MANILA, Philippines — In December 2022, Cedrick Juan received the opportunity of a lifetime to audition for the role of Padre Burgos in Pepe Diokno’s GomBurZa. One year later, he won Best Actor for the historical film in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2023 Gabi ng Parangal, edging out big names and industry heavyweights like Christopher de Leon, Dingdong Dantes, Alden Richards, Derek Ramsay and Piolo Pascual.
GomBurZa is about the three Filipino priests – Mariano Gómes, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, collectively known in Philippine history as Gomburza. Unjustly accused of subversion by Spanish friars after the 1872 Cavite Mutiny, they were executed by garrote. Their martyrdom was credited to have started the Katipunan and fueled the revolutionary cause.
Produced by Jesuit Communications, MQuest Ventures and CMB Film Services, the film collected most awards, including Best Director (Pepe Diokno) and Second Best Picture honors.
As expected, the victories thrust Cedrick into the spotlight — the dark horse and lesser-known contender compared to his fellow nominees — in one of the most exciting categories at the Gabi ng Parangal.
Contrary to perception, Cedrick is not a newcomer. He’s been acting for 10 years, starting in theater and crossing over to TV and films in 2015. His first teleserye was the James Reid and Nadine Lustre-led Till I Met You, while his first MMFF participation was in 2016 for Alvin Yapan’s Oro and Jun Robles Lana’s Die Beautiful. Padre Burgos is his first-ever lead role in a mainstream project.
Ahead of the awards night, he was already stirring buzz for his performance. Those who have seen the film in special advance screenings would attest that he was the actor to watch out for — the one most likely to pull an upset come awards night.
It’s interesting to note that Cedrick almost didn’t get to be part of the film.
“It was October 2022 when I first saw a post about the audition, but unfortunately, during that time, I had a play, Mula Sa Buwan, running from November to December. So, I didn’t audition, thinking I didn’t know the time frame of filming and I had a commitment to the play. Baka ‘di ko kaya. I really got sad about it. Then, in December 2022, around Dec. 27 or 28, the talent coordinator of GomBurZa messaged me, wanting me to audition for La Madrid’s role,” he told The STAR in an exclusive chat before the MMFF went into full swing.
“As an actor, it became my practice to read the whole script or at least, ask for the synopsis or character description. Upon reading it until the end, I became emotional because it was such a beautiful script written by Sir Rody Vera and Pepe Diokno. And I have known Sir Rody since my days at Dulaang UP, where he often served as a writer and dramaturge.
“So, I hoped for a chance to, at least, read the role of Padre Burgos because it’s truly a beautiful character. Let’s say, for every actor, it’s a dream to have such a role because it has many layers. And for the GomBurZa film, I think yung arc ni Padre Burgos talaga yung written doon sa script.”
Given that it was a leading role, however, he had to temper expectations, understanding the industry’s need to cater to a wider audience.
“Knowing it was a titular role, a lead role, I didn’t really raise my hopes too high because, as we all know, part of filmmaking is the need to make a profit. Since medyo, sadly, the Philippine entertainment is somewhat fan-based, which I understand din naman kasi kailangan kumita ng mga pelikula, so those with a huge following and who are celebrities and popular, yun ang mga nabibigyan talaga ng chance.”
Call it destiny, but Cedrick was asked to audition for Padre Burgos three days after. “I was so happy, thanking the Lord for the chance.” Using his theater learnings, he prepared everything, the props, even finding suman for an audition scene that required eating.
Though he had to redo his audition tape due to technical issues, he was asked to come to the final casting in January 2023 with the JesCom executive committee, including direk Pepe who asked him questions about a significant event in his life and the people he admired.
“My response to his (direk Pepe) question about something bigger and larger than life, where you feel like you have no control, was our national election. Although it’s sad na ganun yung naging situation natin, na ganun yung naging result, tuloy pa rin yung inspiration and yung pangarap na better community for Filipino and kung saan makakatulong.” (Despite the result, the inspiration and hope for a better community for Filipinos remain),” he said.
“I also said that I really looked up to our senior actors and how they take care of their careers and deal with their co-workers. After that, it made sense to me why they asked because it was very related to Padre Burgos’ role.”
Cedrick did a prison cell scene as a final audition before direk Pepe offered him the coveted part. He immediately said yes.
“Sobrang no-brainer talaga siya kasi I manifested for that, prayed for that, then auditioned for that. Nagkamali pa yung unang audition. Pero yun talaga yung journey niya. I really didn’t expect it… For someone na hindi pa kilala o wala pang pangalan, sobrang once in a blue moon lang siguro mangyayari.”
Asked about the experience of taking on a priest role, he said, “I never had an interest in becoming a priest, but the closest thing we did was… our parents always encouraged us to pray the rosary every 6 p.m.
“We are eight siblings; we all prayed the rosary together before dinner, and every Sunday, our parents always wanted us to attend Mass together because (as they would tell us then) as you grow up, your schedules become different. So while you’re still children, make the most out of it, attend Mass together and stay close to God.”
He also admitted feeling immense pressure during filming. “It’s my biggest role… and they were gunning for the Metro Manila Film Festival. I told myself, this is a big film, but I removed from my mind that I’m the lead role, a main character in one of the biggest historical films of the new decade.
“Because if I think about that too much, I’ll get overly distracted and lose focus on my research, language studies, and understanding about the time of the Philippines and its people during the Spanish era. So, I really said to myself, don’t think about that, Cedrick, because your drive will be different.”
What would become his main motivation was to do it right. “Hindi man ako magaling pero kailangan maging factual yung mga gagawin ko,” added the actor, whose preps included having a Spanish and Latin language coach, as well as doing heavy research not just about Padre Burgos but also about other characters. He always collaborated with his director on how to approach the scenes.
It’s been quite a fascinating journey for someone who entered the acting world with little background in the field. Throughout elementary and high school, he was a varsity chess player and a dancer. It wasn’t until his third and fourth years as a Mass Communication college student at Far Eastern University that he was introduced to acting via Joey Ting’s FEU Art Theatre Clinique.
After his theater immersion, he made a decision to pursue acting more seriously. He auditioned for reality shows such as ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother, TV5’s Artista Academy and GMA’s StarStruck.
He also figured in TV commercials and while the pay was good, he felt a stronger calling to understand the acting craft better and the emotions involved beyond mere direction or dictation.
He was encouraged to audition for theater organizations Dulaang UP, PETA and Tanghalang Pilipino. But since he lived in Bulacan, the closest and “cheapest” ride for daily rehearsals was UP so he opted for Dulaang UP.
At 23, he became the oldest among Dulaang UP workshoppers at that time. He would join theater productions and meet the likes of now TV and film actors JC Santos, Bryan Sy and Jerald Napoles.
What he learned from theater was discipline and “committing yourself to your co-workers, to the play, director and everything.”
As a working actor, he went through the cycle of having jobs and zero projects. “It’s really a very grueling experience, but at the same time, for me, it’s part of being an artist. Your everyday life, your everyday experiences, the way you look at people, places, even animals and nature — it’s truly a part of being an artist as a whole because you can use that (in your portrayals).”
There was that one time he asked Jerald for advice about other jobs he could do outside theater. The latter asked Cedrick back what it is that he truly wanted to do in life, to which he responded that he really wanted to act. Cedrick was then told, “Why are you still asking me? Do it and fight for it.”
“Until now, I still remember that,” he said. “Nagpapasalamat din ako sa sarili ko na hindi ako nag-give up.”