By Garry Maddox
Dolly de Leon has no qualms admitting she was flat broke before her big break in film two years ago.
“Oh my gosh,” the Filipino actor says. “I was so deeply in debt. Electricity was getting cut off. Sometimes my kids couldn’t go to school. I had to ask the producers for an advance.”
“Oh my gosh, I was so deeply in debt”: Dolly de Leon, centre, plays a struggling actor in Ghostlight.Credit: Vendetta
That advance was money well spent when Ruben Ostlund cast de Leon as a cleaner on a luxury yacht who takes charge when it sinks in Triangle of Sadness. The savage satire of the mega-rich won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for best picture, director and original screenplay at the Oscars.
For de Leon, who was nominated for best supporting actress at both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, the film was life-changing.
“Professionally, it opened a lot of doors,” the 55-year-old says on Zoom from Manila. “Because of Triangle of Sadness, I was able to be seen. Before, I was just invisible. And, personally, I don’t have to worry about how to pay the bills.”
De Leon’s success is a triumph of perseverance as much as talent.
Having grown up with a father who was an engineer and a mother who was a professional tenpin bowler, she discovered a love for acting at school then studied theatre arts at the University of the Philippines. After working extensively on stage, she moved into increasingly more significant roles in film and TV – often Filipino-language productions that are hugely popular in a country with 115 million people.
But life was far from easy.
De Leon has been a single mother of four children, now aged from 11 to 28, for more than a decade. When she didn’t have acting jobs, she had to take other work, including facilitating team development programs and teaching presentation skills using theatre.
An unlikely Romeo and Juliet … Keith Kupferer and Dolly de Leon in Ghostlight.Credit: Vendetta
But since Triangle of Sadness, de Leon has been in demand in both the Philippines and the US. She has been in this year’s John Cena-Awkwafina comedy Jackpot!, the Jason Schwartzman comedy Between the Temples and the coming season of the hit TV series Nine Perfect Strangers.
Her latest film, Ghostlight, has been her splashiest performance and best-received film since her breakthrough.
It’s an indie comic drama from Chicago writer-directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson about a grieving middle-aged construction worker, Dan (Keith Kupferer), who finds himself watching a community theatre rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet then, to his surprise, being cast as Lord Capulet.
The unlikely Juliet is Rita (de Leon), an angry, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed struggling actor. When the group realises they need an age-appropriate Romeo, another actor is shunted aside so Dan can play the role.
Just as her life followed her character’s arc in Triangle of Sadness – from invisible to visible – de Leon’s role in Ghostlight reflects her own struggles as an actor.
“Rita is sort of like my past so it was easy for me to relate to her immediately,” she says. “She’s definitely not just a mean person, and she’s not always angry for no reason. She’s gone through a lot of disappointments.
“That’s why she has no time for games, no time for jokes. She takes everything seriously because she feels this is her final chance to enjoy what she really loves.”
De Leon says she is not nearly as feisty – “I can’t face a stranger and get into a shouting match” – but she recognised Rita’s drive and passion for the theatre.
A savage satire of the mega rich that had Dolly de Leon’s character go from being an invisible cleaner to taking charge: Triangle of Sadness. Credit: Neon
“Even if Romeo and Juliet is premised on the fact that they are very young – that’s why they fell in love and why they ended up making bad choices – it’s not exclusive to them,” she says. “Even people who are going through their senior years can also make foolish choices and also fall in love blindly.
“So that topic is really very universal. That’s why I fell in love with the script and especially Rita.”
For the first time in her career, de Leon is an executive producer on the film. Does that mean she was so invested in Ghostlight that she gave up her fee to star?
“It was something like that,” she says. “It was a small independent film and because I wanted to be a part of it, the compromise was to put me as an executive producer, and I was happy to do it.
“I’m so proud that this is my first executive producer credit because it’s a very important piece. It’s about family. It’s about healing through theatre, which I love, and holding on to each other – the people you love – despite your differences, and that’s really special.”
So many good actors have to give up and change careers when it becomes a financial and emotional struggle. So why did de Leon, with four kids and bills she couldn’t pay, hang in long enough to break through?
“Primarily because of my eldest daughter,” she says. “When I was thinking of quitting, she said ‘why quit if they keep calling? Consider it a sign.’ The calls kept coming because that’s how it works in the Philippines – you will get called for work. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great job or a great role but it’s still a job.
“And it’s really the only thing I’ve loved doing. Even if I’m a jack of all trades, it’s really acting that makes me happy the most.”
While Australians are used to our actors becoming international stars, de Leon is a trailblazer in the Philippines.
“I feel like actors are hopeful now because of what happened to me,” she says. “There are a lot of artists, creators, filmmakers here who are extremely talented. It’s very much valued when one of us is able to cross over to the United States or other countries all over the world.”
Ghostlight is in cinemas now.
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