Star or extra, everyone must be treated with respect

THE BROUHAHA about a certain award-winning TV network director brings to mind my own sad experience as an actor contracted to play supporting roles in teleseryes on a one-time basis. If it is any consolation to Prof. Alvin Campomanes, who has inadvertently opened a can of worms in the entertainment industry, disrespect does not only happen to extras or bit players. Hindi kayo nag-iisa. Even senior veteran actors like me experience shabby treatment. Mind you, disrespect does not come only in the form of being cursed or insulted, but also in being treated as a movie prop that can be discarded at any time.

One time, I was called to play a role in a teleserye. I accepted it even if it was on a very short notice. So I cancelled my appointments and gathered all the necessary tools a professional actor would need on location, such as wardrobe (with enough selection of apparel and costumes from which the director can choose), several pairs of shoes, toothbrush and toothpaste, eyeglasses, comb, towels, and other personal accouterments.

Then I went through all the internal routines an actor does to be mentally prepped. That night, I was told that the shooting is confirmed for the following day. Early next morning, someone phoned and advised me to load all my things in my car and wait for the call to proceed to the location. I did exactly as I was instructed to do and waited.

Lo and behold, I got another call later, only to be told that I didn’t have to go to the shooting anymore. The reason? I had been replaced by another actor! Of course, I made a fuss about it, and as consuelo de bobo, the network sent me a basket of fruits.

After a while, I was called again by a talent caster and was told that I was going to play a meaty role in an upcoming teleserye featuring a popular young matinee idol. It was July when he called. Skeptical this time, I repeatedly asked her if this was going to push through. Yes, yes, yes was the answer. July went by and I got no word about the shooting. No word still in August, September and October. Every time I called, I was assured again and again that the producer has approved the decision to have me play the role. Apparently, there were some problems with the script and I was told to wait a little longer, but was assured that I was still going to play a major role.

But the months of waiting got me antsy as I could not make any long-term plans in anticipation of the shooting schedule. All the while, I was assured that the script was just being given the final touches and that shooting would soon begin. I asked for the script so I could prepare in advance. No script came. Finally, in November, I received a text message which to me was the ultimate slap in the face: Again I was replaced by another actor at the last minute and that “they are sorry to have kept me waiting.” Ganun lang! Talk about lightning striking twice!

I am not a lawyer, but thinking about it, wasn’t the verbal agreement (confirmed time and again) between me and the network representative legally binding in some way? Oh, sure, there was no written document, but can’t I hold them to their palabra de honor? Can that be considered a virtual contract? Maybe I live in another world where one’s word is more than enough.

So if it happened to me, can the same thing be happening to other actors like me? I don’t know, but I am certainly incensed! Is there no protection for acting talents playing supporting roles? Would they do this to a popular young talent? Once upon a time, I and a few other well-meaning and idealistic people from the entertainment industry helped establish the Film Academy that purported, among many other things, to protect talents working in the industry from abuse. What has happened to that organization and its noble objectives? I’m afraid that through neglect, indifference and mediocrity, it has degenerated into a toothless, back-patting social club.

Sure, all actors, be they stars or extras or bit players, need the money, but much more than talent fees, what they need is to be treated with dignity and respect. To quote Shakespeare: “If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?”

As for senior actors like me, we are artists and not mere talents to be randomly picked from the talent pool. Over the years, these actors have become masters of their craft which is beyond a price tag, and they need to be valued in the same way that we value the craft and artistry of BenCab, Malang, Sanso and other painters. They deserve a tribute, not a rude dismissal on the whim of a writer or producer driven crazy by ratings.

Alas, we fail to realize that old actors are living treasures of the performing arts to be cherished. With their priceless experience, old actors have much to teach young stars who are still on the make. A seasoned actor actually serves as a virtual one-person acting workshop for beginners and raw talents on many aspects of acting, including discipline and decorum at the studio or on location. Even fledgling directors and indie filmmakers can learn much from them and should demand more roles for old actors. Thank God for old accomplished actors, indeed!

But I stop here for I’m afraid no one would care to listen to the ranting of an old fool like me. Like in that old Japanese movie where old folks in a village are brought to a remote mountain to die, maybe an old whiny actor like me needs to be taken away to some place to be neglected and forgotten, until my little life is finally “rounded with sleep.”

Nick J. Lizaso is an accomplished, multiawarded stage, television and film actor and director. He currently sits as a member of the board of trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and also serves as a member of the executive committee of the International University Theater Association based in Liege, Belgium.