There’s something about Maxi

The first time writer and neophyte film producer Raymond Lee saw Nathan Lopez at the auditions for Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, it didn’t occur to him he was already in the presence of his star. "He had a twin and they were both very straight-looking boys." And Maximo, or Maxi for short, the lead character in Michiko Yamamoto’s screenplay was a 12-year-old gay boy. Nathan himself wasn’t really going to audition for any part, he was just tagging along with another newbie, his friend Angelo Ilagan, who was auditioning to play Maxi. The producers thought Angelo was too old for the role (he would be given the starring role in their other indie film Sarong Banggi) and, after Lee saw Nathan’s taped dance routine on video, he saw the then 13-year-old’s grace and screen presence and thought he could be their diamond in the rough.

Now four months after Maximo Oliveros premiered at the CineMalaya Independent Film Festival at the CCP, Lee’s ufo Pictures has received heaps of accolades from the nation’s most important critics for casting Lopez as Maxi – "A vision in nuanced acting," said one; "an absolute delight" gushed another. Lopez himself has earned a Special Citation for his performance from the CineMalaya jury, and a Best Actor nomination in this November’s Asian First Film Festival to be held in Singapore. And the recognition goes beyond the reviews and trophies. Yesterday at the GMA 7 premises, where Nathan was to be interviewed for a segment on StarTalk, a trio of girls immediately spotted Nathan waiting for his visitors’ ID by the entrance. "Di ba ‘yan si Maxi?" asked one. The young actor and the girls exchanged equally shy smiles. Seconds later, another girl pulled out her phone from her bag and asked someone to take a picture of her with Nathan. The reluctant star obliged.

Despite his newfound popularity, and the movie’s success going bigger by the day (the night of this interview, as Lee and company awaited the results of the Asian First Film Festival awards in Singapore, where it was nominated in the Best Actor and Best Picture categories, Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival, the most recognized independent film festival in the world, had just extended its invitation for Maximo Oliveros to play in its World Cinema Competition in Utah this January), Nathan remains as shy and simple and courteous as he was when he auditioned for the guys at ufo Pictures. Wearing his favorite get-up of loose denims, an old graphic tee, red sneakers, and a red trucker cap, he looks freshly plucked from your ordinary hip-hop dance group with lots of pre-pubescent boy members. Only he’s more handsome – his features have been described as reminiscent of a young Jomari Yllana – despite the appearance of a few pre-pubescent zits which he conceals by applying pressed powder. His mom Arleen bought him the compact and he brings it with him when he knows he will be facing a camera.

Except for the introduction of a face powder in his young lifestyle, and the increasing number of camera lenses pointing his way, very little has changed in this boy’s life. He still religiously wakes up at 5:30 a.m. on schooldays for his 7:30 class, is back at home by 4 p.m. and is in bed by 9 p.m. Nathaniel Louis Lopez is the youngest in a brood of six. He and identical twin Gamaliel are the only boys among the siblings, children of a pastor mother and a father who owns a printing business near the Lopez home in Cubao. Nathan spent his first few childhood years in Caloocan before the family moved to Quezon City which was closer to the kids’ school, Take The Nation for Jesus, a private Protestant institution where kids of Born-Again Christian celebs like Gary Valenciano also study.

The family’s religion was one of the most important factors why his mom was initially against Nathan’s playing the lead in Maximo. "How would the church mates react to the sight of the pastor’s young son playing a gay boy who falls in love with a handsome policeman?" Arlene said in an interview. But that was before director Auraeus Solito gave her the script. She found out the film was really not about homosexuality but about the values of family. "It’s a beautiful story," she added.

Even Nathan, a very heterosexual adolescent, was not too keen on playing the part of a gay boy, fearful of potentially being teased by neighbors and classmates. Without knowing exactly what a "bading" is, and without having read the entire script – he was just given the scenes where he will appear – Nathan said yes to playing Maxi. "Ginawa ko kasi nagustuhan na ng buong family ko ‘yung kuwento," Nathan recalls, sitting in one of the rooms in the Star Cinema office which he has been frequenting of late since the promotions for Maxi’s nationwide showing began (ufo Pictures is releasing the film through Star Cinema). To help the first time actor, he was given veteran stage thespian Soliman Cruz as an on-set mentor. Sol also plays Nathan’s small-time crook dad Paco. "Sasabihin niya sa’kin nung una, ‘lambutan mo pa ng konti ‘yung kilos mo.’ O kaya, ‘dapat parang natural lang ‘yung pagsasalita, ‘wag mong gawing pambabae.’" Another motivation technique Sol used for Nathan was to tell him to imagine his life was inside a ball. "Kunyari pinagpa-pasapasahan yung bola, anong mararamdaman mo?" Sol asked him. "Tapos parang pagtutulak-tulakan nila ako." It helped Maxi cry for one of the saddest scenes in the movie, where he walks away from his beloved man’s door, carrying the unanswered love letter he wrote.

For those who haven’t seen the movie, Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros is about the blossoming of a young gay boy in the slums of Manila. He is the "ilaw ng tahanan" in his family of small-time crooks – a dad who steals and sells cell phones, and two brothers who have their own petty crimes. Maxi cooks, cleans the house, mends their clothes. Until one fateful night, he meets Victor, a handsome, principled policeman with whom Maxi falls in love. Victor earns the ire of Maxi’s dad and brothers, and in the end, Maxi needs to choose between his love for Victor, and his loyalty to his family.

The first time Nathan saw the movie in its entirety during its SRO gala night at the CCP, he shed tears. "Naiyak lang ako sa tuwa. Hindi ko kasi alam na maganda pala ‘yung nagawa ko, akala ko talaga pangit," says Nathan who now has officially watched the movie five times, and will get another chance to see it again this Tuesday when it premieres at the SM Megamall before its regular run the next day. So is he going to Sundance? The kid is not even aware what it is. All he knows is that these days, he gets asked a lot if life has indeed changed for him, and all he can really say is that the movie has made his family really, really happy and really, really proud of him. And what was his first purchase after getting his paycheck? A 21-inch Electown TV he and his daddy Louie bought from Farmer’s Market.