(From left) Coco Martin, Miles Ocampo. Images: Instagram/@dreamscapeph
One of the crucial scenes in Coco Martin’s new teleserye “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” was the rape scene of Miles Ocampo’s character, for which she was grateful for the role.
During the teleserye’s media conference, Miles Ocampo said she sees her role, albeit a short one, as a welcome opportunity for her to grow as an actress and explore her depths in acting.
“Nandoon na po tayo sa stage ng life natin na you just want to grow and explore (I am currently at the stage of my career where I just want to grow and explore),” she said, as she thanked Martin for offering her to be part of the TV series. “Maraming salamat po, kuya (Thank you, kuya).”
In that scene, Martin would play a character that would do a horrible thing on Ocampo’s character.
Martin earlier admitted that filming the sensitive sexual assault scene with Ocampo made him feel awkward since he considers her as like his own daughter in real life.
“Honestly, noong una, baby ko kasi ‘to eh. Si Miles talagang sa mga pelikula, isa siya sa mga baby-babyhan ko, tapos ‘yung nanay pa niya, kaklase ko pa,” he said. “Na-awkward ako, honestly. Feeling mo, alaga mo tapos ira-rape mo na ngayon sa eksena. Parang ang awkward ng eksena,” he said.
(Honestly, at first, she is my baby. I see Miles as my own daughter, especially that we’ve starred in films together. Then her mother and I are classmates in real life. I feel awkward because she’s someone I take care of, then I would rape her in a scene. The scene feels awkward to film.)
The actor-filmmaker also shared that he made sure to seek Ocampo’s consent before bringing the sensitive scene to life, so that he would be well within bounds while filming.
“Tinanong ko siya, sabi ko, ‘Miles, anong mas gusto mo? ‘Yung mga ganitong trabaho or ‘yung mga ganitong eksena o ‘yung tipong nagpapatawa ka kagaya dati?’ Sabi niya, ‘Kuya, gusto ko na ‘yung ganito, ‘yung maturity.’ Noong nakita ko sa kanyang ganoon, siyempre inalam ko muna kasi naiilang pa rin ako. Siyempre, lalaki pa rin ako, tapos eto babae, para alam ko lang ang aking limitasyon. Kasi ayoko ‘yung nakaka-offend ka or lalagpas ka doon sa limitation… kahit ‘yung mga sabunot ko pa lang [sa eksena], game na game siya. Sobrang open siya, sinasalo niya kung ano ‘yung ibinibigay ko,” he said.
(I asked her, “Miles, what do you prefer doing? These types of roles or you would rather crack jokes as a comedian like before?” She said, “Kuya, I want to do these roles, these mature roles.” When she said that, I made sure to double-check which types of scenes she would feel comfortable doing because I feel awkward. Of course, I’m a man and she’s a woman so I had to know her limitations. I don’t want her to feel offended or that I exceeded what I have to do. Even in scenes where I had to pull her hair, she was very open in doing it. She is willing to take whatever scenes I ask her to do.)
Martin also lauded Ocampo’s professionalism, that her acting was hardly that of someone who was just doing it as a side job.
“Napakataas ng tingin niya sa trabaho niya… Hindi ‘yung parang raket lang ‘to, acting-acting lang ako. Noong tinanggap niya ‘yung project, alam niya na open siya kung ano ang ipapagawa sa kanya. Saka naghahanap na raw siya ng maturity doon sa trabaho niya,” he said.
(She views her career highly. For her, this is not a side job. When she accepted a role in the project, she is very open whenever I ask her to do something. She also told me that she’s seeking for mature roles in her job as an actress.)
“Batang Quiapo”, which is premiering on Feb. 13, also stars Lovi Poe, Cherry Pie Picache, Christopher De Leon, John Estrada, Mark Lapid, Shaina Magdayao, and Charo Santos.
The teleserye is based on the 1986 original film of the same name starring legendary action star Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ), Maricel Soriano, Sheryl Cruz, Manilyn Reynes, and Kristina Paner. EDV