John Arcilla is becoming the industry’s go-to actor for ‘kontrabida’ roles. And in playing such characters, one thing he wants to emphasize is that the villain can be as complex as the hero. After all, in real life, nobody is completely good or bad. 

In this episode of Kapamilya React, the award-winning actor revisited his most intense scenes in the trending series Dirty Linen and shared interesting facts about his job.

Laying the groundwork for his character, Carlos Fiero, was no walk in the park. John had to dissect Carlos’ core, his weaknesses and insecurities beneath his arrogant façade. This way, he’s able to make the character speak to the audience.

“I just want the audience to mirror me,” he said. “Tapos makikita nila ‘yung sarili nila na lahat naman tayo ay mayroong kahinaan at pinagtatakpan sa buhay natin, at pinipilit nating maging malakas para sa mga mahal natin sa buhay. Tinatabunan natin ng stance of confidence ‘yung mga insecurities natin at minsan nakaka-step na pala tayo ng ibang tao para lang i-assert ang ating confidence.”

When shown the scene of Carlos punishing a thief in the Fiero company, he imparted that being an actor means rooting for his character, however good or bad it is. He makes sure the character’s nuances are clearly sketched, and in the process, makes a positive impact on the audience.

“When I play those roles, ako ang bida, hindi ako kontrabida. Ginagawa ko ang tama. So, ito pinaparusahan kita kasi you deserve that,” he thought. “Habang ginagawa mo ‘yun, hindi mo dapat iniisip na mali ka, na kontrabida ka. Mayroon kang jina-justify na something.”

Just like real people, Carlos can do awful things when he feels his values are compromised. What separates him from the good guys, though, is his tendency to feel like he’s above other people.

“Ang kaibahan lang kasi kaya ka nagiging kontrabida kasi ‘yung paraan mo para sabihin ‘yung pagkakamali, para iparamdam dun mo sa kapwa mo na nagkamali siya, ‘pag naging physical na siya. ‘Pag dumating na sa point na sobra na, incongruent na ‘yung ginagawa mo doon sa dapat lang na punishment,” he contemplated.

John takes pride in Dirty Linen’s aggressive narrative, one that will liberate the viewers and has the potential to brandish Pinoy talent globally. He admitted that KDrama has a strong presence in the country and even in the European and American regions. But, with the production of shows like Dirty Linen, he believes Filipino entertainment can manage to keep up.

“Tayo rin naman mahusay tayong gumawa ng teleseryes. Pero ano bang kulang?” he mused. “Para sa akin, very fulfilling for me kapag nakakapag-introduce tayo ng ganitong klase ng characters kasi noon ko pa rin gusto somehow na ma-liberate ang mind ng ating audience na ang kontrabida ay hindi lang simpleng black and white na masama. May pinanggagalingan kung bakit siya naging gano’n, katulad siya ng pangkaraniwang tao.”

Though Carlos isn’t completely fiction to him, and they have a few similar experiences, still, he condemns the character’s decisions, “Si Carlos, ang lahat ng ginagawa niya is out of insecurity. Wala siyang laman,” he reacted to the scene of Carlos’ transaction with Hector (Ping Medina) where they argued about who double-crossed who.

When asked if he feels pressured to be working with fellow seasoned actors, he mentioned that the pressure comes from wanting to have a shared mindset among the cast. “I will do my best to give what my co-actors need para ma-create ‘yung eksena. Pero may co-actors ka na iba naman ang kanilang standard… Iba-iba tayo ng point of views.”

Nonetheless, he can manage to align his vision with whatever his co-actors give, “Kung ano ang ibigay sa akin, ‘yun ang tinatrabaho ko. Kung ano’ng ibigay sa akin ng co-actor ko, I work on that. ‘Pag may binato sa akin, kahit ‘di ko in-expect ‘yan, pagtatrabahuan ko ‘yan to make the scene work.”

Marvel at John’s acting brilliance in Dirty Linen, weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5 and A2Z.