Carlo: Acting is its own reward

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Carlo Aquino after a long time is his Canon camera. It sits right beside him on a bench among his personal belongings, ready for action at his behest.

“Yes, I’m into photography these days,” he answers my question. “I take any kind of shot that strikes me as long as it will make a good photograph.”

“You see,” he turns dreamy-eyed, “I’d love to be a director someday.”

His path, it seems, has been laid out for Carlo since he was that tall. He has worked with the best of them: Joel Lamangan, Chito Roño, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna. Back then, when he was only that tall and local cinema was lording it over the box-office, Carlo learned the language of film hands-on.

He knows his friends, like Maja Salvador, would have loved to be in his shoes back then. But present-day reality confines them mostly to TV shows and Carlo feels for them when insiders say they don’t get the training those who worked in film projects did.

That’s why Carlo feels like the guy who witnessed the landing of the first man on the moon and survived to share the spectacular story. Playing a slew of child actor roles has also made Carlo less beholden to the star system.

“I’d rather play a support role and be a character actor than play a lead star in one project after another,” he relates. “I don’t mind having only two out of 10 scenes, as long as they leave a mark on the viewers.”

In other words, this Viva talent would rather be an actor than a star. He doesn’t mind seeing the whole country hate him as an out-and-out villain if that would mean playing a role he can sink his teeth into. Neither will Carlo balk at playing a gay role if it’s as meaty as that of Dennis Trillo’s in Aishite Imasu.

“That’s what I like about indie films, even if they’re low-budget,” Carlo explains. “I can experiment with roles. I don’t have to be boxed into a role.”

It’s also the type of film he dreams of directing someday. For starters, Carlo is borrowing videos of many Hollywood and French films as he can. He can see his directorial project now — a psychological thriller ala Silence of the Lambs. His ‘baby,’ of course, will bank on music to set the mood of each scene. Music, after all, is also Carlo’s medium. He is vocalist-guitarist of the Viva Records band Kollide, which has released the hit single, Alaala.

Thanks to his music-loving Dad, Carlo loves the music of yesteryear. He laps up the Beatles and Matt Monro, his dad’s favorites. Unlike some of his fellow 22-year-olds, Carlo doesn’t walk away when he hears the first strains of a Mozart composition.

And unlike some of his fellow actors, Carlo listens to music appropriate for his character while waiting for his turn on the set. Both ears focused on the music in his iPod, Carlo slowly but surely gets the drift of his character’s every mood.

For GMA’s new afternoon soap Maging Akin Ka Lamang, where he plays the role the late Jay Ilagan portayed years back, Carlo listens to Enya in-between takes.

Carlo not only relies on music to put him the mood as Ernie Balboa in the TV version of the Lino Brocka film. He also watched the film’s DVD version twice — the first to get an idea of what it’s all about; the second, to scrutinize Jay’s every little gesture (the late actor won a FAMAS Best Supporting Actor award for the role).

Carlo’s great respect for the late actor shows in how he mimicked Jay’s interpretation of the role.

“I jiggled my feet; crossed my arms while standing the way Jay did,” admits Carlo.

And while he hopes the critics will notice, Carlo’s first arbiter of excellence — himself — seems happy with the outcome.

To someone for whom excellence is its own reward, that must be something else.