Crucial juggling act for Kristoffer Martin

MARTIN. Actors need a backup plan

Education doesn’t rank high on some young actors’ list of priorities. During a quick chat with a teenage star last year, we were taken aback when the giggly young actress casually admitted to us that she wasn’t keen on finishing her studies because, she reasoned, “I can already buy whatever I want from my earnings in show biz—so, why go to school?”

Kristoffer Martin, the 19-year-old lead actor of GMA 7’s early-primetime soap, “Paraiso Ko’y Ikaw” (which wraps up its run on March 28), disagrees with her: “Actors need a backup plan, just in case their foray into acting doesn’t work out,” he stresses. “I’m taking Entrepreneurship at San Beda. I go to class every Tuesdays and Thursdays for 12 units’ worth of subjects, then I tape the rest of the week. Juggling school and show biz isn’t easy, but it needs to be done.”

His leading lady in the soap is pretty newcomer Kim Rodriguez, but his ex-girlfriend Joyce Ching is also in the cast. Does he usually get attracted to his costars? He replies, “It’s hard to predict these things. I’ve always treated Kim as a younger sister, even when we were paired up in last year’s fantaserye, ‘Kakambal ni Eliana.’ We’ve had time to grow up and get to know each other as friends. The difference is, this time, we’re playing young adults.

Breakup

“The breakup with Joyce wasn’t easy. We don’t communicate as much, but at least we talk to each other now. Getting in and out of a relationship is never easy—because I give my all when I’m in love. It’s harder to focus, but I make sure wala akong nasasagasaang tao o nadi-disregard na responsibilidad.”

We like interviewing Kris because his answers are quick and spontaneous. He earned enthusiastic reviews for his performance in Paul Sta. Ana’s Cinemalaya entry, “Oros,” with Best Actor winner Kristoffer King. What was that experience like?

The teen actor lights up, “Shooting that movie was fulfilling. I auditioned for that role. I’m used to having huge camera set-ups around me. In indies, it’s easier to suspend disbelief that you are your character, and you don’t notice the cameras that much—they adjust to you.

“So, your performance feels less strained. Mas nae-enjoy ko, because everything you do feels more natural. When you’re on the set of a mainstream project, you’re ‘aware’ that you’re taping a scene.”

Any dream role? The young actor quips, “I’d love to get cast in a role as complex as The Joker. Acting also requires stamina—when I acted in ‘Kahit Nasaan Ka Man’ (with Julie Anne San Jose) last year, a lot of scenes were so heavy na napagod talaga ako sa kaiiyak!”

Kris began acting when he was only 13 years old. How different is he now from how he was six years ago? He beams, “Acting has become my passion, and I know I have a lot to learn—I take workshops seriously and research on the characters I play. I observe actors like Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves and take what I can learn from them—how they approach their roles, and what not to do!”