Coco Martin happy for Special Jury Prize

a sit down with some members of the movie press on the set of the ongoing top-rated teleserye “Ang Probinsyano,” Coco Martin showed he was more than ecstatic in winning the Special Jury Prize for his role in “Ang Panday” at the ongoing Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2017.

Also awarded Special Jury Prize was playwright National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin for his original play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” which was translated into Filipino as “Ang Larawan” by another National Artist, Rolando Tinio. The movie version, set to the music of Ryan Cayabyab, and directed by Loy Arcenas, went on to win Best Picture, Best Actress for Joanna Ampil, Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award, Best Production Design, and Best Musical Direction for Ryan Cayabyab.

In his capacity as producer, actor, and director as Rodel Nacianceno, Martin bagged other awards like the Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award, Children’s Choice Award, and Best Visual Effects.

While the Special Jury Prize is second in ranking to the Best Actor award won by Derek Ramsay for “All Of You,” Coco Martin admits to the fact that he is indeed more than happy to receive said award along with Nick Joaquin, albeit posthumously bestowed upon the noted playwright.

To him, the award, given especially by the MMFF’s board of jurors, is a validation of his dream to become an esteemed actor, so to speak.

In hindsight, Caveat had it in past interviews with the actor regarding his long time dream to be acknowledged as a versatile actor, adding that in Ang Panday, he went through the roller coaster and gamut of emotions in the scenes which called for him to do drama, swashbuckling action stunts, and comedy.

He considers it triple rewarding as it acknowledged his capacity to produce a hit movie, direct, and act in it competently as well. The actor intimated further that the highly encouraging turnout of his opus both in the commercial and critical realm was an answer to his fervent prayer from the Black Nazarene of Quiapo. A self- confessed devotee of the Nazarene, he said that his pious devotion began when his grandmother used to tag him to Quiapo Church when he was just a young boy.

Coco Martin has received over 80 prestigious awards and recognitions from local award- giving bodies plus a handful of impressive awards abroad since he joined showbiz in 2006.

Moreover, his box- office and mass appeal was validated by several awards from the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation Awards as Prince of Philippine TV.

It was in September 2015 that Coco starred in the TV adaptation of the late Fernando Poe, Jr.’s film Ang Probinsyano. To measure up to the challenge of making himself a believable action star in the tradition of the late King of Action Movies, he had to undergo a rigorous training in all sorts of martial arts such as kickboxing, arnis, and mixed martial arts.

The action-drama series continues to air until the latter part of 2018 for its high rating. Fortunately, it revived the acting career of most leading action stars and character actors whose career have been temporarily placed in the back burners due to the slack in the moviemaking industry.

We now see some of them on primtime TV the likes of Lito Lapid, John Estrada, Jeric Raval and Joko Diaz.

With Ang Probinsiyano dominating primetime, Coco Martin has rightfully earned the tag King of Philippine TV.