Rafa Siguion Reyna On Being Directed By His Own Dad Carlitos In 'Hari Ng Tondo'

RAFA SIGUION REYNA is directed by his dad, Carlitos Siguion Reyna, in “Hari ng Tondo”, which is scripted by his mom Bibeth Orteza. So how was it being directed by his own father? Was he scared? “No, I actually enjoyed it,” he says. “This is my first Cinemalaya movie so excited ako. Kasi last year, I watched several entries with my dad dahil judge siya. So I told myself, sana makasali ako. Heto na, dream come true. But my dad has directed me pala before, in 1996. Anak ako ni Maricel Soriano in ‘Abot Kamay ang Pangarap’, pero baby pa lang ako noon. What’s nice about my dad is he gives you options. Sobra siyang humimay ng eksena and he lets you choose how to do a scene. But there’s no preferential treatment dahil anak niya ako. If he doesn’t like your way, then papaulit niya sa’yo. I play the grandson of Robert Arevalo, who’s originally from Tondo. He succeeded in business but now, he’s going bankrupt so he brought me and my cousin, Cris Villonco, back to where he hails from, Tondo. I’m the musician son of Audie Gemora and Cris is the daughter of Ali Sotto. Siempre, at first, we resisted. But in Tondo, I met street musicians led by Aiza Seguerra at nagkasundo kami. Big help si Aiza sa’kin kasi my dad does about 10 to 15 takes bago ma-perfect ang eksena. Si Aiza, kahit ilang takes pa yan, hindi nagbabago ang energy. E, ako, it takes me a while to warm up. I’m also very excited for Tito Robert Arevalo. Sobrang galing niya. I wish he’d win as Cinemalaya best actor.”

Rafa also plays the pivotal role of Rick in the hit GMA soap, “Nino”. “I’m so thankful to Direk Maryo de los Reyes for making this my first regular primetime soap. Nakilala niya ko sa acting workshop niya and he said, sige, ika-cast kita. Years from now, I’ll be proud I’m a part of this show na nagna-number one ngayon sa ratings. I'm the sidekick of the villain Jay Manalo as Lucio. Ako lang ang nakakaalam sa lihim niyang siya ang pumatay kay Tom Rodriguez na asawa ni Katrina Halili at hindi pa talaga patay yung baby na pinapatay niya, who becomes Miguel Tanfelix as Nino. Conscience-stricken na ako but maganda yung back story ng character ko kasi pinakitang may malaki akong utang na loob ako kay Jay. Eventually, baka patayin niya ako rito.”