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Tony Labrusca talks about playing dual roles in ‘What You Did’

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Nikka Avegail Sabio

<p>Actor Tony Labrusca shared his experience doing dual roles in his new film What You Did, one of the entries for the 2024 Sinag Maynila film festival.</p><p>In a media junket on Wednesday, August 28, Tony shared how portraying two different characters made him realize his capabilities as an actor.</p><p>“It&#x27;s my first time. It&#x27;s my first time to play two different characters. Humbling experience. And it teaches you a lot. It teaches you a lot about your capabilities and also teaches you that you can do things that you thought you couldn&#x27;t do,” Tony said.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CqFgYQrvySe/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2215143.5%2C%22ls%22%3A2214573.800000012%2C%22le%22%3A2215084.100000024%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“Siguro yung challenge, yung pinaka-challenge sa akin ay dalawa kasi yung character na pini-play ko. So, ayun, bukod doon, it touches on heavy and dark themes of psychology, and it touches on psychological thriller. Bukod sa two characters, medyo mabigat din ‘yung theme ng movie,” he added.</p><p>Tony also shared how the film’s director, Joan Flores, helped him dive into his characters’ personas.</p><p>“I honestly didn&#x27;t think, if I&#x27;m going to be very frank, I didn&#x27;t think this project was as heavy or had this much of a serious subject matter. So, when I finally read the script and then I was doing the workshops with Direk, that&#x27;s when I knew I was like okay I&#x27;m in deep in this project like might I could possibly be in over my head, but I don&#x27;t believe in coincidence,” he remarked.</p><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-zJd3bTZrd/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A2249616.300000012%2C%22ls%22%3A2214573.800000012%2C%22le%22%3A2215084.100000024%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Tony went on: “I just think that I just think that this project was really just meant for me and Direk and for us to eventually build a close friendship because of this project. And yeah, like, all of my fears, all of my doubts, like, I was able to express them here in this film as well.”</p><p>What You Did is a full-length directorial film debut of Joan Flores which stars Tony, Mary Joy Apostol, Epy Quizon, Mercedes Cabral, and Ana Abad Santos.</p><p>The film is a psychological thriller that shares the story “about what people go through psychologically after being subjected to challenges throughout your life and suddenly something happens, not (only) the pandemic but anything big that can take away opportunities from you”.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-r01PRSlkq/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A2215169.400000006%2C%22ls%22%3A2214573.800000012%2C%22le%22%3A2215084.100000024%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“I play two different characters here. It&#x27;s Arvin and Ace,” Tony explained. “They’re two very different characters, characterized and driven by very different intentions. Arvin is a guy who wants to kickstart his life again, he wants to be a good person, and he wants to strive to be better and take a hold of his life unfortunately the pandemic happens… (Meanwhile), Ace, who is more of like a fireball you know. He&#x27;s a go-getter. He likes adventure. His heart can be in the right place but maybe his execution isn&#x27;t always the right way to go.”</p><p>When asked what she thinks of Tony’s performance, Direk Joan praised the actor for how he gave life to two characters.</p><p>“I&#x27;ve been telling him this even when we were shooting. I just really think he&#x27;s a smart actor. From the get-go, I think he understood what I wanted to achieve. Of course, it took some time fully grasping it for Tony. We went through different exercises, mindfulness exercises, being exercises, how are we called, he got on board an acting coach to help us out,” she remarked.</p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Tony-Labrusca-talks-about-playing-dual-roles-in-What-You-Did_.jpg" style="width:1000px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Tony Labrusca talks about playing dual roles in ‘What You Did’"/></div><p>Direk Joan, who also wrote the film script, continued, “He had home video assignments that I asked him to do, and he did them faithfully, he did them really well. He was so nice about it actually and I didn&#x27;t find it hard to be aligned with him in how he wanted to achieve the characters that he portrays.”</p><p>What You Did will premiere in selected theaters along with other film entries on September 4 to 8.</p>

<p><i>Tony Labrusca stars in 'What You Did,' a film entry for Sinag Maynila film festival.. </i></p>

Tony Labrusca stars in 'What You Did,' a film entry for Sinag Maynila film festival..

Tony Labrusca talks about playing dual roles in ‘What You Did’

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Tony Labrusca talks about playing dual roles in ‘What You Did’

Nikka Sabio

Published Aug 31, 2024 01:39 PM PHT

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Tony Labrusca

What You Did

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Sinag Maynila

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Joan Flores

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