John Lloyd Cruz — in the eyes of a colleague in the Lav Diaz team
Why does John Lloyd Cruz like working with Lav Diaz? Observers note that the 39-year-old matinee idol underwent a remarkable transformation as an actor when he played Hollanda — a gay character in Diaz’s Ang Babaeng Humayo, which also marked Charo Santos’ return to acting. The film won the Golden Lion, the highest prize at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival in 2016.
‘The moment he gets the script from me (Lav writes the script every shooting day), he goes inside his room and locks himself up’
In the same year, Diaz released Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,
where Cruz played the El Filibusterismo character Isagani, who figured in long scenes with another heartthrob, Piolo Pascual (as Simoun/ Crisostomo Ibarra). The film won the Silver Bear (second prize) at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival — whose jury head, Meryl Streep, famously referred to Diaz: “This film. This guy. He changed the molecule system in my body.”
In 2021, Cruz starred as Hernando, a bodabil ventriloquist and exsocialist cadre in Diaz’s Historya ni Ha, which won Best Picture and Best Actor for Cruz at the Young Critics’ Circle.
The Cruz-Diaz collaboration continues this year with Servando Magdamag — an eight-episode TV series based on National Artist for Literature Ricky Lee’s short story of the same title, and whose full version is the film Isang Salaysay ng Karahasang Pilipino, in which Cruz plays Servando Monzon III, heir to a hacienda with a violent history at the beginning of the Marcos regime.
Now comes project no. 5 with Diaz, Kapag Wala nang Mga Alon—
with Cruz as Police Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, a top investigator who witnesses the drug war — which will have its second Philippine screening on 26 November, 1 p.m.
at Gateway Cineplex as part of the 10th QCinema.
In this email Q&A, actor and frequent Diaz collaborator Hazel Orencio talks about Cruz or JL — up close and personal.
Daily Tribune (DT): Kapag Wala nang Mga Alon marks John Lloyd Cruz’s fifth time to work with Lav Diaz and his production team which includes you. Tell us what it’s like to work with him.
Sabi ni Lav, malalim daw si JL. What’s your view?
Hazel Orencio (HO): JL has always been reserved and, yes, malalim siya as an actor and as a person. He wants to grow more in his craft, and his medium is really acting. So, every chance he’s given, he gives his all. When you’re an actor, you bare it all, not just
your experiences in life but your inexperience as well, insecurities, frustrations, lahat. That’s what JL brings to the table, every time. I guess this is what makes him deep, this unpredictability with his performance. You can never tell how far he can go.
DT: Tell us about this latest film and how JL approached his role as a police investigator who witnesses the drug war. Ano’ng
nasaksihan mong diskusyon nila
ni Lav?
HO: Every discussion Lav has with actors, and even with crew members, is sacred, so I don’t really know, unless his process involves me as a production manager/assistant director.
DT: What places did you shoot in, and what difficulties did the cast and crew encounter? May mga special request ba si JL sa
shoot, pagkain, inumin, etc?
HO: For the first part of the shoot, we shot in Tanauan and Talisay in Batangas. This was the time when Taal Volcano erupted. We wore special masks then, because of the ashes. We didn’t know we’d wear masks for a long time, coz the pandemic broke out two months later.
The second part of the shoot was shot entirely in Sorsogon City. Shooting amid the pandemic was
really hard; we did a lot of swab tests, and when we arrived in Sorsogon, three of our crew tested positive. We had to be quarantined in the hotel for 14 days before we could shoot.
Third part of the shoot was in Lisbon, Portugal. It was only Lav, Sir Larry Manda, and I who went.
JL had no special requests regarding food and other stuff. It was more of Ronnie Lazaro. Ronnie has to have wine at every (shooting) wrap.
DT: Ano’ng mga habits or peculiar mannerisms ni JL ang napansin mong nakakatulong sa pagiging aktor niya?
HO: JL is a very reserved person. But I think it’s a privilege that, in our group, siguro dahil na rin sa pinagsamahan namin, he is at his most “open.” Sobrang bukas niya sa amin, we know his quirks, lahat, lalo siguro ako since I am Lav’s assistant director. So, the moment he gets the script from me (Lav writes the script every shooting day), he goes inside his room and locks himself up. That’s the time I know that he prepares. But I don’t know, no one knows, and I don’t think anyone has ever known how he prepares or memorizes a script. That is JL’s mystery. He’ll approach me only if he needs help with lengthy lines. We throw lines, but that’s it. He keeps his preparations to himself. Basta paglabas niya ng kwarto, in costume, prepared na ’yan.
DT: How would you describe his performance in the film?
HO: He is great, of course. Buhos siya dito eh, just like his other roles in Lav’s other films. I also think he voiced out his frustrations on the country through his role as Hermes Papauran, that’s why his performance is very charged. People would always ask about his political stand, but for me, the fact that he always joins us in our projects — the fact that he chooses to play roles like Hermes Papauran, Servando Monzon (Servando Magdamag) — is a statement in itself.