DENNIS TRILLO BARES THE TRUE NATURE OF HIS 'PULANG ARAW' VILLAIN CHARACTER

GIVEN HIS PHYSICAL FEATURES AND HIS ABILITY TO DISAPPEAR INTO A role, Dennis Trillo can play an illustrado, the enlightened one, with Chinese-Mestizo ancestry and a stern soldier of Japanese descent.

- By JERRY DONATO

Proof of the former role is his primetime historical portal fantasy series “Maria Clara at Ibarra,” while the latter is what he does in the now airing GMA primetime series, “Pulang Araw,” whose narrative is set against the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

It’s refreshing to see Dennis as Col. Yuta Saitoh — as compared to the usual protagonist characters he would get to essay — and take on his first-ever major villain role.

He is definitely getting into the nitty-gritty of the life and times of an imperial army officer, based on the characterization created by the show’s writers.

“Medyo hindi mahaba yung aming research period (our research period was relatively short),” said the versatile Dennis about the preparation for his role in a recent press conference, “especially me, my character was among those who came later in the program.”

Reading up on Japanese occupation and World War II available on the Net and watching films such as “Pearl Harbor” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” did help him approach his role.

“Of course, reading the script (matters). I need to read it over and over again,” added Dennis, also sharing that going to the set of “Pulang Araw” can be likened to taking a test or written exam, which he always prepares for.

“At first, maiinis sila sa character… at wala pa akong