While he is happy in being recognized as an effective villain, the award-winning actor expressed his worry over audiences who could not distinguish reality from fiction.
Even as this piece was being written, comments from netizens who despise Renato Hipolito, the character by John Arcilla in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, keep getting posted on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Arcilla, who has been playing the sinister character for four years, said during the gap show, on August 11, that he appreciates those who love him for effectively portraying Hipolito and his sheer wickedness, but he raised a surprisingly alarming concern. He revealed that ever since he played the role, he has been receiving nasty and unnervingly barbaric comments from viewers, who seemed to have taken his role very personally.
“Madalas kasing sabihin ng mga nagkokontrabida na kapag nagagalit ang mga tao sa kanila, napakagaling mo daw na artista at magaling ang performance mo. Hindi ko ‘yun nararamdaman kapag minumura ako.
“(Actors who play villain roles often see validation in fans hating them for playing their roles, because that means they’re playing their characters well. I don’t feel that when people throw at me hateful words),” he revealed.
“Ang pakiramdam ko pinersonal ako. ‘Yung iba kasi na mga tao kapag sinasabi, halimbawa nakita ako, ‘sir John galit na galit ako sa ‘yo sa teleserye, pero idol kita papicture tayo.’Yun yung alam mong na-aappreciate nila ang trabaho mo bilang aktor.
“(I feel like I’m being taken personally. Other fans, when they say—for example, they see me and they say ‘sir John, I really hate your character, but I am still a fan. Can I get a photo with you? That’s what I recognize to be a genuine appreciation from fans)”, he added.
Arcilla noted that the fact that he has been receiving serious threats from people, who do not see the line between reality and fiction, there seems to be an awful disconnect between the viewers and what the show wanted to shed light upon.
‘Pero kapag minumura ka nila nang diretso, nabobother ako sa idea, especially ngayon marami akong mga death threats at mura sa messenger. Kapag nakikita ko’yon, ang nakakabother sa akin is…pag hindi madistinguish ng audience kung ano ang totoo at hindi, I think that’s one of the problems kung bakit mas maraming tao ang mas madaling mag-escape sa mga napapanood nila.
“(Whenever people curse me directly, I get bothered by the idea, especially now that I have been receiving death threats and nasty comments on messenger. What bothers me is…when people can not distinguish what is real and what is not, I think that’s one of the problems why a lot of our viewers do not fully absorb what they are watching).”
He then shared that he’s worried to come out of his house because some lunatic fan might shoot him in broad daylight.
“Ibig sabihin, ‘yun din ang gauge mo kung anong kaisipan meron ang sa isang sosyidad. Nakakworry ‘yun…minsan nagwoworry din ako na baka minsan paglabas ko meron nang bumaril sa akin.
It means you have a shallow gauge of the consciousness that the society has. That’s worrying. I’m actually worried that I might get shot in broad daylight, whenever I come out my house),” he said.
John Arcilla is the last man standing among Cardo Dalisay’s greatest villains in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. How brutal his death would be, is something that most viewers of the phenomenal Kapamilya series, must be itching to witness today, August 12, which marks the end of the show’s seven-year reign on primetime.
