I WAS watching Robert de Niro in the film Intern, but my mind was veering toward something else—something that has been bothering me for some time. Why are there no meaty roles for Filipino senior actors?
That’s why I am happy for Eddie Garcia who is on a roll these days and has been playing main roles in several indie films, even garnering Best Actor awards at this late stage in his life. In the recent Metro Manila Film Festival, he again got the lead role with Gloria Romero.
But a living legend like Eddie Garcia is more of an exception. What about the rest? It’s true, from time to time, we see Gloria Sevilla, Perla Bautista, Marita Zobel, Noel Trinidad and other performing talents who are in their “golden prime years” (including yours truly) on television or movies.
But as I watch them, my poor heart bleeds for them. Take a second look at the roles they play, especially in teleseryes. You will agree with me that, more often than not, they serve merely as props or palamuti to the younger actors. They are there just to complete the portrait of a family. Their characters don’t advance the plot or the arc of the story. Take them out and it won’t derail the story, and their presence won’t be missed.
Haven’t you noticed also that aside from being props, older characters are never the ones who solve the problem being depicted in the story? It is the young characters, like a child character, who are able to unknot the mystery or the simmering conflict or problem. Whatever happened to old folks who are supposed to be the repository of wisdom? Ganyan ba talaga sa ating kultura? Wala silang silbi?
I can’t understand why the writers and producers don’t bother to give the characters played by senior actors enough depth or heft to enable them to sink their teeth into. Mind you, these are accomplished actors, some of them even multi-award winners, whose craft has been honed through the years, shaped and guided by great film and theater directors.
Is it because the people who are developing and producing these entertainment pieces are young? Or is it dictated by audience ratings?
Mind you, characters in their old age can be interesting. One of Shakespeare’s immortal characters is King Lear, a 70-year-old man. One of the most endearing films featured the senior tandem of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon in Grumpy Old Men. Remember Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? Look at Kevin Spacey who, at the ripe age of 60-something, is winning accolades for his performance in House of Cards. Clint Eastwoood, in his 80s, is still at it, acting in and directing Oscar-worthy films. Akira Kurosawa, the great Japanese director, made two memorable films revolving around characters in their old age: Ikiru and Madadayo. I can go on and on, but I’m afraid it would just be an echo in the wind, falling on uninterested ears who will rather listen to the adulating screams of young fans and be swayed by the number of likes on social media.
My heart goes out to these senior actors on another matter. They not only earn much, much less than the young leads, but they can be taken in and taken out on a whim. Is it because laos na sila? Where is the compassion for the elderly? Where is the respect for those who have earned the right to be models for today’s generation of performing talents?
Let me tell you about the sad experience of my friend, an actor in his 80s and who now also heads a national cultural agency. One time, he was called to play a role in a teleserye on a major network. He accepted it even if it was on a very short notice. So he canceled his appointments and made the necessary preparations, such as wardrobe, and did all the internal routines an actor does to be mentally prepped up. Lo and behold, at the last minute, he got a call canceling the shooting. The reason? His role has been taken out of the script! Of course, he made a fuss and, as consuelo de bobo, he received a basket of fruits.
After a while, he was called again by a talent caster and was told that he was going to play a meaty role in an upcoming teleserye, featuring a popular young matinee idol. Skeptical, he repeatedly asked her if this was going to push through. He was assured again and again that the producer has approved the decision to have him play the role. The long wait began. Apparently, there were some problems with the script, and my friend was told to wait a little longer, but was assured that he was still going to play a major role. But two months of waiting got him antsy, as he could not make any long-term plans in anticipation of the shooting schedule.
Again, he was assured that the script was just being given the final touches and that shooting would soon begin. He asked for the script so he could prepare in advance. No script came. Instead he received a text message, saying his role has been taken out from the new script and that they were sorry. Ganun lang? Yes, ganun lang! Talk about lightning striking twice!
It happened to him. Could the same thing be happening to other senior actors like him? I don’t know, but I am incensed! Is there no protection for acting talents playing supporting roles? Would they do this to a popular young talent? Where is the Actors’ Guild when you need it?
Sure, some elderly actors need the money, but much more than talent fees, what they need is to be treated with dignity and respect. They are artists, not just mere talents to be randomly picked from the talent pool. Over the years, these senior actors have become masters of their craft, which is beyond a price tag, and they need to be valued in the same way that we value the craft, and artistry of BenCab, Malang, Sanso and other painters. They deserve a tribute, not a rude dismissal on the whim of a writer or producer driven crazy by ratings.
Alas, we fail to realize that old actors are living treasures of the performing arts who need to be cherished. With their priceless experience, old actors have much to teach young stars who are still on the make. A seasoned actor actually serves as a one-man acting workshop for beginners and unseasoned talents on many aspects of acting, including discipline and decorum at the studio or on location. Even fledgling directors and indie filmmakers can learn much from them and should demand more roles for old actors.
Thank God for old accomplished actors, indeed!
But I stop here, for I am afraid no one would care to listen to the rantings of an old man like me. Just like that old Japanese movie where old folks in a village are brought to a remote mountain to die, maybe an old whiny actor needs to be taken away someplace to be neglected and forgotten, until my little life is finally “rounded with sleep.”