How busy JC juggles fatherhood and acting

JC Santos in Slovenia

After a week of taking care of his newborn baby girl, actor JC Santos said he now has so much respect for women, especially those who are single parents.

“It’s difficult to take care of babies, even with both parents around. I can imagine how tougher it is for single moms,” JC told reporters during the media gathering for his latest film, Bradley Liew’s horror-thriller “Motel Acacia,” which will be shown in cinemas starting March 11.

“Right now, I’m running on coffee,” declared JC. His baby was only 6 days old at the time of the interview. “I chose to be hands-on. I’m enjoying it no matter how tiring. She would wake up almost every hour.”

JC tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, theater actress Shyleena Herrera, in September 2019.

The actor said that since he would be at work during mornings, he would devote his nighttime to the baby. “Sa kanya na rin ang buong madaling araw ko. I would just rest during taping breaks if I could,” said the cast member of ABS-CBN’s drama series, “24/7.”

He admitted it was always difficult for him to leave their home in Pampanga to go to work. “It’s true what they say about physical exhaustion fading when you see your baby smile. Because at night, it’s always like going to a battle, fighting off sleepiness, since the baby is up most of the time,” he said.

As to the kind of dad he’d like to be, JC said he still couldn’t say. “Although I want her to grow up disciplined and respectful of others, two values that are most important to me,” he added.

So far, JC has managed to successfully juggle being a first-time dad with work. He is arguably one of the most in-demand actors today. Aside from “Motel Acacia,” he was also seen in Viva Films’ “On Vodka, Beers and Regrets.” He will be part of three more films—one for the Sinag Maynila Film Festival this month, another for Cinemalaya in August, then for Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in September. “I’ve also done several movies for Viva that haven’t been released yet,” he added.

Asked how he could still manage his time, the 31-year-old actor replied: “I take one day at a time. Because I have several commitments, I try to live in the moment. I don’t plan beyond one week.”

To be able to finish an average of five films per year, JC said he would work on one film per month. “Yes, I am able to manage my time that way. With movies, you get to study your lines ahead of time; while for TV series, you can only do so much, since the script is given to you on the day of taping,” he explained. “This film is one of my favorites,” JC said of “Motel Acacia,” which also features an international cast, with coactors from Indonesia (Nicholas Saputra), Malaysia (Bront Palarae), Australia (Will Jaymes and Talia Zucker), Belgium (Jan Bijvoet) and Thailand (Vithaya Pansringarm). Director Bradley Liew is from Malaysia.

“I’m so proud of this one. This has been shown in different countries, and now, it’s here in the Philippines,” JC beamed. “I experienced a lot of firsts while doing this one. I enjoyed a shooting process that I never thought would be possible in the Philippine setting. Sana, laging may ganito.”

Set in a fictional snowy state in the United States, it tells of a young Filipino (JC) who is being groomed by his tyrannical Caucasian father (Jan Bijvoet) to take over the management of the motel, which incidentally is being used by the government in its bid to exterminate immigrants.

Director Bradley said he required JC to lose a lot of weight for this movie. “We wanted him to look skinny for the entire shoot so we would force him to eat only salads every shooting day,” the director recalled, adding that it took him three and a half years to make this project, but already with JC in mind as lead actor.

“Motel Acacia,” which also features Agot Isidro and Perry Dizon, was partly shot in Slovenia. “It was my first time to have an acting part that required dealing with snow.”