Versatile actor and singer Jericho Rosales is just counting down the days before he attends the world premiere of his first international movie, "Subject: I Love You," at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 30.
After the press launch on Tuesday, April 12, of Advil's Liqui-gel which Jericho endorses, Yahoo! OMG! Philippines had a sit-down interview with him where he talked about his role and experiences in the said independently-produced Hollywood movie. Jericho plays the lead character Victor, a Filipino computer hacker suspected of authoring the destructive "I Love You" virus at the turn of the millennium.
Jericho, who is the lead star in the ABS-CBN primetime series "Green Rose," plays alongside Dean Cain of "Lois and Clark," Dante Basco of "Hook," Briana Evigan of "Step Up 2," and Kristin Bauer of "True Blood." Filipino artists Joel Torre, Gary Valenciano and Black Eyed Peas singer Apl De Ap are also in the film's cast. "Subject: I Love You" is directed by Francis dela Torre.
As this is Jericho's first international movie, he feels proud and excited yet humbled of this project.
"Ako syempre bilang isang simpleng Filipino actor, for me it's a dream come true," Jericho shared. On how he bagged the lead role, Jericho attended the audition here in Manila upon hearing the announcement. "It was my ex's birthday and told her that I really have to go. So, I went to the audition and I did it. It was all in English, so I had to memorize some lines, some were adlib lang," Jericho told Yahoo! OMG Philippines.
Despite his solid acting experience, Jericho didn't rest on his laurels. "Siyempre, I tried my best talaga. I would talk to other people there and threw in some lines," Jericho added.
Upon hearing that he passed the audition, "Nagsisitalon ako sa Rockwell. I was so excited. Although independently-produced siya, the goal is to show it abroad," Jericho shared.
Jericho also revealed he was nervous meeting his co-actors for the first time at the Edsa Shangri-la. "I was just keeping my hands under the table, hindi ako makakain. Tatlong wine ang nainom ko before ako nakakain," Jericho mused. Jericho also said he felt embarrassed when he acted like a fan in front of Dante Basco, who played Rufio in the movie "Hook." "After that, naging kaibaigan ko rin si Dante, we got close. Naging kaibigan ko rin sila Briana, Dean Cain," Jericho said.
This movie project is a dream come true for Jericho who has already acted in many local movies and TV series. "Itong "Subject: I Love You" talagang blessing sya sa akin, hulog ng langit. It was just amazing. Yung editing, ibang klase. Ito yung dream ko, seeing myself in that quality of film," Jericho said to Yahoo! OMG Philippines. According to Jericho, he felt like a real actor during his whole experience in filming the movie. "I had my own trailer. I work for 12 hours, there was plenty of food. We work on time. They were super professional. I really felt like an actor, they call me Mr. Rosales," Jericho told Yahoo! OMG Philippines.
The movie was shot in English and Jericho was asked to act normally as a Filipino who speaks English, without using slang. "Sabi nila sa'kin, they just want me to act as a Filipino na nagi-English. Inenjoy ko lang yun, para akong nasa Disneyland. So, all I had to do is to be myself there and memorize my lines. I didn't have to bring my clothes, sila na bahala doon. Just really be myself pagdating doon," Jericho added.
Jericho also shared that difference of working on a Hollywood movie as against local productions. "I wish Philippines could have money to produce those kinds of films. I wish that the support of the Filipinos will be doubled," he added.
Being able to work in an international movie for the first time, Jericho has high hopes for the local movie industry. "Request ko lang is for the government to allocate some money para rin mamatay yung piracy at makaproduce ng magagandang pelikula. Kasi kaya naman natin mag-compete eh. The world is a stage and now is the time for Filipinos to shine," Jericho said.
