US-trained Pinoy actor joins ‘Bourne Legacy’ cast

ANDRE Tiangco in “Macbeth”

There’s another Filipino actor in the Hollywood action thriller “The Bourne Legacy,” currently filming in the country.

Andre Tiangco, a theater, film and TV actor, joins colleagues John Arcilla, Lou Veloso, Madeleine Nicolas, Ruby Ruiz, Anne Garcia, Ermie Concepcion and Joel Torre in the film directed by Tony Gilroy.

Best known for playing a priest who took care of Santino (Zaijian Jaranilla) in the ABS-CBN drama series “May Bukas Pa,” Tiangco is a theater veteran who acted in diverse plays, from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.”

Hollywood stop

Born in San Fernando, Pampanga, Tiangco trained at the Lee Strasberg Film and Theater Institute in Los Angeles in 1997. “I also studied privately with actress Susan Anspach and director Allan Miller, who’s the acting teacher of Barbra Streisand,” he said.

While in Hollywood, Tiangco acted in TV shows and movies. “After school, we were required to do a year of practical training,” he recalled. “I got signed by an agency and landed roles in TV shows like ‘3rd Rock from the Sun’ with John Lithgow and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.”

His other TV credits include “Ally McBeal” and “Friends.” He also had a nonspeaking part in the film “The Deep End of the Ocean,” sharing a scene with Michelle Pfeiffer.

Tiangco considers “Bourne” a special assignment. “My previous projects were all filmed in Los Angeles. ‘Bourne’ is the first time I’m acting in an international project in my native country. I am deeply honored.”

On his first day of work, excitement nearly got the best of him. “I was thrilled, mainly because I was working with a director whose filmography I truly admire. Just to be on his set was a treat.”

He confessed that he was intimidated at first, working alongside Hollywood stars Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner. “[But] I quickly learned that they’re also human,” he quipped. “There was no need to feel daunted. They are here to do a job—the same thing we do every day.”

Tiangco said he was awed by the high-tech equipment. “In general, foreigners are just as hardworking as we are,” he noted. “In terms of efficiency, we’re not far behind them.”

He recounted that the “Bourne” team was impressed upon learning that, when doing a TV series, Filipinos could churn out 60 sequences, using two production units, in one taping day. “They became more amazed when they learned that we did that three times a week.”

High expectations

He expressed the wish that local companies would pick up the more rational shooting schedules observed in international productions. “They’re strict about working less hours in a working day than we do here. I hope the local entertainment industry follows suit, if only for health considerations.”

He has high expectations for the country’s “Bourne” exposure. “Hopefully, it’ll send out the message that it’s not just more fun in the Philippines, it’s also safe here.”

He conceded that the country has received a bad rap about security issues in the past. “I hope ‘Bourne’ will dispel negative notions and encourage more foreign filmmakers to shoot here. That will certainly provide employment to a lot of people in local show biz and the revenues will of course spill over to other industries as well.”

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