How Elijah Canlas fought to play Martial Law activist EDJOP

MANILA, Philippines — Elijah Canlas practically pushed and pleaded his way from playing the young Edgar “Edjop” Jopson to portraying the Martial Law activist through his later years in the biopic “EDJOP.”

“So pinilit ko po yung sarili ko na ako po yung magiging Edjop,” the Cornerstone artist recalled during a presscon, saying he was originally tapped by director Katski Flores for a handful of scenes depicting Edjop as a student leader at the Ateneo de Manila University.

“Initially, I was offered the young Edjop lang po. I got, I think, six pages of sequences. Just the role of Edjop as a student activist... during his time at the Ateneo. Those were supposed to be my scenes only.

“But I have this habit that I don’t say yes to a project until I get the full script, no matter how small the role is. So, I asked for it,” he said.

The production was hesitant at first to give it to him because the material was confidential, but he managed to get his hands on a copy.

“Nabasa ko. It was beautiful,” Elijah said, after which he felt he didn’t want to play only the younger Edjop.

“Hindi ako papayag na hindi ako si Edjop, kahit yung old Edjop. So, I asked, ‘Meron na po ba kayong Edjop?’ Wala pa raw. Sabi ko po, ‘Ito ako. I’m game. I’m game!”

There was one concern: At the time, the production felt Elijah looked too young for the role. He was around 23 then and also working on a high school-set series, which he felt might have reinforced the impression that it would be hard for him to convincingly portray Edjop into his 30s.

Still, he refused to let the idea go. As filming drew closer and the production still searched for its Edjop, Elijah was eventually given the chance to prove himself through a screen test.

“I guess desperado na sina Direk Katski. Sabi, ‘Sige nga, check nga natin. Mag-screen test ka nga kung kaya mong magmukhang old Edjop,’” he recalled.

He said he really prepared for the test, underwent makeup and prosthetics, and performed two scenes.

During the audition, he noticed Edjop’s daughter, Joyette Jopson, watching from the side and crying in reaction.

“Nakita ko po si Ate Joy at umiiyak doon sa gilid. Sabi ko, ‘Ah, baka okay, ’di ba? Baka okay na.’ Pero iyakin lang daw pala talaga si Ate Joy,” he quipped.

Nevertheless, the reaction after his screen test gave him the answer he had been hoping for.

“After I did those two scenes, they hugged me, both Direk Katski and Ate Joy, and then they were like, ‘You got the role. Ikaw na.’”

Being Edjop though demanded far more than looking the part. It required extensive research and preparation, especially because he was taking on the life of a real person who remains important to Philippine history and more importantly, to the family he left behind.

“This one had to be backed by research and preparation. And, of course, I know na Edjop is a figure that means a lot to the country, but also means a lot to the Jopson family,” he told The STAR in a separate interview.

He was especially conscious of Joyette’s presence throughout the shoot.

“Si Ate Joy, she was on set every day, and I know that this is, you know, a healing journey for her as well. So, there’s that kind of pressure also. No joking around, messing around while making this film.”

“We were very serious,” he continued. “We were having fun shooting it, but seriously, it was meaningful for all of us.

“Alam ng lahat, kahit nung crew, kahit nung buong team, alam ’yun, may purpose po yung paggawa namin.”

Purpose, in fact, is one of the things Elijah now looks for when choosing or accepting projects.

“I have two boxes that I need to check, basically. One would be a fun and challenging role, if it’s something that I would enjoy, if it’s something different from anything I’ve done, or if it’s something I’m really passionate for,” he said of his increasingly diverse filmography.

“And then second, if it has a different level of meaning to me personally, whether because of, you know, it’s a political film or it’s just a film that I’m a fan of, a story that I’m a fan of, a genre that I’m a fan of.. It’s very personal, the way I choose my projects.”

“EDJOP” comes amid one of the busiest stretches of Elijah’s career.

Although the film was shot earlier, the actor said he has continued working on one project after another. If he’s not mistaken, it’s his fourth release this year, following the absurd comedy, “HBD2Me,” with John Arcilla.

“I’ve been shooting. I’m about to shoot my sixth (project) this year,” he told The STAR.

“Well, I just love what I do. And if you love what you do, you want to do it some more, no matter what.”

He looked back on the years when projects were harder to come by. “Dati, naalala ko yung mga panahon na audition, audition, wala akong nakukuha. And now, you know, I’ve been doing this left and right, and this is the dream,” he said.

“I’m just very, very grateful for my position. And since I love what I do, kahit napapagod, ganyan, walang pahinga minsan, I just keep going because I enjoy it.”

Asked how he was doing personally following his recent comments about his relationship with Miles Ocampo, Elijah chose not to elaborate anymore.

“I said it in the interview already. Hindi tayo — it’s all there. It’s hard. It’s a day-to-day basis. Yung changes, siyempre, but it’s all there,” he said.

He added that, out of respect for Miles and their relationship — and because they were there to talk about “EDJOP” — he would rather leave the matter at what he had already said.

“So parang, out of respect for Miles, of course, and our relationship, and the film that we’re trying to promote, that she has, you know, nothing to do with at this point, yeah, I’ll just keep it there, doon sa (Ogie Diaz) interview na ginawa ko,” he said.

Asked what advice he could give people going through something similar, Elijah kept it brief: “Take it day by day.”

But when it was suggested that throwing himself into work might be a form of therapy, the actor noted that his nonstop schedule predates whatever he is currently going through.

He further acknowledged that some forms of grief stay with a person, including the loss of his younger brother.

“You know, it could be even my grief (why I’ve been busy working), ’di ba, with my brother, which is like three years already, but you know, that never goes away.

“I’ve been working nonstop, I don’t know, for maybe four years right now.”

Nevertheless, for Elijah, the pace comes more from gratitude for being able to do what he once struggled to find opportunities in.

“And I’m thankful. I’m just very, very grateful,” he reiterated.

“Kasi nga lagi ko sasabihin, lagi ko maalala yung mga panahon na wala, wala talaga akong ginagawa. And I quit pa nga. Umabot na ako sa point that I quit acting.

“So being in this spot, I have to make the most out of it.”

“EDJOP” opens in cinemas nationwide tomorrow, Sept. 16.

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