“When Sen. Bong Revilla asked me to do the Lizardo role, I didn’t have any second thoughts as I know it’d be a great challenge for me,” he says at the “Panday 2” grand presscon at Annabel’s Restaurant. “The late Max Alvarado did a good job as Lizardo in the version of the late Fernando Poe, Jr., so I felt I have to come up with my own version and create a different kind of Lizardo para maihiwalay sa Lizardo ni Max. And I’m glad it paid off dahil nanalo pa ko ng award.”
For “Panday 2”, he comes out as a more devilish Lizardo. “This time, lahat ng mahal ni Bong as Flavio, gusto kong patayin sa mismong harapan niya. Abangan nyo ang showdowns namin dito as they’re more spectacular than in ‘Panday 1’. Muntik pa kong mabulag dito. Nag-worry ako for Bong kasi masyado siyang perfectionist in his desire to surpass the first Panday. E, ito, pag sobrang stressed, nagkaka-migraine.”
He has another entry in the filmfest, “Asiong Salonga”. Is it true he’s not happy with the treatment he got in that movie? “Huwag na nating pag-usapan yon,” he said seriously. “Ang Panday 2 na lang ang pag-usapan natin.”
