Top contenders for Best Supporting Actor - STAR BYTES By Butch Francisco

Last Thursday, I enumerated the films that would figure prominently in the coming awards race. Below is a list of performers who may earn nominations and even bring home trophies from the various award-giving bodies like the Star, Urian, FAMAS and FAP Awards. I’ll start with the possible contenders for Best Supporting Actor.

Baron Geisler – Those who flocked to see the blockbuster hit Anak last summer must have been pleasantly surprised to find out that this youngster from ABS-CBN’s Star Circle can actually hold his own even when pitted against a formidable actress like Vilma Santos who plays his mother in the film.

Pen Medina – This stage veteran-turned-big screen character actor should be in the running for two films this year: Lagarista, where he plays a drunkard projectionist cuckolded by his wife (Jennifer Sevilla), and Deathrow, where he is cast as a prison toughie lusting after Cogie Domingo. I feel, however, that Medina has better chances of winning in the latter film where his screen character is more integral to the story and where his performance is more solid.

Christian Alvear – For those who are not familiar with him, he is the teener (although he looks like he’s only 10 years old) who plays sidekick to Mark Anthony Fernandez in Biyaheng Langit. Obviously, a neophyte in the acting game, Christian surprisingly registers like a pro on screen. He looks, talks, moves and breathes like the waif he is supposed to be in the movie.

Celso Ad. Castillo – One of the important directors in the country, Celso Ad. makes occasional excursions in front of the camera (mostly in his films). But Celso – the actor – is often intolerable. In Bukas na Lang Kita Mamahalin however, he gives a refreshing performance as Angelu de Leon’s sabungero father.

Bojo Molina – He is effective as the disturbed closet queen student/friend of Pops Fernandez in Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya. Unfortunately, his performance in the film is quite uneven. If ever the list of contenders for best supporting actor gets too crowded, I’m afraid he may be among the first to go.

Allyson VII – Already a Gawad Urian nominee (for Sa Paraiso ni Efren), this young actor is more focused in his role as a male prostitute in Gusto Ko Nang Lumigaya.

Jericho Rosales – He has already proven himself to be an excellent performer in television (especially in his guest appearances in Maalaala Mo Kaya?). In Tanging Yaman, where he plays a son seeking his father’s approval and attention, he lives up to his reputation as a gifted actor.

Jeffrey Quizon – Voted best supporting actor in the last Metro Manila Film Festival, he steals the movie from right under the nose of everybody (including his own father, Dolphy) as the young Walter Dempster, Jr. in Markova: Comfort Gay.

Ray Ventura – A reliable and competent character actor (another recruit from the world of theater), he gives his best screen performance ever in Deathrow.

Spanky Manikan – Every muscle on his face and body is screaming the word CORRUPT as he essays his role as a jail official who cannot be trusted with your old toothbrush in Deathrow.

Carlo Aquino – He already impressed the moviegoing public with his acting in Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa? and in Kahapon, May Dalawang Bata. In Sugatang Puso, he gives another compelling performance as Patrick Garcia’s stepbrother whose death tears the family apart.

Nante Montreal – A radio/TV talent who tends to overact (must be his radio orientation), his performance in Tuhog as Ina Raymundo’s sleazy grandfather, in stark contrast, is very well-controlled and tempered – very good, in fact.

Frank Rivera – An award-winning scriptwriter (he received the best screenplay award from Gawad Urian in 1994 for writing The Story of Fatima Buen), he is also a competent actor. (He is at his best as a gay movie billboard artist in Ang Babae sa Bubungang Lata.) In Tuhog, he is very convincing as an exploitative filmmaker who makes a movie out of a rape victim’s misery.

Joel Lamangan – In Markova: Comfort Gay, his portrayal of Pasay City Councilor Justo Justo is very flamboyant and colorful – but without going overboard.

Edu Manzano – In Tanging Yaman, he is so effective in his role as a cold-hearted father (to Jericho Rosales), you practically see icicles form around the screen everytime he is in the frame.

(On Tuesday: The possible contenders for best supporting actress.)