Why Mon Confiado is drawn to villain roles

Mon Confiado’s character, Gov. William Acosta, in the ABS-CBN series “Senior High” and its sequel “High Street” has already bid farewell. What enticed him to take on antagonist roles, in general, was the variation of acting styles and approaches he could bring to the character.

Apart from playing one of the villains in “High Street,” he also portrayed a dark character in the suspense-thriller “Nanahimik ang Gabi” and Mikhail Red’s “Arisaka,” just to name a few. He is poised to appear in Mikhail’s “Lilim” as Investigator Fred.

“In general, it is interesting to play kontrabida,” Mon told The STAR in an earlier interview for “High Street.” “I get like bored if it’s bida. If the role is not an antagonist, I feel like I’m not doing anything. If it’s kontrabida, the way you speak, the way you move, just using your eyes, you can do a lot of things. Pwede kang sumigaw ng galit, pwede ka ring hindi sumisigaw pero galit.”

The veteran actor noted that he can do plenty of “variations” when he is essaying a bad guy character rather than being a protagonist who is kind and gets oppressed. “But if you’re the kontrabida, physically, you can do more. Pwedeng nasugat ka dati sa kasigaan mo, may pwedeng nabaril ka sa mukha, like this one (as) Gov. Acosta who fell off a building.

“So, I thought dapat marami siyang opera. The fact that he was alive, so I shaved my head, we put on prosthetics, kasi wasak-wasak yung mukha niya,” he added.

Mon’s favorite actors who have played villains in the movies are Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Gary Oldman, and Christian Bale.

“They are my inspiration. Gary Oldman does method acting,” shared Mon. “You are diving into the character in method acting. You experience the character like (for me), nagpapayat ako, nagpapataba, nagpapaitim and nagpapakalbo. I also did a movie one time, I didn’t take a bath during the entire shoot. I learned acting techniques by watching films and get inspiration from there.”

Mon, the son of the late actor Angel Confiado, admitted that it is always a challenge for him to find ways on how to execute any role that he is doing.

“To be honest, wala akong pangarap or hinihintay or gusto pang gawing role. The challenge for me is how to execute it. Like this one, Gov. Acosta, who fell off the building, so how (would I do it?). So, I shaved my head. It was like a costume for me. Let’s say kunyari kalbo ako, even if I go home, I still feel that I’m Gov. Acosta. Because I’m bald-headed as (my character), compared to the normal, typical Mon Confiado.

“In every character (I do something). Let’s say I’m doing a character in a film like a fisherman, magpapaitim ako. So that even if I go home, I still feel that I’m the fisherman.”

Meanwhile, Mon filed a case against a Facebook user, whom he publicly named, Jeff Leanneroie Bonilla Jacinto alias ILEIAD, over a localized form of “Flying Lotus copypasta.”

As per the Know Your Meme website, the “copypasta” initially started on 4chan in 2012 when an anonymous user posted an “elaborate story about meeting record producer and rapper Flying Lotus in an LA grocery store” and describing how “rude Flying Lotus acted towards both him and store staff members.”

The online user would usually copy the story and replace Flying Lotus’ name with the name of another celebrity. “The idea is to make a celebrity look unreasonably rude since those who aren’t ‘in the know’ might think the copypasta is an actual story being recollected,” explained the website.

In Mon’s case, the Facebook user posted that he “saw Mon at a grocery store in Marikina” and told him “how cool it was to meet him in person.”

But he was “taken aback” when Mon was allegedly rude to him. “I saw him trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying,” read the now-deleted post.

In a Facebook post last Monday, Mon shared a picture of him at the National Bureau of Investigation signing documents.

He penned an open letter to Jeff, saying that it should serve as a lesson to him and to everyone.

“Using the name of a person and photos without permission is a crime. Not all jokes are funny and not all jokes are for everybody. Dapat sana ang joke ay nakakapagpasaya and doesn’t tarnish the reputation of a person,” said Mon.

“The problem… even if it’s a joke or ‘meme,’ not all people are familiar with it and you posted it in on Facebook,” part of the letter read, adding that some people might believe it and re-post it.

“I am doing films and I have endorsements, and there’s an ongoing transaction for me to become a ‘brand ambassador’ of a product. Paano kung dahil sa maling pagkakaintindi sa joke mo ay maapektuhan ang aking mga trabaho? Should I just be silenced? Should I be the one who would adjust and let it be, and not react?” he lamented.

Mon reiterated, “Ako ay nanahimik at ginulo mo.”

He recalled that when he commented on ILEIAD’s post, the latter said, “Is this a threat?”

“You didn’t take down the post until the next evening. Yes, you did public apology later on but it was sarcastic and insincere. At wala ni katiting na pagsisisi and you were proud of what you did. At ginagawa niyo pa akong katatawanan ng mga followers mo. At ngayon ikaw na ang biktima at ako na ang masama,” furthered Mon.

“I want you to know that this case that I’m filing in NBI is NOT A JOKE. This is REAL. Let’s be serious about this para maging aral sa ating lahat. I’m looking forward to personally meet you in court Mr. Jeff Jacinto. God speed,” concluded Mon.