JM IBARRA ON CHANNELING REAL-LIFE PAIN, HEALING IN CINEMALAYA DEBUT 'CHILD NO. 82'

FORMER “PINOY BIG BROTHER” HOUSEMATE JM IBARRA makes his first full-length lead role in Tim Rone Villanueva's Cinemalaya 2025 entry "Child No. 82.

- NATHALIE TOMADA

Doing the fantasy/dramedy has been both a professional milestone and an emotional journey that allowed the 25-year-old to revisit his own experiences growing up and marked his transition from reality-show personality to serious actor.

In “Child No. 82,” JM plays Max, “an legitimate child” who was raised by a single mother and grew up longing for a father figure. When his father, who happens to be the biggest action-fantasy star Boy Kana (played by Vhong Navarro), suddenly passes away, he will do everything to prove that his identity as one of his children.

The role hit close to home for the newbie actor, who drew motivation for his performance from his share of struggles with his own father.

“Marami po, especially sa father and son issue na rin po,” he told The STAR during a virtual interview about the scenes he could relate to, without going into detail.

“Obviously, naghugot din po ako sa experience ko sa buhay ko. Marami po akong pinaghugutan nun. Actually, may mga ibang scene po na ang pinaghugutan ko naman is yung ‘PBB’... and yung eviction namin, mga ganun.

“But most of the time, ang pinaghuhugutan ko lang po is yung naging problema din po namin ng papa ko sa personal na buhay po namin.”

He admitted that revisiting those memories wasn’t easy.

“For me, personally, mabigat, sobra-sobrang bigat. Sobrang masakit kasi sa halip na nakaka-move on na po ako dun sa naging problema ng buhay ko na yun, nabibiling-balikan ko para sa character ko,” he said.

Nevertheless, JM wouldn’t have it any other way, as part of his process to better flesh out his character.