Sid Lucero relishes being an actor

MANILA, Philippines — Sid Lucero belongs to that company of screen performers who relish a role and disappear in it. This perhaps can be attributed to his clear perspective of his profession.

“I think I’m just an actor,” described Sid in a recent virtual one-on-one with The STAR. “In Tagalog, kasi dalawa lang naman yan, it’s either artista or aktor (In the vernacular, the word actor connotes two things: Star and actor), ‘coz, to me, artista means celebrity, and I don’t think I am. I don’t do commercials or wave at people at shows… I think I’m an actor.”

His almost two-decade career is a testament to that, and his passion for the craft. Sid simply enjoys being and becoming an actor. That’s why even in the new normal, he continues to embody characters on the small and big screens. Among his recent dramatis personae are Eric and Mark of The World Between Us, which had its finale early this year, and The Fake Life, now airs on GMA Afternoon Prime after Raising Mamay, respectively.

“There’s a sense of pride,” said Sid of learning and watching that his work, like The World Between Us, is being streamed on Netflix. “Being on Netflix is quite prestigious nga, more than (to) see myself or my friends, the show itself there, it just makes me feel like ‘Ah, OK, they are now pushing it towards here.’ And then, we’re just gonna see more and more of that.” The actor is delighted that Filipino content, either in the form of a TV series or film, is given a global space and attention it deserves via a popular streaming service. This is aside from the international festivals that Philippine movies participate in and receive recognitions every year.

Sid added that “networks are starting to like open their eyes” on digital platforms like Netflix as another venue to share their content. Again, a streaming platform is a place to watch and rewatch works, done months or years ago, by actors like Sid. During this pandemic, he starred in films such as Lawrence Fajardo’s Reroute, Mac Alejandre’s Silip Sa Apoy and Brillante Mendoza’s Virgin Forest.

“Always,” answered the actor when asked if he also gets a critique from the critic in him. “I was too focused on the way I speak, na maging natural, na hindi na siya cinematic,” shared he as some of the insights Sid would gain from the post-work self-assessment. “It doesn’t sound good anymore, even in real life, it sounds good. But onscreen, it doesn’t, you know, things like that.”

Every time he “inhabits” the life of a character, Sid will rely on his acting tools to understand and empathize with it, based on the accumulated learnings from workshops and work experience. As a glimpse into his creative process, he compared it to like going through a filing cabinet “of like what I believe in my experience, in my own life,” and what he knows about “other people’s lives,” and bits and pieces gained from “watching films and TV, what might be acceptable to me, and then, to the production or then, what might be acceptable to the people.” From there, he can build a relatable character.

Sid, who can do bida-kontrabida roles, understands that a careful study of character expectations, which are cultural in nature, from the creatives and audiences is vital to his work. An actor should know how to piece all these together in creating the whole persona or role. Part of acting is to somehow stick and present “a palatable character that anyone can enjoy,” as one could get from his statements.

Acting, particularly when done with fellow actors in a scene, is “about accepting and giving,” said he. “If I think this way and this guy is like todo method, (a way to approach a role) and he is totally like not accepting what I’m giving... I have to adjust and then, that becomes his character and I would like to think that I’ve helped you and you’ve helped me build mine… then, I was able to just build this through being you.” Yes, what matters to the actors are their truth, like what they, being in the moment, feel genuinely about their characters.

As an actor, who remains visible and considers acting a calling, Sid has realized that “there’s a space for everything, there’s a space for you to express, there’s a space to follow rules.” Through these spaces, actors become more understanding about realities and truths of their profession.

According to the information given by The Fake Life team, the latest episodes will see Sid’s Mark do everything to ruin the family of Onats and Cindy Villamor, played by Ariel Rivera and Beauty Gonzalez. His character will also reiterate that he is Cindy’s true love.

Asked what’s in the pipeline for him after The Fake Life, Sid, recipient of two Urian Best Actor awards for Selda and Muli, said, “I really love working for GMA, especially the TV (content) that they do, I really love it, kahit lock-in (taping) pa yan, I don’t mind. With Vivamax, I’m always open to (a) Vivamax (project)… I know for a fact that you can look forward to more projects from Vivamax and from GMA with me in (them).”

Yes, the actor, who also won a Best Actor trophy for Toto at the LA Comedy Festival, has established a good relationship with the network and the film platform.

With that and his passion for acting, Sid will continue to make new and engaging roles and entertain audiences.