At the media conference for My Father, Myself, which LionhearTV covered on November 24, actor Jake Cuenca discussed his ‘hugot’ line: “‘Di pa ba ako sapat sa ‘yo?” in his upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) movie.
Cuenca admitted that his portrayal of this character during the scene came from real emotions.
“Totoo po ‘yun. Those we’re real words, it’s real emotions. Sabi ko nga rin fun fact sa eksena na ‘yun, sabi nga ni Sean, take one po ‘yun, we have one try, one go at this scene, kasi magic hour, nagmamadali na po ang sobrang daming tao. So, it’s really a pressured scene na hindi ko talaga makakalimutan for the rest of my life.”
He then hinted at the things he went through during the pandemic and how he accepted and ups-and-downs of life.
“Wow ang daming talagang nangyari ng pandemic. Pero hindi ko na po iisa-isahin. Hindi ko naman po kayo iimbitahin sa akin pity party. Pero, hindi, maraming beses po kasi hindi–everything came to as a surprise.
“But at the end of it, nandito na ako ngayon, I made a deal with God na I accept life in all of its terms and conditions. Kumbaga, anything that comes my way, now I’m ready.”
He then reiterated his realization about not giving up.
“Kumbaga, I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to give up on my dreams, I’m never going to stop, and I will [continue] to keep moving forward.
“So for me, even though I cry, it doesn’t mean I’m weak, di ba? But I’m an actor– this is what I get paid, to cry.”
He added his mantra of being grateful for the good and the bad that has happened in his life.
“And I’m going to be grateful for the good times and the bad, kasi ito ‘yung natutunan ko with this journey, na talo ka lang naman talaga if you don’t learn. Kung hindi ka natuto, that’s really when you lose. Kung nagtuturo ka, pointing your finger at everyone else, at the end of the day, parang, you have to take accountability.”
He acknowledged the support from his co-stars and directors when he chose to remain silent about the issues he went through amid the pandemic.
“Pero kung ‘yung past few months na ‘to, really parang ang sabi ko, the only person that I really talk to, kasi pansin ninyo naman, hindi po ako nagsalita, I never said anything, ‘yung insedente, and everything else, so lahat ‘yan I kept it inside, and this movie allowed me to express it. In-allow ako ng movie na ‘to na maglabas ng emotion at hindi ako hinusgahan sa set. Inencourage ako ni Direk Joel na ibigay.”
Cuenca stars in the Metro Manila Film Festival 2022 entry, My Father, Myself with Sean De Guzman, Dimples Romana, and Tiffany Grey.
Directed by Joel Lamangan and co-produced by 3:16 Media Network and Mentorque Productions–the film opens on December 25, Christmas Day.
