From nice to spice

ELMO (left) and Maxene Magalona

IN THE acting trade, “nice” is not necessarily a positive trait, because it connotes blandness and being excessively laid-back, and therefore not exciting.

That’s why producers and directors prefer spice over nice—it promises unpredictability, the ability to surprise, and a seductive sense of “danger”—within limits, of course!

But, what can they do to help an otherwise promising starlet go “from nice to spice,” so that fans and viewers will warm up to him or her in a big way?

Lessons can be learned from some stars’ successful transformation, like the once too laid-back and viewer-pleasing Piolo Pascual, who has finally discovered the thespic rewards of occasionally going rough, tough and “dark.”

Ditto for John Lloyd Cruz, who “dangerously” but rewardingly went lean and mean in his Metro Manila Film Festival starrer, “Honor Thy Father.”

This season, the instructive cases in point are the ongoing attempts to make siblings Maxene and Elmo Magalona get over their restricting niceness and blandness, and come across as less predictably, cloyingly and permanently pleasant.

Elmo is being built up as the new screen partner of Janella Salvador in a new teen soap, “Born for You,” so he’s being given a makeover that includes injecting excitement and danger into his portrayals.

When he was a GMA 7 talent, Elmo got a lot of stellar breaks, but his inherent niceness prevented him from coming into his own as a thespic comer.

This was quite a disappointment, given that his late dad, Francis M., was a rapper who had no problem at all being edgy and in-your-face. Perhaps Elmo takes more after his lovely mother, Pia?

Whatever the reason, his blandness was a problem at GMA, so now that he’s moved to ABS-CBN, the effort to transform him has intensified, by way of a challenging “edging up” in his new thespic assignments.

The same goes for his ate, Maxene, who’s been given a “dark and dangerous” role in “Doble Kara,” as the twin protagonists’ “embedded” nemesis, who has vicious vengeance raging in her heart and mind.

In addition to darker and more challenging roles to bring out the “worst” in them, the Magalona siblings should be given additional mentorship by the best and most demanding acting coaches.

On their own, they should also realize that on-screen goodness is not its own cause for being—and being seen.

Drama is all about conflict, and that means a mix of emotions and motives. Even saintly characters have some negative traits and impulses to them—because they’re human.

So, to play it bad isn’t a no-no, nor is it a poor reflection on the actor’s own character. Everybody is flawed and can sometimes be really off-putting, so actors should enjoy playing a wide range of characters. Welcome to the human race!