BENJAMIN ALVES says he was the one who actually asked Sanya Lopez to really hit him hard in their much talked about recent violent confrontation scene in “Dahil sa Pag-ibig” after Sanya’s character, Mariel, discovered his infidelity.
“She said, puede naman nating dayain, but I said, no, kasi for the past few months, nag-build up na ang galit ni Mariel kaya dapat, ilabas mo nang lahat dito,” he says. “And she did, sumambulat talaga nang husto. Sumobra nga kasi the staff counted how many times she slapped and hit me at more than twenty times daw.
"E, Sanya is into boxing as her exercise, kaya mapuwersa talaga siya. So namula talaga ang mukha ko. But okay lang, that scene was really a standout and that episode rated so high, so it paid off, yung pagsampal sa’kin nang totohanan.”
We got to talk to Benjamin at the presscon for GMA-7’s international acting coach, Anthony Bova, “Because of our high ratings, the show is extended,” he adds. “Marami pa kasing mangyayari sa story kaya abangan nyo. I’m really happy to be part of this show kasi magaan kasama ang lahat, walang pasaway, walang problema, enjoy lang kaming lahat tuwing may taping kami.”
He’s thankful to GMA for giving its stars to take the extensive acting worskhops of Mr. Bova. “It’s really helpful as you become empowered as an actor. You learn kung ano ang tamang atake sa bawat eksenang ipagagawa sa’yo. You are not scared to experiment kung anu-anong treatment ang gagawin mo to show your different layers of emotion.”
He’s also happy that his movie with Solenn Heussaff, “Misterio de la Noche (Mystery of the Night)”, a period movie set in Spanish times, was well received at the Montreal Filmfest in Canada which he attended with its director, Adolf Alix. “It’s my first time there and I really enjoyed the experience kasi ang babait ng mga tao. There’s a Filipino community in Montreal and they really helped us.
"I enjoyed doing the movie with Solenn. They liked her and I’m happy for the recognition she got and which she deserves. She played a manananggal and she’s very serious with her craft as an actress. The movie will have its premiere night at the CCP as part of Cinemalaya on August 4, Sunday, 6:15 PM, so sana, manood po kayo.”
