‘I have had my wild days,’ confesses Sid Lucero. ‘That was when I was younger.’
A few years ago, when asked for a “sexy talk” story what was the sexiest thing he had done with somebody, Sid Lucero laughed, “Make love at the roof deck of a TV station,” without naming who his equally daring partner was.
Reminded about it in a phone interview last week, Sid laughed again. “That was when I was younger. I went through a roller-coaster chapter of my life. I admit that I had been wild and daring. Those were my rip-roaring days.”
That derring-do extended to his career. At 37, Sid has done an array of roles, including those that required bed scenes with other actors in indie films like Cogie Domingo (Muli) and Emilio Garcia (Selda), in the process winning Best Actor for both films and proving his all-consuming, no-holds-barred, all-or-nothing-at-all attitude as an actor. In the indie Apocalypse Child, directed by Adolf Alix Jr., Sid and his leading lady went au naturel (“No plaster, nothing at all!”).
“I must say that I was reckless,” he quipped (without saying, “I did it for art’s sake,” as other less confident actors would remark), and adding, secure as he is with his sexuality, that he isn’t “homophobic” (again, unlike other actors afraid to be “branded”) as far as choice of roles is concerned. “I am proud of all the movies that my manager (Ricky Gallardo) asked me to do.”
Would he drop his pants if such an offer came along?
“When I play a role,” Sid explained, “I don’t really take into consideration if I would be ‘daring’ or whatever. It depends on how the scenes are shot, what the director asks me to do and who is the actor or actress I’m working with. But going nude, hmmmm... I’m a bit old for that. I am 37. Baka hindi na puede, hahaha!!!”
From the start, as screen name Sid opted not to use the famous surnames of his elders (Gil, Mesa or Eigenmann; he’s Timothy “Timmy” Eigenmann in real life) and settled for the name of his dad (the late Mark Gil) in Batch ‘81, a movie about fraternities (hazing, etc.), directed by Mike de Leon and produced by Marichu “Manay” Ichu Maceda.
When at 20, he decided to enter showbiz. Sid recalled the advice his dad had given him. “He wrote it in a letter which I still keep,” revealed Sid. “The morning after my first shooting day for my very first acting job, a GMA soap, I got that letter. He wrote, ‘Welcome to show business. Now we have something to talk about. All I can say is love your job and it will love you back. Love your craft and everything else will follow.’ That piece of advice applies up to now. It’s my guiding principle.” Yes, even during his wild days which was part of his career path.
Added Sid, “I have a lot more respect for my craft now. I have more respect for myself and I’m proud of it and, I guess, my dad is proud of me, too, from the beautiful place where he is now.”
In the action-drama series A Soldier’s Heart (9:30 p.m. weeknights on Kapamilya Online Live and Kapamilya Channel), Sid plays a soldier fighting for the Muslim side, a kind of role he has done thrice (in Adolf Alix Jr.’s Aurora and Brillante Mendoza’s Captive) so he’s kind of familiar with.
“It’s a sensitive role,” he said, “so I have to make sure that I don’t offend or disrespect anybody, or undermine their culture and beliefs. We all believe in the same God pero iba-iba lang ang paniniwala natin.”
The Soldier’s Heart cast (led by Gerald Anderson) shot the remaining episodes out of town in 21 days while strictly observing protocols (wearing face mask and face shield between takes, and social distancing).
“Despite the restrictions,” Sid related, “we managed to finish the scenes on time, although the hard part was doing the intimate family scenes because of social distancing. However, when you watch the teleserye, you won’t notice it, thanks to the camera work.”
The shoot was about the only time Sid left home since the quarantine imposition last March 15.
“The lockdown is nothing new to me since I have always been a homebody,” commented Sid who is living with his girlfriend of six years and a kasambahay. “Even before the lockdown, I rarely left home. If I have to see friends, it’s either at my home or in theirs.”
Away from work, Sid does “remote fathering” to his seven-year-old Halo, his daughter with an ex-girlfriend who lives in the opposite end of Parañaque City. Pre-lockdown, Halo would stay with Sid.
“Now, I help with the lessons online. Distance learning na kasi ngayon, eh. Medyo nabawasan ang daddy duties ko. But we are in touch every day.”
(E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)