Straight talk with Richard Gomez

MANILA, Philippines - An alleged rape and a sex tape gone viral between elementary teacher Bessy (Jessy Mendiola) and her mentally-delayed student, Ronald (John Lloyd Cruz). This is the meat of Richard Gomez’s upcoming film, The Trial, where he stars opposite Gretchen Barretto.

“We’ve seen so many movies, and a lot of them in one way or another are similar,” Richard says. “People have been crying to see a quality film. Well, here it is.” And while actors pimp their movies out all the time and would never admit to any plainly rehashed plots, the trailer of The Trial so far speaks for itself. It promises to tackle some of the issues that we struggle to face today, like mental disability, violation of privacy, what to do when a woman cries rape, teacher-student relationships — and in this case, what happens when all these get thrown into one equation?

Here, Richard plays a child lawyer who fights for Ronald’s case. His real conflict, however, is dealing with the consequences of his infidelity —a failing marriage with Barretto’s character. And as they both work it out in court, their marital issues are simultaneously fleshed out.

In a local mainstream film culture where the main goal is usually to divert the audience’s attention from heavier, taboo realities, The Trial, which premieres on Oct. 15, attempts to be a heart-wrenching ride into the things we love to wash our hands of. In this interview, Supreme sits down with Richard, who likewise doesn’t shy away from the controversial stuff — whether in the form of candidly expressing an opinion, or painting us a picture of the real world through his chosen medium. And whether or not you agree with the man, you can count on him to be the kind of person who will voluntarily continue to participate in the push and pull of our times.

SUPREME: Let’s talk about women. In your movie, somebody’s privacy is violated, and there is an alleged rape, both of which are big issues of late. In real life, you recently voiced an unpopular opinion regarding Bench’s The Naked Truth, which a lot of people on the internet took as you being insensitive and anti-women. What’s your take on this?

RICHARD GOMEZ: No, I'm not anti-woman. I'm just saying let’s not make a big fuss out of it. It’s a show. It’s a circus. It’s fictional.

Would you consider yourself pro-woman?

I'm pro-people. What I'm saying is that this is showbusiness. If I portray a killer, do they react because I killed in the movie? No. Because it’s a fictional character. It's the same with the show. Nothing is real there.

Do you think there should be a line between putting on a show and being sensitive to the current issues? If yes, where do you draw it?

Entertainment should be taken as entertainment — unless it tackles issues, then it's real. It’s that simple. We in the entertainment business, whatever the issues are right now, we use it as a form of entertainment. We use it because people buy it, like in (my movie) The Janitor. It’s timely because there are a lot of problems in our police force, and we show this to Filipino audiences. In The Trial, there’s a problem here with people with mental disability. So entertainment can also be real.

But the Bench show wasn’t tackling the truth. They were putting on a show to showcase what’s coming up in the next season. That’s basically it.

Do you have an opinion as to how women should be portrayed in the media?

Just be yourself. They're no different from men.

Let’s talk about your career. You seem to have been able to milk the industry of practically every opportunity available. What’s the secret to being able to stay this long and get these many chances?

When we started in the ’80s, we were given the chance to choose roles, choose scripts, and to even choose our directors and co-workers. I took advantage of that, so even when I was a young boy working in the industry, I had that choice and I took care of my career. I made sure that whenever I was given wonderful material, I’d really do it to the best of my ability. Maybe that’s my secret, aside from, of course, taking care of myself. It’s a cruel world. Kung panget ka, panget ka talaga. Kung gwapo ka dati, you have to remain gwapo. And in terms of acting, hindi ka pwedeng maiwan. There are new actors entering showbiz every day, popping up on TV shows. You have to keep up with them. Or they have to keep up with you (grins).

How does one achieve that classic status, without becoming static?

In terms of movies and projects, I'm very choosy about the roles I take. I really read the scripts and go through them. If it's not a nice script, I really turn it down. The money is secondary. Primarily it's really the material, the director I'll be working with, the cast, and also I guess the production house. Star Cinema’s number one now.

What more do you dream of?

I want to do more police stories. It's timely. Not all cops are bad. There's also a good side to it, and I want to do something.

You’ve aged well in this industry. Who would you say you’ve become today compared to when you were just starting out?

I'm still the same Richard Gomez that people think I am. I enjoy life. I work when I want to and I play a lot. But one thing for sure is that when I work, I work hard. I choose the type of projects I make. And I'm easy to work with. I'm easy to deal with.

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