Ricky Davao and His 10 Most Memorable Performances

(SPOT.ph) For a time, I was privileged to be a semi-regular at Mother Lily’s Wednesday Club, the weekly gaggle of entertainment writers and industry movers whose late-night to early morning sessions were presided over by the Regal Films matriarch. And when there was a confluence of circumstances—a special occasion, say, or availability of equipment—that brought Ricky Davao and a karaoke machine together, everybody in the club agreed that a full-blown, all-night concert was guaranteed.

It seemed that singing was a talent the respected hyphenate Frederick Charles “Ricky” Davao, who died on May 2 at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer, was not able to flex enough. Plucked from the Vicor Dance Group and launched as a heartthrob in 1981’s Nora Aunor-headlined Totoo Ba ang Tsismis?, Ricky soon proved he had inherited the smoldering aura and acting chops of his father Charlie, segueing to lead roles playing conflicted men.

In a way, Ricky had the ideal career: Sensing that the shelf life of a leading man had a short sell-by date, he set about proving his versatility as a character actor even while he was still on top of the call sheet—which meant he juggled playing leads in films like Gil Portes’ Saranggola (1999) even while he was happily immersing himself in the ensemble cast of American Adobo (2001) or providing support in Ping Lacson: Super Cop (2000). And even while his acting card in TV and movies was still full, he also dabbled in theater and experimental shorts. Then he moved on to become a reliable director of TV series and telenovelas, declaring that mentoring actors to great work gave him an indescribable high. By many accounts, he was busy until the very end of his 45-year career in show business.

But it is in the movies where Ricky Davao will remain immortal. In a way his career trajectory mirrored his modus operandi at karaoke: Shy at first, starting small, then leading up to full-throated performances that brought the house down.

Here are 10 unforgettable Ricky Davao film performances to check out:

Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-Ibig? (1987)

Even though the plan for his career was above-the-title billing, Ricky shines as the villainous golden boy Ric, whose desire to keep his inheritance makes him foist his girlfriend’s (Vilma Santos) pregnancy onto his mentally challenged brother (Tonton Gutierrez). Everyone from Cherie Gil as the sister with a secret to Gloria Romero as the silently oppressed mother turns in amazing work in this unexpectedly touching melodrama directed by Eddie Garcia—but without Ricky’s selfish machinations, there would be no plot.

Misis Mo, Misis Ko (1988)

In this love square that, under the stewardship of director Carlos Siguion Reyna, dares to treat its romantic complications as a comedy of manners and a statement on class, Ricky grounds the whole endeavor with his accessible portrayal of everyman Rafael: While everyone else is manipulating, playing the victim, or both, Ricky dives into his put-upon husband’s basest impulses, rooting the film’s high-mindedness in crystal-clear motivation.

Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya (1997)

Reuniting with the writing-directing team of Bibeth Orteza and Carlos Siguion Reyna, Ricky plays a small-town school principal who claims responsibility for a teacher’s (Rosanna Roces) unwanted pregnancy to hide his homosexuality. A trailblazer in gay representation upon its release, the film uses Osang’s viewpoint as a way in for moviegoers, but it is Ricky’s heartfelt portrayal that shows them the truth.

Saranggola (1998)

Ricky gets to sink his teeth into another complicated character, this time as Homer Agustines, a policeman drunk on power to his small community but a loving father to his son (Lester Llansang), who accidentally shoots a boy retrieving his kite after mistaking him for a burglar. Pacing issues aside, Saranggola gives Ricky a compelling vehicle to question how swiftly we assume the mantle of judge when it comes to matters of morality.

Bayaning Third World (2000)

In this mockumentary-slash-fantasia shot in black-and-white and directed by the formidable Mike de Leon, Ricky plays a filmmaker interrogating the place of national hero Jose Rizal (Joel Torre) in Filipino life at the turn of the millennium. The film is provocative and probing, but while Torre’s portrayal of Jose Rizal is the glitter, it is once again Ricky’s performance that is the glue.

Mariquina (2014)

Forget the out-of-place joke of the lead character being a businesswoman (Mylene Dizon) who runs a small-scale shoe operation and happens to be named Imelda. In this heartfelt indie about a daughter grappling with her conflicted relationship with her recently deceased father, Ricky turns in a tender performance as a sapatero adept at fashioning soles for his satisfied customers but fumbling when it comes to baring his soul to his disillusioned child.

Smaller and Smaller Circles (2017)

In Raya Martin’s adaptation of F.H. Batacan’s novel about a serial killer on the loose among the mountains of garbage in Payatas, Ricky portrays a cardinal determined to whitewash the murders of little boy scavengers. While the film occasionally stumbles trying to portray the minutiae of its police procedural plot, Ricky glides gracefully in his resplendent robes, his eyes aglint with calculation. He looks positively gluttonous with corruption.

Kasal (2018)

The saying goes that there are no small roles, only small actors. And boy, did Ricky prove that true when he played Bea Alonzo’s trans father repeatedly shunned every time he tries to get involved in her wedding plans to a rising politician (Paulo Avelino). He only appears intermittently throughout the film, but when his daughter uses his choice to remain true to his sexuality as blame for her devastated love life, Ricky makes a meal out of the cathartic confrontation, shredding our hearts while forcing us to acknowledge an oft-maligned minority.

Metamorphosis (2018)

In his one-man quest to shine a light on unconventional sexuality, Ricky appeared in this well-crafted indie about an intersex teenager coming of age in a small—and small-minded—town the same year he played a trans woman in the studio blockbuster Kasal. As the father of a boy born with dual reproductive organs, it is Ricky who takes us along on a journey of bewilderment, horror and then, finally, soul-soothing acceptance.

F#*@bois (2019)

In this excruciatingly suspenseful indie from Eduardo Roy (also gone too soon), two male escorts (Royce Cabrera and Kokoy De Santos) try to escape before their accidental murder of a corrupt mayor—played by Ricky—comes to light. Gleefully chewing the scenery with a combination of twinkle-eyed villainy and murderous rage, the actor jokingly credits his character’s outsized mannerisms to auteur and current Film Development Council chairman Jose Javier Reyes. We should all be so lucky to be so remembered.