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Metro Exclusive: Carlo Aquino for "It's Okay to Not Be Okay"

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<div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759397520617METRO x ITS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY - CARLO AQUINO.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Carlo Aquino, as photographed by Jerick Sanchez</div><div> </div>From his days as a child star to mainstream stardom in movies and television, Carlo Aquino has wowed audiences with an extraordinarily uncanny talent for emotional authenticity and a luminous intensity. Gaining even more fans with his portrayal of Matmat Gonzales, an illustrator on the spectrum and one of the protagonists of ABS-CBN and Star Creatives’ adaptation of the massively popular and groundbreaking K-drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay,
Carlo shares how he crafted this character and how it made him a
better human being. There’s a long-held belief that the creative process involves some sort of
suffering. The term “struggling artist” doesn’t merely describe a financial
situation, but the emotional cost of creation. It then comes as a surprise, or
maybe even an epiphany, when Carlo Aquino declares: “Grabe &#x27;yung peace of mind, &#x27;yung zen na dinala sa akin ng character ni MatMat. Grabe, grabe. Sobra ko silang minahal. Wala silang concept of hate, walang judgment, sobrang transparent, so why can’t we be like that? Para silang higher beings. When they hug you, you can feel their sincerity. Give them your heart, your soul, and you’ll feel it.”<div> </div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758774239706image_Metro IOTNBO Carlo Aquino embed 6.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:959px"/>On Carlo: Top by Orias Studios and trousers by Chris Nick</div><div> </div>It was a hard-won peace. A great deal was at stake with this role. To say that there was tremendous pressure to live up to the expectations of fans and critics alike is still an understatement. The K-drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay received rave reviews from its first episode, and the actor Oh Jung Se was universally praised for his acting as Moon Sang Tae and even won Best Supporting Actor at the prestigious Baeksang Arts Award, the Oscars of the South Korean entertainment industry, which doesn’t only take into account the excellence of the performance but its cultural and social impact as well.In an earlier interview with the show’s director, <a href="https://metro.style/metro-style/people/2025/8/4/what-director-mae-cruz-alviar-s-adaptation-of-it-s-okay-to-not-be-okay-means-for-her-2230" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mae Alviar Cruz</a>, she shared that Carlo didn’t want to be weighed down with the pressure or possibility of echoing the Korean version. When asked why he decided not to watch the original show, he clarifies for us, “I watched only until two episodes. Pero
iba naman kasi &#x27;yung experience ko, &#x27;yung nakita ko, so du&#x27;n ko mas
binase &#x27;yung performance ko.”<div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758776991724carlo aquino quote for its okay to not be okay metro cover.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>On Carlo: Watch by Philip Stein and shoes by Traffic</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>How to lose your ego in three days</div>To immerse himself in the world of a person on the autism spectrum, Carlo, Direk Mae, and acting coach Ana Feleo joined a school / NGO for children with autism. Carlo completely gave himself to the process, and if the children did arts and crafts, so did he; if it was time for napping, he did that, too. He joined all their activities and made deep and real connections with them. And from his deep dive into their minds and hearts, he came away with interesting insights about thinking, feeling, and being human.He observes, “If you really think about it, being able to control your emotions, luxury &#x27;yun. Kasi, the ones on the spectrum, if they have an emotion, they can’t control or understand it. [In the school], there are pictures of [faces with] tears, and then it has to be explained to them what happens when we have tears, that if you are overwhelmed, sad, or sometimes, even when you’re happy, then tears will come.”He then asks philosophically, “So imagine us, who do have control over our emotions, bakit laganap pa rin ang road rage? Ang bashing? Sila, after
their tantrum or they express how they feel, &#x27;yun na &#x27;yun. They forget it na!
