Actor John Arcilla is never afraid to portray characters that are larger than life. In the iconic Heneral Luna, he played the titular revolutionary army general and introduced Filipino movie-goers to a hero who was flawed, imperfect, and human.
Six years later in On The Job: The Missing 8, Arcilla brings to life a character who’s anything but a hero – Sisoy Salas, a corrupt journalist and radio commentator who’s grown all too comfortable with the fictional La Paz town’s popular “crime fighting” Mayor Eusebio. But Sisoy begins to question his allegiances when eight people – including his best friend and godson – go missing.
Arcilla brings both quiet confidence and bombastic flair to Sisoy – all while managing to ground the character, even in scenarios that no real-life Filipino journalist is likely to face.
The skill he’s brought into the role has brought him his biggest acting accolade to date – the Volpi Cup for Best Actor award from the Venice Film Festival, where The Missing 8 premiered in competition.
With the win, the 55-year-old Arcilla joins the ranks of actors Willem Dafoe, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, and Sean Penn, to name a few.
In this episode of Rappler Talk Entertainment, we speak to the Best Actor winner about Sisoy, The Missing 8, life as an actor, and why he’s not one to keep quiet, especially when it comes to issues in Philippine politics and society.
Catch the interview on September 13 at 3 pm by bookmarking this page or following Rappler on social media. – Rappler.com
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