Jose Llana: Home, again, is the Broadway star

Showbusiness is oftentimes a dog-eat-dog world, so it’s refreshing to meet a performer who truly believes that a secret to success is simply to be good and nice to people.

And you can’t argue with his formula because he has proven himself with aplomb – on Broadway, off Broadway, and now in the romantic comedy to be shown in February next year, Last First Kiss, starring Will Smith and Eva Mendes, where he plays a photographer to Mendes’ reporter.

That’s 28-year-old Filipino-American, 6’1"-tall actor and singer Jose Llana for you. Following a four-city US tour of The Flower Drum Song and filming Last First Kiss, Jose is on a two-month vacation in the Philippines, in part to join in a celebration for his grandmother’s 80th birthday, and also to continue being a part of the Philippine entertainment scene.

"There are so many great singers here," Jose says. "If I can just be part of it and they can hear me sing, I’m very happy about that. I’m trying to balance my career here with my career in the States. I’m excited for both. I get to spend a lot of time with my family here and I’m making good friends, too."

His CD, Jose, released locally in July last year, will be relaunched at 5 p.m. today at the Podium. Released by VIVA with Eugene Villaluz and Baby Gil as producers, the CD features all-OPM songs, one of which is an original, while the others are revivals. It also features duets with Regine Velasquez and Sarah Geronimo.

Jose will also have a solo concert, Not Just Broadway, on Sept. 3 at the Westin Philippine PLaza. He’s also doing another album, this time independently produced.

If there is another thing Jose is very conscious of doing, it is living life in a way that would make him proud of what he has accomplished – even if his life were to suddenly end. It is a lesson, he says, his mom emphasized to him. This is also why, Jose adds, in everything he does, his main goal is make his family proud.

To Jose’s credit, he has done not only his family proud, he has also given his fellow Filipinos a greater reason to feel proud about the way Pinoys are leaving their mark in international entertainment.

Born in Quezon City, Jose at three moved to New York when his parents migrated to the US. The next year the family moved to Virginia. Though he grew up in the US where he honed his singing and acting talents at home (his dad taught him how to sing) and in school, Jose would spend every other Christmas as a child in the Philippines.

Jose realized just how much he loved singing and acting when he was in high school. He did a lot of theater at this time and also while attending the Manhattan School of Music where he studied opera. In l995 he did his first Broadway show, and he hasn’t stopped since.

Discover more of Jose Llana in this interview.

How was it like working with Will Smith and Eva Mendes?

"It was great! I’m very lucky because that was my first film role and it was a good role, a nice role – and with big stars. Will was not only the star, he produced it. Will was great, he’s exactly like he is on screen – he’s funny, he’s charming, he’s tall, about 6’2" or 6’3". Eva was great. Every scene I have is with Eva since I play her photographer. She plays a reporter."

Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that you would appear in such a movie?

"No (laughs). You know I’m very lucky. I was lucky when I got into theater very quickly. My first role was King and I with Lou Diamond Phillips. He was the king and I was the young lover, Lun Tha. I was 19 and in my first year in college. I’ve done about four shows on Broadway and three shows off Broadway. I worked regionally in Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and Philadelphia."

Has being a Filipino ever hindered you in your career?

"That’s a hard question because being Filipino is what makes me different. I think it’s hindered me just as much as it has helped me. Because in the States, half my jobs have been for Asian roles, but the other half was not. The beauty of American theater and American film is that they like you if you are different. And if you are different that’s what you bring to a show. So no, I don’t think it has hindered me. I think it has helped me."

In terms of your personality, how are you be different from other actors or singers in the States?

"In musical theater, Filipinos are definitely the better singers. I think so (because) it’s in our blood! The Latinos like to dance, Filipinos like to sing. When they need good singers, musical directors in the States always audition Filipinos."

What else are you looking forward to when you go back to the States?

"You know, in the States – just like here – opportunities can just come up within a week or a day. With the movie I just did, when it comes out next year and a lot of directors see that, it will open doors."

Well, you were at the right place at the right time.

"Then again I’m different. My director in Last First Kiss, Andy Tennant, directed a lot of hit movies like Sweet Home Alabama and Ever After. A lot of the supporting characters in our movie were in those movies as well. So he’s the kind of director who likes using the same people over and over again. We got to be good friends and I think that in American cinema and TV, once you’re in the club, you’re in the club. (All you need is) just one break. When you see my resumé it’s all theater. It’s hard for them to catch you when you’ve only done theater. But with this movie – and I did Sex in the City – they’re seeing me more as a TV and film person."

You did Sex in the City ?

"The Real Me episode, that show where Sarah Jessica Parker falls down on the runway. I played the assistant of Margaret Cho."

How was it like working in Sex in the City?

"It was great, oh, great! I auditioned for another part in it – the fashion assistant – but I didn’t get it. But the director called me and said, ‘We’re writing a part for you – no lines but I want you to stand beside Margaret Cho the entire time’.

"It was great because the show was so popular and I got recognized all over New York for it. I lucked out because that episode was the best the whole year and it won them the Emmy. So they kept playing that episode over and over and it was the one episode I did."

How do you spend your free time?

"I read a lot. I work out a lot, a bit of the gym everyday, running everyday. I play squash sometimes. And I love going to the movies."

How do you practice becoming a better actor?

"I take classes in New York. The best thing about being an actor is that I can use that as an excuse just to keep meeting different people. I love meeting people; the more people I meet, the more different kinds of people I have in my head. And when I’m auditioning and playing a part, I can call upon so many memories of people I’ve met."

Do you have an ultimate dream like winning an Oscar?

"I have lots of friends in the States who have won Tonys, Oscars, Grammies, and that’s wonderful. But if you try to go for those, it’s a waste of time. I think what’s more important is I just want to be happy and I want my parents and sister to be proud, and I want to have a family. I think my ultimate goal when I first did theater was to work, and I’ve been working for 10 years. So my next goal is to have a family. Between working and having a family, I’m in the middle now. So as long as I’m happy, that’s all that matters."

Is there something you believe in – a motto – that inspires you?

"My mom tells me just to be good to people. And my sister always tells me, just be nice to people. When you’re younger you don’t do it as much but I’m getting wiser. As long as I’m true to myself, nothing else matters."

"In the 10 years I’ve worked,the people I remember are the nice ones. There are a very few instances when a person was not nice but it was worth working with them. There’s no such thing as being so big that you can’t be nice to people. There’s no such thing as that."

You’re very Filipino in that sense.

"My mom would hit me on the back of my head (if I were otherwise)!"

If you could give a tip to someone who might like to make it on Broadway, what would it be?

"Practice. When my mother asked me to describe to her what I really do to get ready for a show, (I said that) I have to have at least four to eight hours for every song. It’s just for me to get it into my body, into my voice, into my head, so that when I bring it on stage, it’s a part of me. A lot of people don’t realize that. That’s the secret of a performer – (a performance) looks effortless, it looks easy."

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