Typecasting is the name of the game

It’s been rightly noted that Cherie Gil is at her best in contravida roles. Not the Bella Flores type but one with class, sophistication. Remember Cherie as the other woman, the tormentor in those Sharon Cuneta starrers?

Aside from the theme song, Bituing Walang Ningning is best remembered because of the Cherie line thrown at Sharon. "You’re nothing but a second rate, trying hard copycat." That line is even used in the current Sharon commercial, the one where she endorses a mayonnaise.

Will Cherie be as effective in, say, an api-apihan or slum girl role? Knowing Cherie’s competence as an actress, she might just do justice to the part. But will a producer or director dare to cast Cherie as martir, knowing the public expects her to be palaban and mataray? Most probably not. That’s what you call typecasting, the bane of actors who are trapped in a mold.

Can’t imagine Sharon Cuneta playing a prostitute or man grabber. It’s almost a sin to think that way of the megastar.

But then Sharon defied typecasting in Crying Ladies, where she played a small time gambler and hustler. And a loving and caring mother which, in the end, made her sympathetic.

Typecast in lumen (low mentality) and promdi roles is Yul Servo. Think of Batang West Side, Laman and Naglalayag. And even the digital film Ilusyon. Di ba laging tanga siya?

But it must be said that Yul won Best Actor awards for those roles, not counting Ilusyon which was graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board. Still it’ll be interesting to watch Yul in a yuppie or metrosexual character, granting he’ll ever be given a chance.

Before Yul, the "lumen-promdi" style of acting was mastered by Alan Paule, from Lino Brocka’s Macho Dancer to Carlitos Siguion-Reyna’s Ang Lalaki sa Buhay ni Selya. Think of a movie where Alan is not mukhang tanga o inosente.

Onstage, Alan gets the chance to be more versatile. And mind you he’s very good before a live audience.

Said to be following in the footsteps of Alan and Yul is Coco Martin of Masahista fame.

Imagine, if you can, Katherine Luna, playing a classy lady. Babae sa Breakwater, where she was excellent must have typecast her in low-class roles.

But there’s one actor who can be low and high class onscreen, Jay Manalo. He was a dignified doctor in that underrated Mel Chionglo film Kapalit. He was a young taipan in the original Mano Po. Very credible. But Jay was just as effective as the pimp in Prosti, the fake priest in Ang Huling Birhen sa Lupa and the deaf-mute killer in Bayaran.

In those three films, Jay won Best Actor awards. That is going against typecasting.

Another actor who can’t be typecast is Ricky Davao. Give him any role and he’ll do it well. Same can be said of Joel Torre.

But back to the game of typecasting.

Paolo Contis is now getting only contravida parts, the resident bad boy of GMA.

Eric Quizon is getting too identified with gay roles…as in Pusong Mamon, Markova, I Will Survive, Happy Together. What’s the next gay role?

Tuesday Vargas is always the comic sidekick of the leading lady.

Rufa Mae Quinto’s the quintessential dumb belle, onscreen, big or small.

Without the quirk, the malaprops, Melanie Marquez isn’t effective. Say it in English, please. That’s her mark.

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