Till I meet you again, JC!

There were so many reasons people got excited about in the just concluded teleserye Till I Met You, the James Reid-Nadine Lustre starrer. One such reason was the guy named Ali, played by budding character actor JC Santos.

JC got his start doing theater at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He got into the Theater Arts program as a performance major on the strength of a glowing recommendation from theater legend Tony Mabesa. JC then moved to Singapore to perform at Universal Studios, where he worked from 2009 to 2011. He then moved to Hong Kong to act, dance and sing in Disneyland’s live musical production of Mulan. He also lived in New York for a while, where he studied at the Circle in the Square Theater School.

They say that travel is one of the best teachers known to man, and JC did learn a lot as a globetrotter. He grew not just as an actor, dancer and singer, but as a person as well. However, he started to get homesick — which helped him realize that more than anything else, what he really wanted out of life was to establish a career in the Philippine showbiz scene. So he packed up his things once again and went home to try his luck as an actor.

Thankfully, he managed to find work upon his return. “I’ve been in independent films like Esprit de Corps, Sakaling Hindi Makarating and The Janitor. On TV naman, I’ve booked supporting roles in teleseryes like Flordeliza and Tubig at Langis. I always played the kontrabida,” he laughs.

“I always go on auditions, so whatever comes first whether it’s a movie or TV show, there I go.”

?JC reveals that he wasn’t handpicked for the role of Ali, despite his credentials. He had to audition for it just like any other young actor waiting for his big break.

“One day, I was invited to audition for this role, so I went to the audition venue, where some other actors and I were told about all the requirements. The whole process took two days, and on the second day they gave me a script and had me meet with direk Antoinette Jadaone. At the time, I said to myself,  ‘Naku, OK na ako kung aawayin ko lang si James dito. Usually those are the kinds of roles that I get. But this turned out to be different. The role of Ali was so much bigger than that, and I really was surprised. I could not believe I played a huge role in Till I Met You. My heart is so full of gratitude towards everyone who decided to take a chance on me for this show,” he says.

?When he found out that Ali would turn out to be a gay character who falls in love with Basti (played by James), JC admits that he had a moment of panic. Having played gay roles before — once in a short film titled Basaan and again in an episode of the drama anthology Ipaglaban Mo — he was wary of being typecast.

?He consulted his manager, filmmaker Andoy Ranay — who worked with James and Nadine on Diary ng Panget, the Viva Films offering that launched them to stardom — on whether it would be a good idea for him to sign on to play Ali.

?“I thought twice about doing so,” JC admits. “But I was convinced by direk Andoy, who told me that while it’s a gay role, bida naman si Ali and before this offer came along, most of my roles were kontrabidas. I realized that playing Ali would be good for me. Now, my attitude is if I like the role, I’ll take it, no matter what.”

?JC earned raves for his honest and sensitive portrayal of Ali. He’s very thankful for all the compliments and says he will use them as fuel to be better.

“This was my first time doing a TV show in a gay role. Ali was interesting. James, Nadine and I had good chemistry. We clicked. We enjoyed on the set and that translated into the scene when we shoot, maybe that’s the reason people enjoyed the show.”

JC says he doesn’t know what will happen to his career after Till I Met You but he’s definitely planning to enjoy whatever comes next.

JC Santos poses with co-actors, James Reid and Nadine Lustre.