They say that the best actors are the underrated ones, true enough as the biggest surprise of the Metro Manila Film Festival didn't came from any big stars or any lead stars of any entries, but instead the most talked about character in the festival was a sidekick or I should say the BFF of Trisha, Barbs.
Played by newcomer Christian Bables, his portrayal of the character of Barbs became a hit because of three things, first it was well executed that many were caught by surpise with how Christian delivered the transgender role perfectly, second the audiences enjoyed seeing the character of Barbs since the character depicts what a real BFF means, and lastly the role of Barbs completed the character of Trisha played by Paolo Ballesteros.
Christian Bables became a surprise in the movie mainly because the way Die Beautiful was marketed it was really centered to Paolo Ballesteros alone that people thought that it was only him that shines in the movie beacause of different awards from international festivals.
So who is Christian Bables? I met Christian Bables last May of 2016, when we visited the set of I Love You To Death (The Kiray Celis & Enchong Dee starrer) he played the role of Apol the gay bestfriend of Gwen played by Kiray.
Anyway me along with my blogger friends from Randomrepublika.com and Pelikulamania.com. we did a little Q&A with Christian Bables. Here's the full interview :)
Full Name: Christian Bables
Birthday/Age:
December 6, 1992/24
Hometown: Tayabas, Quezon/Escalante, Negros/Bacoor, Cavite
Educational Background: AB Mass Communication Graduate, DLSU-Dasmarinas.
How did you prepare for the role of Barbs?
"Uhm, kasi I've been studying acting since 2011 sa Star Magic Workshop under direk Rahyan Carlos, so siguro emotionally I've always been prepared, ayun sa bawat character na naibibigay sa akin napaparralel ko naman yung pain nila sa pain ko. Characterization inaral ko sya thru immersion , nag immerse ako, nag research, naginterview ng mga kaibigan natin from the LGBT community about their common pain, kung ano yung vulnerability nila"
What's the most difficult scene you've done in the movie?
"Yung nakapanty ako, yung scene na bago kami magpalagay ng boobs ni trisha, mahirap yun sa akin physicality wise dahil ayun nga kung mapapanuod nyo naka bikini lang kami eh medyo naghehello world si "Junjun" kapag konting galaw kaya ayun medyo nahirapan ako"
How was the working experience doing the whole movie?
"Sobrang saya, simply because nafifeed nya yung thirst ko dun sa acting kasi sobrang challenging nung role so talagang every scene pinag aaralan ko kung paano ko aatakihin, every scene pinaglalaanan ko ng enough time to prepare so ayun yung working experience ko as Barbs, sobrang saya and sobrang fulfilling. Sa set naman never a dull moment kasi working with Paolo Ballesteros grabe yung taong yun, now I know why he is so blessed kasi sobra nyang buting tao, kaya din siguro maganda yung kinalabasan nung film kasi lahat ay okay at masaya"
Ano ano ang mga natutunan mo sa character ni Barbs?
"Medyo malalim yung mga natutunan ko, nagriresearch palang ako, nagiimmersion palang po ako andami ng learnings about the transgender and LGBT community. Pero ang pinaka natutunan ko dapat silang mahalin kasi yung heart nila is very big and capable of loving people kahit sinasaktan na sila"
Anong feeling mo ngayon na pinaguusapan ka ng mga tao coz of your portrayal of Barbs?
"Honestly nung December 25, nung unang napanuod ng mga tao andami agad in a matter of one day andami agad na tao from the industry and ordinary people na di ko kilala na nagcocongratulate, at first nakakaoverwhelm pero di ko hinayaan yung sarili ko na maoverwhelm ng sobra, so I prayed for guidance kasi medyo overwhelming nga sya and I don't want that kind of feeling so ngayon ang nararamdaman ko eh thankful ako sa mga taong naka appreciate ng nagawa ko."
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Why did you enter showbizness?
"Kasi passion ko yung acting, ayun so acting for film and TV, okay din ako acting for theater pero ayun mas prefered ko yung acting for film and TV that's the reason why I entered showbizness kasi ano ko sya food for my soul ang pag arte"
What are your backgrounds in acting?
"Nagsimula akong magaral umarte since 2011 up until now nagaaral pa rin ako, continuous learning and I guess never na kong titigil sa pagaaral ng acting kasi nga nadadagdagan kasi yung knowledge habang tumatagal and its unending, Ayun nagaaral ako sa Star Magic Workshops under Direk Rahyan Carlos mastering the Ivanna Chubbuck technique so nasa master class ako for five years"
Do you have any relatives in showbiz?
"Wala Po"
Sinong mga gusto mong makatrabaho in your next project?
"Kung pagbibigyan po ni God gusto ko pong makatrabaho si Ms Maricel Soriano, natupad na yung isa kong wish eh si tito Joel Torre na sobrang thankful ako na nakatrabaho ko, Eddie Garcia, Jericho Rosales, Si Ms Eugene Domingo, Ms Gina Pareno, and Alessandra De Rossi"
"And yung isa nga pala na gusto ko makatrabaho natupad na si Ms Gladys Reyes, tsaka gusto ko din makatrabaho si Ms Judy Ann Santo at si Claudine Barretto. tsaka si Albert Martinez, si Mario O'hara patay na kasi gusto ko sana sya maka trabaho tsaka si Dolphy". "
Who's your favorite local and foreign artist?
"Local, sa lalaki si Jericho Rosales and Tito Joel Torre, sa babae si Ms Maricel Soriano, Ms Eugene Domingo, and si Alessandra De Rossi"
"Favorite Foreign Artist, Michael Sheen, Meryl Streep, si Viola Davis napaka galing na actress, Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, and Jared Letto na estudyante din ni Ivanna Chubbuck"
And favorite movie?
Local: Oro, Plata, Mata, Insyang, I Love You To Death, Die Beautiful
Any Dream Roles?
"Suicide Bomber"
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With Christian bagging a well deserve Best Supporting Actor Plum in the #MMFF2016, 2017 will be a year to look forward to the 24 year old veratile actor. Cheers! to more success Christian!
