It took a lot of preparation for Dennis Trillo to play the role of Japanese Imperial Army Officer Col. Yuta Saitoh in “Pulang Araw.” In a media conference on Tuesday, the Kapuso Drama King said that part of the preparation he did was to learn the Japanese language, acknowledging that it's difficult to play a character with a different ethnicity.
“Mahirap gumanap ng isang character na iba ang lahi, na iba ang pananalita niya,” Dennis said. “Nag-aral siya [Yuta Saitoh] sa Pilipinas pero siyempre nagsasalita siya ng tatlong lenggwahe, may Hapon, Tagalog at English. So, ‘yung mga accent niya siyempre iisipin mo hindi naman siya pwedeng straight mag-Tagalog, hindi naman siya pwedeng straight mag-English,” he added.
Aside from that, Dennis said he had to memorize a lot of Japanese lines for his role. He thanked Filipino-Japanese actors Ryo Nagatsuka and Kenji Ishiguro, who play as Japanese soldiers in the series, for helping and guiding him in delivering his dialogue. “Maraming Japanese line na kailangang memoryahin.
Sa tulong nitong dalawang to, si Ryo at Kenji, sila ang mga gumagabay kung tama ‘yong mga ginagawa naming mga linya doon. Kaya maraming salamat. Sila talaga ‘yong nakabantay doon sa mga dialogue namin," he said.
Dennis’s character in the series marks his first-ever major kontrabida role. In a "24 Oras" interview, the actor said that he had always wanted to play an antagonist role. "Matagal ko na 'tong hinihintay eh.
Matagal ko nang hinintay ang ga.