" If there's such a thing as a new wave film, then there's also a new wave acting. That is to say, actors must create new approaches to acting, and take it as a real profession. "

" There's a trend in America where audiences prefer actors with brains and not mere brawn nor looks. The Filipino movie audiences may not be far behind because, ostensibly, this is a worldwide syndrome. To be sure, however, so long as there's a Stallone or Schwarzenegger or whoever, muscle-bound movies will be around for quite sometime. But this latest development suggests the impression that people now ask for intelligent actors who are a lso intelligent as plain individuals. "

And how is Celso Ad Castillo as actor ?

" An actor must enlarge the dimensions of his role, as I do when I act.The first thing an actor must do, given an assignment, is to know the story and his role. He must, in fact, live, eat and breathe his role. "

" He must prepare for it, psychologically by internalizing the character, and externally by dressing for the part. "

" A bad actor is one who complains that there's no more room for improvement, that he always gets the same role over and over again. He's tired of always being a contravida, or a boy-next-door but he should know he's not a mere two-bit performer. A good actor knows very well he can inject new life into each new performance by, for instance, being a stuttering contravida, or epileptic-prone, or whatever. "

So the American Lee Strasberg's method of acting should be an actor's paradigm ? Not to Celso anyway.

" Let me put things in proper perspective. Strasberg's method acting retimen was a take-off from the techniques of the Russian stage director Constantin Stanislavsky, who wrote the first book on stage acting. Being based on a diffe-medium-stage-Strasberg's method was bound to fall short of expectations. Though method acting could serve as a basic course in acting, yet it is not the entire course. The rest, the real elements of fine film acting – must be supplied by the actor himself.

And in this world at large, real life, and authentic talent hold the key. I make use of the same keys as an auteur. The auteur, always discontented, has gone one step farther. Not only did Celso write the tory for Pikoy Goes to Malaysia (which is Celso's joint co-production venture with Suraya Filem of Malaysia), he also scripted it, did the photography, production design, editing and musical scoring. Of course, he also megged it. But good heavens, thinking that no one, save for one, could properly handle the role of Pikoy, Celso took a liking to it and thus essayed it to himself. (The same role won for Celso the Famas best supporting actor award in Sampung Ahas ni Eba (Ten Snakes of Eve).

Waiting for Celso Ad Castillo, the actor – like waiting for Godot, may turn out to be worth the while.


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