Royce Cabrera, Kokoy De Santos share lessons they learned from doing BL series

Royce Cabrera and Kokoy De Santos shared the lessons they learned after starring in BL or boys love series.

Kokoy starred in "Gameboys," while Royce was in "Quaranthings." They also starred in the award-winning film "Fuccbois" in 2019.

In their interview with Paolo Contis on "#JustIn," the actors said gained an all new respect for the LGBTQ+ community. They also had to attend SOGIE workshops in preparation for the shows and to properly portray the characters.

"'Yung mga terms, mga proper na kailangan 'di ba, hindi mo pwedeng mabali 'yun eh kasi parang respeto 'yun para sa kanila," Royce said.

"Nung una, wala rin akong idea eh. Ang alam ko lang kasi nung una, bakla, tomboy," he added. "'Yun pala, malawak, ang dami."

Thanks to the workshops and the series, Royce learned more about the importance of one's identity.

"Ito 'yun eh, ibig sabihin ng SOGIE ay parang ikaw mismo magsasabi ng gender preference mo 'di ba. Hindi mo pwedeng [i-judge]. Hindi ko pwedeng sabihin na, 'ikaw lalaki ka.' Kasi dapat ikaw magdikta kung ano ka talaga," the actor said.

Kokoy agreed that one of his main takeaways was how gender is different from sexual preference, and how there are many branches of the LGBTQ+ community.

"Matagal na nilang pinaglalaban [ang rights nila] and kami bilang allies, kami naman suportado kami, 'di lang dahil may project kami na related sa LGBT," he said.

With this deeper respect and understanding, Royce said he realized the struggles of the community.

"[Mahirap] maging sila, lalo na pag nasa mga establishment ka na 'di naman masyado open sa LGBT diba. Pano mo malalabas 'yung tunay na ikaw? At mahirap mabuhay pag di mo nalalabas 'yung tunay na ikaw."

—Nika Roque/MGP, GMA Integrated News