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TWIN SPEAK

FELIX and DOMINIC ROCO now both have their own share of indie fame after the Venice Film Festival-winning Engkwentro and the Cinemalaya audience favorite Ang Nawawala. Learn about hardcore music, tattoos, and being “gangster” from these twins scaling to the peak of their young actors’ life.

Story and photo by Nante Santamaria

brother, and I decided to get a tattoo that says, “Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.”

That’s our first tattoo.

Lex: Until it kept on growing.

Good for Dom that he got to control himself not to put easily visible tattoos. Mine are exposed, so it’s hard in TV productions.

Felix Roco (left) and Dominic Roco (right)

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hey no longer share the same room, not since high school, not since they started working as actors at 16. But today, at 23, Felix Roco would say about his brother, “When we don’t have work, I’m with Dom. I could say he’s my best friend.”

Dominic would laugh at this, but underneath is a serious bond they share, and in their movie, Ang Nawawala, they were finishing each other’s… “cigarettes.”

It’s a strange thing, living with a legendary actor, Bembol Roco, as a father, but they like to live it real—covering each other’s asses when they have to and feeding on fish balls and strong beer at the gigs. This is a portrait of these young celebrities as young men.

You both hang out at The Collective and SaGuijo.

Lex: That’s me. When they say it’s Dominic, that’s actually me, but I don’t make a fool out of myself.

Who are your friends there?

Lex: There are many of them, but they’re mostly bands, the likes of Cosmic Love.

Ang Nawawala has a really nice soundtrack, which is now on vinyl. What track do you relate to the most?

Dom: It’s Ciudad’s “There’s a Lonely Road to Sunday Night” for me.

Lex: It makes me feel like, “This is really sad.” It’s something different. My chest feels heavy when I hear that song.

Besides those from that OST, what bands do you patronize?

Lex: Greyhoundz, Franco, Queso.

Queso is coming back! I’m a really hardcore punk who would claw my way to see a band.

Dom: I also like Franco and such, but I rarely go to gigs.

Lex: I’m the one who’s like, “Woooh, let’s do this!”

You both like tattoos. Let’s count!

Dom: I have nine.

Lex: I stopped counting after three, I think, because I now have tattoos on my whole back and on my legs.

How did you end up with them?

Dom: It started with the Three Wise Monkeys—Lex, our eldest

Don’t they fit your bad boy roles?

Lex: But I would be a typecast.

You cried after this butt-naked scene in Sagrada Familia. What happened?

Lex: They just said, “Oh, we’re just gonna cheat it. You can wear shorts,” so I was even pleased during rehearsals. But when it was time for the take, they were like, “Go on, take off your shorts and briefs.” I was like, “Huh?” If I said no, the shoot would pack up just because of me.

So you did it.

Lex: Yes but without saying anything. They put plaster on my privates, but I was crying as they were applying makeup on my ass. They said it’s too fair. I never wanted to be in a film in which I would show my body. It’s like I violated myself.

Dom, awards might be coming up after this good character.

Dom: I don’t really think

of awards. I love what I’m doing, and I love that people appreciate what I do. When you expect something and you don’t get it, it hurts more.

Lex, you were thought of as a real gangster in Venice Film Festival.

Lex: Yes, I got surprised when someone approached us, a black man, and he was like, “Hey, you’re here! I thought, man, you’re a gangster. You did a really good movie.”

But how do you want to be known if not as a bad boy?

Lex: Just a good actor. I don’t wanna be known as half of the Roco Twins or as the son of Bembol Roco but as Felix Roco.

Same as Dominic.

What makes you talk, Dom? Dom: I wait for people to go near me ‘cause I’m scared that I might say something stupid. I’d rather keep everything to myself and watch people.

Who have been your mentors?

Dom: What really pushed me into indie and acting in general are my friends like JM De Guzman.

They’re really the ones who encourage me, “You can do it.

You just have to believe in yourself, that’s all.”

@dominicroco @felix_rocoV

“I never wanted to be in a film in which I would show my body. It’s like I violated myself.” statusmagonline.com - 75