Why Vic Sotto rarely bonded with the cast of MMFF 2024 entry ‘The Kingdom’

Vic Sotto as Lakan Makisig in …“The Kingdom.” Image: Courtesy of APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet Television Productions

One of the preparations that Vic Sotto made to bring justice to Lakan Makisig in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2024 entry “The Kingdom” was to keep his distance from his co-stars, since his role was a brooding king who bore the crown’s weight.

The premise of “The Kingdom” answers the question: what if the Philippines wasn’t colonized, particularly by the Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese? This bore the Kingdom of Malaya led by Lakan Makisig (Sotto) who’s set to pass his crown to his successor. However, he’s unsure whether Dayang Matimyas (Cristine Reyes), Magat Bagwis (Sid Lucero), or Dayang Lualhati (Sue Ramirez) is worthy to lead the country.

Since the MMFF entry is Sotto’s first foray into drama, he shared that he bore the responsibility of portraying a King onscreen and behind the scenes.

“I felt the responsibility of being a King because when I step into the studio hindi mo na ako pwede kausapin dahil ako na ang Lakan,” Sotto told select reporters during a set visit. The term “lakan” is the Tagalog word for “king,” “ruler,” or a high-ranking nobility.

“Bawal na magpapicture sa akin. Ang kausap ko lang on set is ’yung mga anak ko on the film, sina Sid Lucero, Cristine Reyes, Sue Ramirez. Pero yung ibang tao nagba-bow na sila sa akin,” he continued.

(I felt the responsibility of being a king because when I step into the studio, they are not allowed to talk to me because I’m the Lakan. People are not allowed to have photos taken with me. The only people whom I could talk to on set were my onscreen children, Sid Lucero, Cristine Reyes, and Sue Ramirez. Others would bow to me instead.)

Vic Sotto in a scene from “The Kingdom.” Image: Courtesy of APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet Television Productions

When asked if Sotto found time to bond with the cast, the screen veteran said he tried to stay away from his co-stars. He shared that he’s the type of person who can make friends easily which might make filming tough for him.

“Bonding? Hindi pwede kasi kapag napanood niyo ’yung film hindi kami magkaibigan ni [Piolo Pascual at ng iba] d’un. So ako, I tried staying away sa iba kasi kung best friends kami tapos ganito ’yung eksena, mahirap siya for me. Kaya mas effective sa akin if I spend less time with my co-stars,” he said.

(Bonding? I can’t. If you watch the film, you will notice that I’m not friends with Piolo Pascual or anyone. I tried to stay away from them. If I see them as best friends, it will be hard for me to do a heavy scene. This is why it’s effective for me to spend less time with my co-stars.)

Departure from comedy

One of the most-anticipated parts of “The Kingdom” is Sotto departing from his usual brand of comedy. Prior to the MMFF 2024 entry, he is best known for his lead roles in the “Enteng Kabisote” film series, as well as “My Little Bossings” and “My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore,” to name a few.

For Sotto, adjusting to a film with “no comedy” was challenging. But it was something that challenged him as an actor. “It’s a family drama with action and as my director calls it, an alternate reality. Doing a serious film from start to finish, with no comedy whatsoever and not even a tinge of comedy, it’s something new for me.”

“It’s challenging. At the start, iniisip ko pa lang na pagod na ako, nakakapagod ’yung aking gagawin, (Thinking of it made me tired. Doing the film is tired)” he continued. “But after a few shooting days, nakuha ko na ang vibe. It wasn’t really that hard [now] because comedy, drama, action — it’s all acting. It’s nothing really different for me although I would say it’s challenging.”

Since it’s been five years since the actor-comedian joined the MMFF, there was a need to outperform his past work. This led to Sotto wanting to do a film that is “extraordinarily good.”

“I said to myself, kung hindi rin naman extraordinarily good, I won’t do a film. But when Michael Tuviera called me up and talked to me, and when I heard about the concept, medyo nakiliti ang puso at isip ko (I felt my heart and mind tingle with interest). When I found out what it was all about, I said yes,” he said.

Being aware of the pressure that rides on his MMFF comeback, Sotto said he’s aware that viewer behaviors changed since his last appearance.

“Of course,” he said when asked by INQUIRER.net if he feels the pressure. “Nand’un at the back of your mind kung magugustuhan, mage-enjoy ang manonood, and sulit ba ang babayaran. Lalo na ngayon. Hindi naman mura ang sine. Pero once a year naman [ang MMFF] so pwedeng gastuhan. Ibig sabihin, alam namin na kapag ginastusan mo at sulit ang ginastusan mo.”

(Of course. At the back of my mind, I also thought if viewers would like, enjoy the film, and put their money’s worth. Especially now. Watching a movie is expensive. But MMFF only happens once a year so you might consider spending for this. This means people want quality films to get their money’s worth.)

Vic Sotto as Lakan Makisig in “The Kingdom.” Image: Courtesy of APT Entertainment, MQuest Ventures, and MZet Television Productions

Among the elements that make up Lakan Makisig’s character is the splaying of full-body tattoos to show his position as the ruler. As narrated in the film, the more tattoos a person gets, the higher their place is in society.

During the interview, Sotto shared the tattoos are alcohol-based, and having them marked on his body takes an average of three hours. Tattooing his hands and other “minor parts” lasts for 30 minutes to an hour.

“Hindi naman mahirap [tanggalin]… In the story, me being the Lakan, kailangan kumpleto ang tattoos. A full body takes about three hours, parusa. Kasi inisa-isa ’yan (It’s not hard to take them off. In the story, me being the Lakan, the tattoos need to be complete. A full-body tattoo takes about three hours. It’s torture because they need to be done one by one),” he said of the experience.

Joining Sotto are Piolo Pascual, Sid Lucero, Cristine Reyes, Sue Ramirez, Nico Antonio, Ruby Ruiz, Art Acuña, and Zion Cruz. Meanwhile, Cedrick Juan and Iza Calzado have a special participation in the film.