GREGG Tecson. PHOTO COURTESY OF CONNIE FERNANDEZ/INQUIRER VISAYAS
CEBU CITY—A former security guard was very excited about his trip to Manila this week to attend the 34th Gawad Urian Awards.
Gregg Tecson, 57, was not a spectator, but a nominee for best supporting actor for his role in the Cebuano independent film “Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria,” shown in local cinemas last November. The other nominees are not lightweights by any measure—Joem Bascon for “Noy,” Tirso Cruz III for “Sigwa,” Julio Diaz for “Magkakapatid” and Cogie Domingo for “Muli.” “Eleuteria” won best picture but Tecson lost to Bascon.
Tecson was nominated for his “breakthrough performance” in the same role, at the 8th Golden Screen Awards in April.
He is enjoying the limelight, but Tecson said life as a Cebu-based actor is not easy.
Workshop
A high school graduate from University of the Visayas (UV), Tecson once worked as a night-shift security guard to support his wife Efleda and their four children.
He was paid P7,000 a month, and sold barbecue and ice drop during his free time.
In 1994, Tecson got a supporting role in a successful Cebuano comedy teleseries “Si Goat the Wonderful.” He got a P500 monthly allowance.
He accepted the role, he said, because he considered it as an acting workshop. Director Marcos Navarro Sacol saw his potential and started giving him lead roles later.
Tecson stopped working as a security guard in 2007 but continued to appear on Cebu TV. He was cast in “Eleuteria” last year on Sacol’s recommendation. With a report from Doris C. Bongcac, Cebu Daily News