Tony Labrusca in “What You Did” —THE JUMPCAT EXPERIMENT/ YOUTUBE
Actor Tony Labrusca considers the mystery thriller “What You Did” his best film so far, because he said he made it at a time when he was more self aware.
Among Tony’s most recognized big-screen projects were the psychological horror “ML,” the May-December love story “Glorious,” and the BL (boys’ love) drama “Hello, Stranger.”
On the small screen, he became a household name after playing third party to the onscreen partnership of Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo in “La Luna Sangre.”
“You know the saying that you’re only as good as your last work? I feel that with this one. When I started out in show biz, I was already 21. I was a late bloomer. I had to catch up really fast. My past projects have gotten a lot of recognition, but I was also learning on the spot. For this one, the reason why I think it’s the best is because it happened when I already knew myself and the climate of show biz a little better. That just gave me an upper hand,” he told reporters recently.
“What You Did” was one of the finalists of the 2024 Sinag Maynila Film Festival, which ran from Sept. 4 to Sept. 10. In the story, Tony plays the characters Arvin and Ace. Haunted by past traumas and dreams shattered by the pandemic, the two meet as they chase online fame, forcing them to confront buried secrets and redefine their identities.
“It was nice because this movie was able to validate the feelings that all of us experienced during the pandemic. You’ll get to see one of the characters here also getting anxious about not being able to leave the house, or feeling uneasy because we don’t know what’s going to happen to the world. All of us will be able to relate because none of us knew when the pandemic was going to end. It was nice being able to act this out. This was what I was actually going through back then,” the actor added.
Tony Labrusca in “What You Did” —THE JUMPCAT EXPERIMENT/ YOUTUBE
Grateful
When asked what it was like to play two different characters in one movie, Tony said: “I felt scared because I had so many questions in mind: “What if I don’t do OK? What if the audience fails to see the difference between Arvin and Ace? Going into this project, my feeling was that I bit off more than I could chew. It was challenging, but it was also rewarding, more so now because it took three years to get here. Our film still evolved during those years.”
Tony said he was grateful that its director, Joan Lopez-Flores, took a chance on him. “[The circumstances that led to how] Direk and I got to work with each other, or with their production company, happened serendipitously—as if someone was pulling strings somewhere. People’s schedules weren’t lining up, this person we needed for a role wasn’t available, and I also wanted to [take a break from TV work],” he said. “I was very apprehensive about taking this role. While it was such a nice story, I was scared that if I didn’t do good here, wala na. I would be branded as a terrible actor.”
Director Joan Flores-Lopez —JOAN FLORES-LOPEZ/ FACEBOOK
Tony had to watch the psychological thriller “The Fight Club” as homework from his director. “It was more for reference. I got a list of different films to watch from Direk, just so that I could get my feet wet on what the feel and the genre would be. I’m happy that we had a supportive set. It was definitely challenging because our filming hours were limited. We had to make magic.” Tony said.
We overcame challenges partly because Tony is an intelligent actor, Joan said. “We came up with a structure on how to film Arvin and Ace. Tony got used to it after a few filming days. I didn’t see him struggle while switching characters,” Joan added.
‘Really good script’
Tony said he has always enjoyed watching “The Parent Trap,” where actress Lindsay Lohan plays twins. “I would say to myself, ‘That’s crazy! I would never be able to do that!’ Lo and behold, I did it for this one. This one just has a really good script. I’m not sure if the local audience is already into this. I feel our movie has an international appeal, to be honest,” Tony said.
Joan, the first female full-length filmmaker to join Sinag Maynila, wrote and directed “What You Did” in 2021, when the pandemic hit and projects for her as a director of TV commercials and short film content were dwindling.
In 2023, she participated in the Full Circle Lab – First Cut Lab (a project of the Film Development Council of the Philippines), a program for films with potential for the global audience. “I also think this is not for the Pinoy audience per se, but we’re glad that Sinag Maynila noticed it. We need content not just for Pinoy sensibilities, but something that will be appreciated by more.”
Joan’s next project with producer The Jumpcat Experiment Inc. is a reality series featuring international boxing icons, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. INQ