Coming
from a showbiz clan, Kiko Estrada
admitted he wants to make a name for himself and be recognized for his own
style of acting. In the socio-political film Diyos-Diyosan, he plays the role of a man who gets entangled in a
politician’s web of crime.
"Diyos-Diyosan is my first movie so I’m
proud of it. It’s very interesting. Wow there was a three-page monologue and I
say deep, deep Tagalog. I want to be my own actor. Kasi everyone was saying, ‘Apo ka ni Paquito Diaz, apo ka ni George
Estregan, anak ka ni Gary Estrada, pamangkin ka ni Joko Diaz.’ I’m not any
of them. I want to be myself and my brand of acting is mine. Pag maganda eh di maganda pero pag hindi, I
don’t want that. I always want a good thing. I just want to be good,” he tells Push.com.ph.
In the
film Diyos-Diyosan, Kiko also got to act alongside his mom Cheska
Diaz who plays the role of John Prats’s negligent mother while Kiko plays his dependable best friend.
"She was adlibbing in one scene and I had to tell her, ‘Mom, that’s my
line!’ (laughs). It was fun though. I love working with my mom. Even in the
teleserye we just finished That’s My
Amboy she was also my mom there. So it was fun working with her,” he admitted.
With
most of his family members being typecast in mostly kontrabida roles, Kiko said he
hopes to get the chance to follow in their footsteps. "I get typecast as a
good boy. I want a bad boy role nga eh.
I’m asking for it but it’s management’s choice if they give me anything. Kung anong character man, I just say yes
to everything because experience is the best knowledge and I think every
character is interesting naman, you
just have to create something interesting in them. You can make things
interesting with your perception of it,” he said.
When
he was starting out as an actor, the now 23-year-old actor admits he has no
regrets choosing to go to the Kapuso network even when he had a choice of where
to act. "I started in showbiz when I was 19 years old. I took one year of
Star Magic workshops before that when I was 18. Ms. Charo Santos called us up
and lolo Paquito said before he died na ako papalit sa kanya. I didn’t know
anything about acting. I was playing varsity basketball in Benilde and then I
thought to myself, ‘Why not give showbiz a try?’ I ended up with them offering
me two contracts, one in ABS-CBN and one in GMA and I picked the Twin Hearts contract. I was [in a] love
triangle with Barbie Laforteza,” he recalled.
But Kiko said he would love to work with
Kapamilya stars in a movie someday. "I want more but I’m happy. In movies
I want to work with Kapamilya actors but I’m exclusive with GMA right now,” he
added.
With
one year left in his Diplomatic Affairs degree in the De la Salle College of
St. Benilde, the aspiring actor also hoped to learn more about the film
industry from the other side of the camera. "I like making movies. Behind
the scenes I like watching yung
interviews ng mga actors or interviews sa directors. I recently finished
watching a documentary on director Stanley Kubrick. I think he’s so good,” he
admitted during the Diyos-Diyosan premiere
held last April 28 at the Historia bar in Quezon city.
When
it comes to acting, Kiko said he looks up
to fellow kapuso actor Sid Lucero. "Sid Lucero I think he’s one of the
best. I just met him recently so it was like a dream of mine because he said I
should call him bro and now I get to call Sid Lucero my bro. I think he is the
most underrated actor ever,” he said.
Watch Diyos-Diyosan in cinemas nationwide
starting on May 4, Wednesday. Also starring John Prats, Tirso Cruz III, Cheska
Diaz, Glaiza de Castro and Vanessa del Moral. Directed by Cesar Buendia.