Alchris Galura: The jedi within

By the way his system operates, Alchris Galura is a jedi in disguise. Chris, as Alchris is endearingly called, is Jojo, the boy pickpocket in Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s Mga Pusang Gala which opens on Aug. 17. Jojo is adopted by the gay aging romance novelist Boyet as played by Ricky Davao.

But this 16-year-old boy/man actor has a number of quirks and the least among them is this: he can’t help smiling. His mouth habitually curves upward at the slightest provocation and his big, deep dimples flash.

When confronted about this, he explains, "I don’t know. There are times talaga when I try to control my smile but it comes out just the same. When I’m very serious, ‘yung tipong huwag mo akong kausapin ang attitude ko, don’t attempt because I’m going to bark. Joke! It’s natural for me to be always smiling!" 

Chris must have been born with a happy disposition. He has sparkling eyes and dimples that give him a perennially happy face.

Mom Christina explains that she prayed very hard while infanticipating with Chris that he would have dimples like her husband Alfredo (now you know where Alchris got his first name). She got more than what she asked for. They were blessed with a boy, that is, after having four girls which include Star Magic actress Glaiza de Castro.

Chris is a fighter–a future streetfighter–training with the 20-member strong Sagupaan team. His ultimate ambition is to compete in URCC, the weekly competition of multi-sports fighters aired over at RPN 9.

And while he waits patiently for that time, he’s using his martial arts skills to defend himself and, in his small way, allow justice to prevail. One time, three bullies wanted to gang up on him, he faced them head-on with speed kicks, toppling them. His aggressors ran away in fright!

Chris’s good nature can be traced to his strong Christian upbringing. He lost the lead role in Emman dela Cruz’s Sarung Banggi because his pastor would not allow him to strip down to his undie or to kiss on screen as required in the indie digital movie. The role went to Angelo Ilagan, director Maryo delos Reyes’ protégé.

I discovered there might be a jedi hiding in Chris when I noticed that his Yahoo address starts with the word. To clear the suspicion, I inquired. He answered, "Nope, I’m just a Star Wars fanatic specially jedis. I really like the jedi fighters’ duel with light sabers. I also like their ability to do mind tricks, to control persons’ minds." 

It’s being a martial artist that his mind is focused on.

His defining moment came when he was in third year high school and he took a serious liking for what his father, a martial artist, was doing. But Chris has an altruistic reason for picking up the martial arts. He confides: "It’s a great way of protecting loved ones."

There’s the jedi ambition. He admits, "There’s a little bit of a ninja in me!" You got to be if you know Star Wars director George Lucas based the jedis on the ninjas of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 masterpiece, The Seven Samurai.

Chris is an excellent child actor for his ability to play intriguing roles that are out of his character, earning him nominations for Best Actor and Best Child Actor.

At 12, Chris was the sixth grade bully in Gil Portes’ Mga Munting Tinig. At 14, he played Buboy, the brother of Basillo (Christopher King) who was the lover of Pukita (Katherine Luna) in Mario O’ Hara’s Babae sa Breakwater. At 15, he was Onat, one of the three tambays in Laurice Guillen’s Santa Santita who flirted with Malen (Angelica Panganiban). Also at 15, he was a young drug dealer in Gina Tagasa’s Lagusan (The Tunnel), hiding his illegal merchandise inside a Bible. Then, too, at 15, he was the most serious and quiet in a peer group of four in Sarung Banggi.

Chris’ most self-realized movie, as he pointed out, is Mga Pusang Gala which he did when he was also 15. Not that he has something about cats, pure bred or stray. In fact, he does not own one. He likes cats for their ability to be like ninjas, that is, to move quietly and as swiftly as possible.

As far as Chris is concerned, the role of Jojo comes closest to his personality. He explains the mindset, "We are similar in many ways including laughing out our loneliness. I did not have to act in the movie; I just had to be myself."

In Mga Pusang Gala as produced by Ellen’s Erasto Films, Boyet’s novels are inspired by the idiosyncratic anxieties of Marta (Irma Adlawan) for Steve (Reggie Curley), her noncommittal lover. Marta is jealous of Boyet’s having a "family" by adopting Jojo and Dom (Lauren Novero), his cash-strapped lover. She has always hoped Steve would ask her to settle down and start a family. Both are willing to play type roles of women and gays to embrace a hopeful fantasy. All of them turn out to be illusions, however, and lead to tragedies.

With such an impressive filmography at a young age, Chris’ ambition to be the best actor in the country doesn’t seem incredible. His jedi power at work?