A day in the life of a working actor

DENNIS Trillo transforms his body for every role.

Pardon Dennis Trillo if he gets all fired up, whenever talk turns to acting.

Although his voice was hoarse (a result of belting out rock tunes at a corporate gig the night before), he could not contain his excitement.

He explained that he “transforms” himself with every new role.

“I change my look with every new project,” he said. “I also attack the role differently. I’ve been in show biz for quite some time now (13 years) and I don’t want the audience to get bored with me and say that I do the same thing again and again.”

After playing Eric the gay architect in the GMA 7 show “My Husband’s Lover,” he portrayed a barrio doctor in the GMA 7 mini-series “Sa Puso ni Dok,” a policeman-turned-assassin in the Cinemalaya film “The Janitor” and a soldier in the new Kapuso primetime soap “Hiram na Alaala.”

“I don’t want to fade away. I want to keep evolving,” he said.

Michael Tuviera, director of “The Janitor,” recalled that the actor embarked on a rigorous work-out regime three months before the actual start of filming. “It wasn’t an easy few months for him. But actors live for those challenges,” the director said.

“I went on a strict diet,” Trillo said. “I did weight training and cardio. I did everything I could to bulk up. At that time, I was into surfing, so (my skin) got darker also.”

He made sure there were no traces left of willowy Eric on the set of the action-thriller “The Janitor.”

“When moviegoers watch it, I want them to believe that I am a real hit man,” he said.

Research

Trillo and Tuviera did research by interviewing real-life assassins.

The director was initially reluctant to bring the actor along and they had a heated argument. “Dennis was insistent. I was later thankful that he was with me because it was one of the scariest moments of my life,” Tuviera admitted.

Trillo agreed. “My heart was beating fast. I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect … whether our meeting would turn out fine,” he said.

As the conversation went on, the actor became more at ease, realizing that hit men were people, too.

“Apart from their unusual jobs, they lead ordinary lives. They have their own families,” Trillo said. “I was there to observe, to take note of the nuances in their characters. I was able to get a lot from our three-hour meeting.”

For his newest soap, “Hiram na Alaala,” he altered his appearance once again—this time, he got a crew cut.

“Rocco (Nacino), my fellow actors and I decided that we should all get a haircut, to look like real soldiers,” he said. “Our training is ongoing as well. There are lots of action scenes in this show. We have to be physically fit to meet the requirements of our roles as modern-day heroes.”

Recently, Nacino posted on Facebook a photo of the “Hiram” actors having a blast in a chopper.

“We thought the helicopter would only hover a few feet off the ground,” Trillo recalled.

Much to their surprise, the chopper flew higher and higher. “The helicopter had to go back to the base. Before we knew it, we were hundreds of feet up in the air. Thing is, there were no seats in the chopper (and there were no straps) … If it made a sharp turn, we had to hold on tightly” or risk falling.

Still, Nacino was able to take a selfie and Trillo was able to send a text message in the middle of the adrenaline rush.

“In the confusion, we had fun,” he said.

That thrill ride was one of the many perks of his job, he said.

“As actors, we crave roles that push us to the limit,” he said. “We are hungry for material that are different. I am afraid of getting burnt out. I watch my past projects to check what I can correct and avoid in future.”

He also studies the films of Hollywood actors like Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio. “There are lots of good actors among the new breed. I saw ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and Jared and Matthew were great in it. Matthew was also amazing in ‘True Detective.’”

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