Kiko Matos unaffected by his bad boy image

KIKO Matos

Actor Kiko Matos has been fodder for show biz media not particularly because of his work, but his string of run-ins with the controversial Baron Geisler—that ultimately culminated in an exhibition mixed martial arts match.

Is he worried that his current brash, bad-boy persona would have repercussions on the type of roles he gets?

That could very well be a concern for mainstream actors, he said, but not so much for those in the indie community.

“Maybe I’ll get boxed in when I do television, but thankfully there are other acting platforms to explore. I do indies, and I get to play different roles… For instance, I’m doing a comedy film soon and I’m not a killer, a rapist or a bad guy there,” he told the Inquirer in a recent interview.

Kiko, who is of Filipino and Portuguese descent, doesn’t want to play it safe when it comes to his career. And that shows in his character preferences. “I like taking risks and getting out of my comfort zone, so I really love doing character roles,” he said. “I’ve done gay roles—I’ll take anything. They challenge me.”

In fact, he said, it’s the boy-next-door type of role that is tougher to portray. “It’s easier to do character roles, because you’re not contained, or required to move in a certain way,” pointed out the 25-year-old

actor, who has also starred in plays, like “The Glass Menagerie.”

“You can go all-out and express yourself, without thinking if you look good or not. You don’t need to be fussy with how you talk or move,” he said.

But should he get typecast as a villain, he wouldn’t mind, Kiko said. What’s important is that he “gets to do what  I’m passionate about.” “I’m shaving my head and growing my beard, because I’m also slated to do an action film. I’m happy to play villains.”

Asked if he feels compelled to clean up his image, Kiko said he is willing to do so, but not to the point of changing who he is. “The more you stay true to yourself, the more people will connect with you, I believe that… These days, people can easily smell your bulls**t,” Kiko said. “I’ll just be careful not to do things that would jeopardize my career.”

Kiko is also part of Gil Portes’ historical biopic, “Ang Hapis at Himagsik ni Hermano Puli” (opens tomorrow), where he plays Don Joaquin Ortega, an alcalde mayor in Lucban, Quezon. “He wasn’t bad, either,” Kiko said of his role. “He actually wanted to maintain peace in his town.”

“The biggest challenge for me was tweaking my diction,” Kiko related. “Good thing I can always talk to my father, who can speak Spanish, via Skype. He gives me pointers.”

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