Vince from reluctant actor to directors’ favorite
VINCE Rillon’s acting career is on a roll. His first starring role in Roman Perez’s “Siklo” is about to be shown on Vivamax, but even before that is shown, he is also in the cast of three other movies: “Sisid”, “Resbak”, and “Gensan Punch”. “Sisid” will also be shown on Vivamax, “Resbak” on Cignal and “Gensan Punch” is now being streamed on HBO Go.
Vince says he has no intention of going into acting as a child. “Wala kasing artista sa family namin,” he says. “Then in 2012, when I was 12, ‘yung mga kapatid kong waiter, nalimutan ‘yung mga kutsara at tinidor na dapat dalhin nila sa isang event. So sumunod ako sa kanila para ihatid yun. Nakita ako roon ni Direk Brillante Mendoza and isinama ako sa movie niyang ‘Captive’ with Isabelle Huppert.”
But he was not serious then about acting.
“Kasi nag-aaral din ako. I was taking up HRM, pero natigil dahil sa pandemic. So matagal bago nasundan ‘yung ‘Captive’. When I did ‘Ma Rosa’ for Direk Brillante, the one that won best actress for Jaclyn Jose sa Cannes, isinama niya ako doon sa France. After that, I became more serious sa pag-arte. When our movie ‘Mindanao’ was entered sa Cairo Filmfest, where Judy Ann Santos won as best actress, isinama niya rin ako sa Egypt. Then we did the TV series, ‘Amo’, which is now showing on Netflix.”
Soon, other directors are also getting him. He did ‘In the Name of the Mother’ for Joel Lamangan with Snooky Serna, ‘Abe Nida’ for Louie Ignacio with Allen Dizon and Katrina Halili, and the Boys Love series “Unlocked” for Adolf Alix. He also acted in ‘Ang Probinsyano’ for seven months as the brother of villain Joko Diaz. He also did “Policeman” with Coco Martin, where he was first paired with Christine Bermas.
“This year is special kasi sunud-sunod ang lead roles na ginawa ko,” he says. “In ‘Siklo’, I play a motorcycle delivery driver who falls in love with my customer, Christine Bermas, na kabit ng isang preacher, Joko Diaz. When he learned about our affair, sinaktan niya si Christine so I ask her to runaway. E, nadala namin ‘yung pera ng religious group ni Joko so hinanting ko. Maraming action scenes kasi I have to protect ourselves sa mga tauhan niya.”
How about in “Resbak”? “I play a carnapper of motorcycles naman. Dinadala ko ‘yung mga nananakaw kong sasakyan kina Jay Manalo at Albie Casino. When I got arrested, nilaglag nila ako instead of helping me, so rumesbak sa kanila ‘yung brother ko, si Nash Aguas.”
And in “Sisid”? “This is a Boys Love story. I’m married to Christine Bermas and dumating sa province namin si Paolo Gumabao who’s married naman to Kylie Versoza. Tapos, nagka-affair kami ni Paolo. I’ve done BL before but walang daring love scenes na gaya ng ginawa namin ni Paolo.”
Did he find it hard to do love scenes with another man? “Not really kasi tunay na lalaki rin naman si Paolo so we are just playing a role. Nagtutulungan kami. Direk Brillante gave us a one-day break na sinabi sa amin what he expects us to do so nag-bonding muna kami, nag-usap, para wala ng ilangan when we do the sex scenes in front of the camera.”
Vince has become so busy that his schedule is filled up until next year. “Next week, I will start shooting a new Vivamax movie,” he says. “Then after the holidays, another project. But my handler, ayaw munang sabihin sa akin lahat, kasi nalilito na ako sa roles sa dami ng projects ko.”
How did he prepare for an acting career? Did he take any workshops? “No, what I do is immersion. Every character assigned to me, I look for someone like him in real life. Like in ‘Siklo’, grab driver ako, so I interviewed grab drivers. Kinausap ko ng about one hour to know their personal experiences in their job and I find this very effective. I’m now very serious with my craft and I want to portray more challenging roles in the future and not be projected as a sexy actor.”
