of children. Filipinos are the workers of the world, the ones who break their backs for years and years and years.

I have a work ethic ingrained in me by my family and my heritage that I’m very proud of. I think a lot of people expect to get pesos quickly but I am in (the entertainment business) for the long haul. I’m still around 20 years later so I must be doing something right.

Lou: Among the things that has sustained Tia and me throughout our careers are aspects of the Filipino national personality – manners, discipline, respect for education, respect for the family, the elderly and tradition.

Tia: And being grounded. My heritage keeps me grounded.

Lou: These characteristics have allowed us not only to succeed in Hollywood but to have the reputations that we have. People like to work with us.

As actors what do you feel is the role that film festivals like CineManila play for the betterment of the movie industry? And why in particular are you participating in this festival? What do you hope to contribute?

Lou: For me, film festivals, no matter where they are – Sundance, Cannes – many times they celebrate independent films. They celebrate artists. Hollywood is not always that way. Hollywood is often very much about the bottom line – the box office. Through festivals, you get to see a lot of films that you would otherwise not see or that would be so obscure that they do not get the exposure that they should. I’ve always wanted to support that sentiment because we actors, directors and writers are artists.

Tia: I think that a film festival like CineManila allows Filipino films and Filipino-American films to ‘debut’ like our friend Gene Cajayon’s The Debut. Hollywood (would regard it as one for) a fringe market, a difficult sell, and so for that reason we have to – as Filipinos – support our brethren when they come out with a project.

(Likewise) I hope that when I come out with a record people will go and buy it or when we do a movie people here will go see it and support it. Dollars and cents translate into another project being made for our people. That’s just the way it works.

Lou: And Gene had to prove that to the (movie) industry. I mean, the fact that he hand-carried his film city by city and brought the audience in and made $2 million – he was successful for the amount of money that the movie was made for. Then, the studios paid attention and said, ‘Let’s get involved with that.’

For as long as we can remember, Hollywood has been dominated by Caucasians. Have there been instances when you actually felt discriminated upon because you were not Caucasian?

Tia: It was like swimming upstream! It’s a double-edged sword because when I started out about 20 years ago, there were no people like me out there. On daytime television I was the first one who played a regular role for a couple of years on General Hospital. It was the very beginning of seeing faces that looked, you know, like mine on TV. And now you see a lot of Asian actors out there. I’d like to think I had a part in doing that. And with every little step forward (in getting roles they’d tell me) ‘Well we didn’t think of going ethnic with that!’ I heard that so many times!

Lou: The one I always hear is ‘We’re not going that way!’ (So I go) ‘I know exactly which way you’re talking about.’ There are times when it (being a non-Caucasian) is a detriment but then not every actor is right for every role – (for example) I am not going to play a Nazi lieutenant. But there are certain roles where you have a right to have the opportunity to play – the cop or the lawyer or the doctor. And there are certain roles that should be without color.

Tiger Woods is all-American; Venus Williams is all-American. So Tia and I have been fortunate because we’ve been part of the vanguard that (helped change the) perception a little bit.

Tia you’re always in the list of the most beautiful this or the sexiest that. Has being beautiful ever been a hindrance to your career?

Tia: I hate it when people complain how beauty stood in their way! No matter what business you’re in, studies have shown that physical beauty helps. That’s just the way it is – people who are attractive seem to get in doors. It helped me get in doors but then I had to work hard. I had to show up on time, do my best work, be disciplined and steadfast and earnest.

Lou: Beauty might get you noticed or get you started. I think there’s a very long list in Hollywood of beautiful people who were beautiful but didn’t have much talent. They didn’t last long. It’s not just beauty that ensures your success in Hollywood...

Tia: ... because there are many more beautiful people. There are many more beautiful Filipinas than me in the world and I’ve seen a bunch of them here in the Philippines. It’s not just physical attractiveness – though I try hard to maintain that (laughs).

Lou: And the press is very quick to point out when somebody has nothing "upstairs." They may be pretty but they may be dumb as a rock.

How do you keep looking the way you do? Any beauty secrets?

Tia: I work out everyday for life!

Lou: You have to. Especially for me, action films come up very quickly. It’s easier for me to stay in shape than to drop out of shape and get my weight back. There’s no quick fix (to becoming healthy); it has to be a lifestyle choice.

Tia: Yeah, like running four miles and working out for an hour which I do three, four, five days a week and that’s when I’m not working. So I can eat pancit, adobo, suman and siopao (laughs) and have martinis. I love to live life. You can be skinnier and more anorexic but then you can’t eat. And I love my life.

What are your latest projects?

Lou: I play the lead in Red Water, a short movie for TVS, co-starring Kristy Swanson. It will be shown next Sunday. I’ll also begin a European film in three weeks. It’s more of a historical drama much like Braveheart.

Tia: I’m going back to Toronto and work on my second album. I did one for Warner Bros. in l993 called Dream. Performing at a benefit concert with Peter Gabriel got me thinking about primitive rhythms, with a little bit of sexy vocals over it. I want to go back to Toronto and get into the studio and just do something more free-form than my last record. The last one was R& B, pop. This one is going to be a hybrid of different kinds of music. Just chanteuse, rhythmic, jazz-inflected.

Being an actor was not my life’s desire; it was always to sing. Singing is my one true love. So now I’m following that road. You know work comes up all the time, anyway. But I wanna do my music so hopefully I will come back and do a concert here.

So who is Tia Carrere and who is Lou Diamond Phillips?

Tia: I’m a simple little Filipina girl from Kalihi Valley in Hawaii who did good beyond her wildest dreams and is thankful every step of the way.

I come from a pebble in the Pacific Ocean, this tiny island that’s five hours from anywhere, and my family couldn’t afford to send me to college. And my grades weren’t good enough to get a scholarship. Fortunately I got discovered in a grocery store in Hawaii. I was standing in a check-out stand and a producer’s mother and father approached me and said their son was 2doing a movie and I would be perfect for the female lead. I was like, ‘Okay, I guess that’s where I’m going!’

Lou: I was a young man with very big dreams. I was a middle-class kid raised mostly in Corpus Christi Texas. I had dreams of being a film actor and many of my teachers tried to discourage me because it wasn’t conceivable to them that I could become successful. I was very outgoing but no one from a little town like Corpus Christi says, ‘I’m going to be a movie star’ and everybody goes, ‘Yes! Of course you are!’ They go, ‘Are you crazy?’

To sum it all up, I’m the luckiest person I know. I’m living my dreams but I have also come to a place in my life where I can appreciate life itself.

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