Felix Roco

Leave it to GMA Artist Center to develop young and talented actors and actresses. And when it comes to artists making positive impact in the realm of independent films, Felix Roco’s name will not be missed.

The 20-year-old actor is one of the twins (his brother Dominic is also an actor) of Philippine cinemas’ awarded actor Bembol Roco. And he is showcasing via the independent movies he has landed his class and pedigree as an actor.

“I’m really happy doing indie movies. But of course as an actor, I also want to do mainstream movies,” said Felix.

So far Felix has done “Dukot,” “Sagrado Pamilya,” “U. P. C. A. T.” and “Engkwentro.” The latter was his most memorable as he was among the actors who attended the 66th Venice International Film Festival. And he witnessed a milestone in indie-filmmaking as “Engkwentro” was bestowed the Orizzonti Prize for Best Film as well as the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for a Debut Film or the Lion of the Future.

“We were all in awe,” expressed Felix excited. “The experience was really overwhelming like when we were walking the red carpet. I mean this was the same red carpet that George Clooney, Ang Lee and other great actors and directors walked on. I was really star struck!”

He added that after winning the Orrizonti Prize, they were already more than satisfied of such honor. “We attended the awards night, the main awarding ceremony because we thought it was a formality for those who won awards. Then they were speaking in Italian and we didn’t understand. Then we heard ‘Enkwentro’ so when we went up the stage we saw the usherettes were holding the Golden Lion. We didn’t understand what we’ve gotten. Grabe it was really a different feeling,” he shared.

In “Engkwentro,” he plays Richard, the leader of “Bagong Buwan” gang. Knowing the hardships of gang life, he wanted to escape it and live a new life. But his brother wanted to join his gang but he refused. His brother then joined his rival gang “Batang Dilim” and part of his initiation was to kill his brother, the leader of the rival gang!

“Our director Pepe Diokno is very professional and you could see how focused he was in his work. He is very determined on what he wants to accomplish and what he wants to do and how to do it. He is really a good director. I really want to work with him again and I know that the concept of his next movie is very good,” he hinted.

So how did he prepare for his role? “I sported a Mohawk hairstyle…‘Engkwentro’ was shot in one whole take in one hour. We had to rehearse it for three months. We had to train for Parkour, free running because we had a chasing scene on the roof top of houses,” he replied.

And was he able to relate to his role as a “bad boy” in “Engkwentro?” “Somehow yes. I didn’t have a hard time adapting to being a bad boy. A lot of people say that between me and my twin Dominic, I’m the bad boy and he is the good boy. So I just accepted that for no reason,” he snickered.

As to why he enjoys doing indie films, he attributed it to the stories which he enjoyed and the freedom he’s allowed as an actor. “You get to explore yourself more and you understand your acting better. I found out by myself. I got to understand it,” he related.

At 20, Felix admits that he knows what he wants to do and that’s work. “Where there’s work, that’s where you will find me. That’s the reason I signed-up to be an actor and that’s to work. I’m yearning for work,” he remarked.

In the future, Felix would also want to dabble in scriptwriting. And according to him, he already has a lot of ideas he is working on.

For his young female fans, Felix is single and available. Unfortunately he is not in a rush to have a girlfriend as of press time. “For me a love life is complicated. I really don’t understand it. I don’t want to have one just for the sake of having one and then getting hurt again. You really have to know the person first,” he opined.

That said, watch out for Felix Roco because he is an indie-actor ON THE RISE!