FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo
September 02, 2009 12:00 AM 

So who’s Noel and why is John Lloyd Cruz terribly missing him?

If you still don’t know, Noel is the decent (as in “not loud”) gay character John Lloyd is playing in Star Cinema’s In My Life in which he co-stars with Vilma Santos and her son Luis Manzano as John Lloyd’s lover, filmed mostly in the tri-state of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and directed by Olivia Lamasan.

“We were shooting the other day and I don’t know why I was emotional that day,” John Lloyd revealed at yesterday’s presscon. “I guess it was because the shooting would soon be over and the movie will soon be shown. Isang chapter na naman ng buhay ko ang matatapos and I have another character to let go. I told Inang (direk Olivia), ‘Alam mo, Inang, mami-miss ko si Noel.’ I became so attached to the character. Doing the movie was a wonderful journey. I learned a lot from it as a person and as an actor.”

One thing John Lloyd learned is that a gay person is a passionate lover. In the movie, the gay characters he and Luis play are not, you know, “obvious,” no giveaway (except for subtle nuances) just like the actors in the popular Korean film Frozen Flower — macho outside but pusong mamon inside.

“Parang mas masarap silang magmahal,” John Lloyd added. “Feeling ko, kapag nagmahal sila mas buo, mas matindi.”

Vilma plays a strict/conservative librarian who visits her son (Luis) in New York and is shocked to discover that he’s living-in with another man (John Loyd).

“Mahirap ka-eksena si Ate Vi,” admitted John Lloyd, “because even if I was the focus of the scene and she was just there, simply standing and not delivering a line, umaarte pa rin siya. She’s that good as an actress. She doesn’t just act with you, she interacts with you.”

Asked if he wasn’t taking a “risk” by playing a gay character (as did such respected Hollywood actors as Tom hanks in Philadelphia and Sean Pean in Milk for which he won a Best Actor Oscar), John Lloyd said no.

“I know that it’s a daring move but since hindi mo malalaman kung hindi mo susubukan, I have to try it not only for myself but also for people who trust me. I want to prove to them that hindi lang ako pang-rom/com (romantic-comedy), that I can do something else, something more, at hindi lang ako nakakulong sa isang maliit na box.”

Before the shooting, John Lloyd said that he resisted the temptation to watch Milk to avoid Sean Penn influencing his own portrayal. But he gave in just the same. Penn is his favorite actor.

And, having done a varied roles so far, what’s one he would like to do?

“‘Yung character na heartless. It must be hard to do, very challenging siguro. It’s intriguing to discover why he’s heartless. Also, a character similar to the one played by Sean Penn in I Am Sam.”