That Hunk Called JM!

If the eyes are the windows to one’s soul, you can decipher what’s inside Juan Miguel “JM” de Guzman by looking unblinking into his eyes. They are sad eyes, very vulnerable, as if ready to shed quiet tears if you as much as hint at, well, something sad.

In his comeback vehicle, the surprise hit That Thing Called Tadhana (with a P100M gross during its regular run…and counting), JM uses those eyes to great advantage in fleshing out his character Anthony Lagdameo in extended sequences in which his leading lady Angelica Panganiban (as Mace Castillo) talks and talks and talks about her failed romance, and all JM does is listen, letting his eyes do the talking, saying so much without articulating anything at all.

Directed by Antoinette Jadaone (scriptwriter of the sleeper hit English Only, Please), Tadhana is the story of two lovesick people who cross paths by chance at the Rome airport on their way back home, two strangers drawn into each other by destiny that leads them on a journey of recovery and revelation, with an ending left for the audience to figure out.

Some viewers wondered why JM does “nothing at all” (walang ginawa) almost throughout the movie?

JM’s kind of acting is best described as non-acting, the mark of a fine actor who works as if effortlessly, very naturally. A critic called the style of Richard Linklater, director of the Oscar-nominated Boyhood, “naturalistic,” involving not much acting. “You know how much work goes into those ‘naturalistic’ performances?” Linklater explained to an interviewer in a recent Esquire (Philippines) story. “The 14-minute take? You can’t do that without great actors. I take that risk because they can do it. I can’t do that with everybody. Give them a little credit. You know how many weeks and weeks we rehearsed these things? You know how much work goes into it? If it was easy, everybody would do it. People still go, ‘Hey, you just kind of show up and improvise.’ We don’t improvise. It’s all rehearsed and really worked out.”

Of course, it didn’t take JM (or, for that matter, Angelica who won a Best Actress award for it) weeks and weeks to do it. An indie, Tadhana was probably shot in limited calendar days for the CinemaOne Originals Filmfest, in November last year just when JM was returning from a three-year forced absence due to a bad habit that sidelined him just when he was hitting stardom, with head-turning performances in indies and in the Kapamilya soap Batang Ama rudely interrupted by that bad habit.

Tadhana has reinstated JM where he belongs, drug-free at last, with projects lined up for him: A movie with a top actress, an endorsement for a leading food company, an ABS-CBN teleserye titled Balatkayo that will start shooting anytime now, and two more indies for SinagMaynila, the company put up by Brillante “Dante” Mendoza, one about OFWs in Japan directed by Lawrence Fajardo and the other Papa’s Boy, by Don Cuaresma, casting JM and co-star Edgar Allan Guzman in a gay love story that, in a passionate love scene, requires them to kiss like all lovers do sans inhibitions.

“It’s a good role, a good story,” said JM who is turning 27 on Sept. 9, “so why shouldn’t I do it?”

Having been away for almost three years, did you get that “starting over again” feeling?

“Actually, when I was shooting Tadhana I didn’t feel that way; hindi ko naramdaman na comeback talaga siya, na malaki talaga siya. I just did my best, hoping for a good result.”
And the result was more than good, congrats! What is it about your character Anthony Lagdameo that you identify with?

“Hmmm, I think like Anthony Lagdameo, siguro parehas kaming mabilis ma-in love. Like him, I’m also silent.”

Have you ever had a girlfriend who was as talkative as Angelica’s character?

(Thinks awhile) “None so far. Like Mace Castillo, ‘yung character ni Angelica, Anthony Lagdameo is going through a personal crisis. Through Anthony, Mace is able to release her feelings. Anthony just let her talk; and all he does is listen.”

In real life, have you experienced what Anthony Lagdameo is going through?

“I haven’t reached a point where I want to get married or to choose names for my children. Mas mabigat ang pinagdaanan ni Anthony kaysa pinagdaanan ko.”

Have you ever been heartbroken?

“Oh yes, several times.”

What kind of a girl would break a good-looking guy like you?

“The problem is not necessarily with a girl. Sometimes, especially when you are young, all-out ka magbigay, all-out ka magmahal, and then you get hurt. You can also get heartbroken when it comes to other things, such as your career. You expect something and when it doesn’t come, it breaks your heart, right?”

Are you the heart-over-head type, medyo emotionally weak?

“Yes, when I was young. I was more emotion than reason. But now, it’s the other way around, more reason than emotion. I am more goal-driven now.”

Nice to hear that.

“I went through an eye-opening experience that knocked sense back to my head. Nakita kong unti-unting nawawala ang mga bagay na pinaghirapan ko, and the people’s trust in me. I saw myself as worthless, walang goal, no purpose and no direction. Pangit na buhay, hindi maganda sa pakiramdam. I have set my goals and I’m focused on them.”

Just like Robert Downey Jr. He survived a much worse drug problem and he even landed in jail. Once recovered, he went on to become one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood today, starring in big projects.

“Ganoon? Grabe naman! Hindi naman!”

But you are a good example (among your showbiz colleagues) of somebody who has successfully risen from a big fall. A symbol of hope.

“I think everybody takes a fall sometime somehow, and not only about drugs. You hit rock bottom and the only way is up. It’s all up to you. People around you can give (pieces of) advice, you can take them or leave them, and the initiative to change should come from you. It’s your choice.”

You are sensitive because you’re an artist (Theater Arts graduate from UP). In one scene in Tadhana, you are shown musing over an exhibit of paintings.

“Akala ko magaling na ako pero hindi pala.”

You also write songs. Is music a form of release for you?

“In a way. I’m not sure if the songs I have written are okay. You know, sometimes the inspiration hits me at any hour of the day or night at bigla na lang ako maghahanap ng ballpen at papel para magsulat ng kanta. I express myself eloquently in songs.”

If you were to write a song about your experience, how would it go?

“Maybe, I will write about how thankful I am for how things have turned for the better. Maybe I won’t be writing sad songs anymore. Unlike before, my songs were all about sadness.”

Good thing you didn’t blame anybody for what happened to your life.

“There is nobody to blame but yourself. You see, your worst enemy is yourself. Kung bumagsak ka, nasa sa’yo na ‘yon kung paano ka tatayo uli.”

How do you avoid backsliding?

“I set my mind on my goals. I don’t want to disappoint my parents; ayokong mapahiya ang family ko at ang sarili ko. I am taking advantage of the second chances given to me.”

Where do you draw your strength?

“Up There. Sa Itaas. Everything good that’s happening to my life now I owe to The One Up There.”

Who is your inspiration, si JM?

“Sinong JM?”

Si Juan Miguel, hehehe!

“A, akala ko kung sino, hehehehe!”

Incidentally, Tadhana is a road trip from bad breaks towards recovery. Just like your real-life journey.

“Para ngang ganoon. I took risks, I took roads that led to nowhere, hindi sigurado. But I learned so many things along the way.”

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