They have no ego! Why can’t we be more like that?”<div> </div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758774553710image_Metro IOTNBO Carlo Aquino embed 5.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div> </div>People on the autistic spectrum tend to be more sensitive to environmental stimuli. “So I tried to be more at one with nature. Every morning, I have a playlist; it’s not really songs, it’s instrumental, there are waves, heartbeats. So much so na &#x27;pag maraming dead leaves du&#x27;n sa harap ng hotel room ko, I feel sad. Or minsan, ayaw kong lumabas, kasi feeling ko ang liit ko against the ocean and sky.”From setting his mind with his playlist, when he arrives on the set, he then touches all the surfaces, and then carefully runs his hands over MatMat’s brushes. His castmates came to know that always touching his brushes was part of becoming MatMat. Direk Mae also told us that she never called him “Caloy” or “Carlo;” for the entire duration of the making of the show, he was Manong to one and all on the set. “Hindi na ako umarte. Ako na &#x27;yun,” he quipped—so much so that actress Charlie Dizon would sometimes message Direk Mae: “Direk, nasaan ang asawa ko? Ibalik mo siya. Si MatMat pa rin ang umuwi dito.”<div> </div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758774598007image_Metro IOTNBO Carlo Aquino embed 2.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Team effort</div>Carlo is quick to credit not only his acting coach and director but the entire cast for his creative process. “Every step of the way, Direk was there, from how MatMat would walk, move his hand, everything. And this cast, I can say, I found my people, I found my tribe . Si Joshua, si Anne, I could really feel the love they gave me on the set. Si Noel (Comia), he’s the younger MatMat, so we observe each other, the nuances, lahat. Hindi nila ako pinabayaan. There was this one day, parang I had such a block. And Direk could see it. Ang layo niya, tumakbo siya! Ang layo, and she just told me, ‘Just look at your brother, just look at your brother,’ at ‘yun na, grabe na &#x27;yung iyak ko! After that scene, I really thanked Direk. Also, there are moments when I overthink, and when I overthink, Direk will say, ‘Oh, tone down muna, tone down mo.’ So I’m so grateful that Direk never let me go.”               Portraying someone on the spectrum can sometimes degenerate into a caricature or into something cartoonish. How did he balance all the quirks and movements with authentic emotion? “&#x27;Yung pagiging caricature, Direk was the one who could tell me. I think the balance came from focusing on being childlike. Or sometimes, kukuha ako sa sounds ng dog ko,” he reveals. “Pero nu&#x27;ng start, si Joshua, natatawa talaga siya. I liked that, at least, it made things light on the set.” He admits that his own worst enemy was himself. “I’m a perfectionist. I’m a Virgo. When that perfectionism sets in and I get derailed, Direk would tell me, &#x27;Reset, reset, stage zero.&#x27;”                                                        Of how he connected with his co-stars, he says, “Ang tawag ko sa amin, tripod. &#x27;Yun &#x27;yung dynamic namin. We all need someone in our life who anchors us, and someone who fuels us, and that’s what happened with us.”                                                        <div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758774104488image_Untitled Capture12323.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>On Carlo: Blazer by Nat Manilag, inner shirt by Chris Diaz, watch by Philip Stein, and shoes by Traffic</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>The bigger picture</div>Not to be preachy or pretentious, but Carlo was deeply cognizant of what set this show apart. “When it came out during the pandemic, nagka-cult following talaga &#x27;yung show. So there was really this expectation. Pero all projects have expectations. I said &#x27;yes&#x27; to this show dahil minahal ko sila (the kids he met during his immersion). E, &#x27;di ba nga, as it came out on our show, they are so judged. They are called ‘maniac’ o ‘baliw!’ Ginawa ko &#x27;yung show dahil sa kanila. Sabi ng misis ko, ‘This will be good for you.’ But I really didn’t do it for myself. I did it for them. That’s when the magic starts to happen, when you do something for others.”                                                        The warm reception to their show has erased all the hardship and challenges that this show presented. There were moments in the interview that, as Carlo reminisced on crucial scenes in the show, tears would well up in his eyes, and since the interview was also being filmed, we would take a quick pause. One particularly dramatic confrontation, when MatMat accuses his brother PatPat of wishing him dead, caused incredible buzz online. Of that scene, Carlo confesses that he not only felt empathy for his own character, but also for Joshua’s character, and even their mother, who had long died when the scene was taking place. “Sobra &#x27;yung awa ko sa magkapatid at even sa parents nila. We can never feel or truly explain what is felt by those on the spectrum. So even before we filmed the scene, I was already crying, because of my love for the characters and all the actors [on the show].”                         But more than the accolades for his acting, it’s the impact on the community of people on the spectrum that Carlo holds close to his heart. “May nag-message sa‘kin. His brother was on the spectrum. Sadly, he passed, but he wanted me to know that his brother’s last days were so happy, and it was because of the show. More than ‘ang galing-galing mo,’ &#x27;yung human connection, mas &#x27;yun. Lahat may sugat, lahat may pinagdadaanan. Every individual is on the road to healing. So everyone, not just those living with those on the spectrum, should be more of an empath.” Moving forward, he hopes for projects that can inspire, so that he can be an ambassador for love and gratitude. He tells Metro.Style, “Sobrang daming masasama. Bashing is becoming a profession! So, kung maari, as much as possible, sana my next projects will have messages of just being kind.”            <div> </div><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758775329657image_Metro IOTNBO Carlo Aquino embed 7.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>On Carlo: Blazer, shirt, and trousers all by Chris Nick; bow by Chris Diaz; watch by Philip Stein; and shoes by Traffic                                            </div>Photography by Jerick SanchezMetro Head: Christina LopezEditor-in-Chief: Geolette EsguerraSittings Editors: Grace Libero-Cruz, Randz Manucom, and Kate Paras-SantiagoManaging Editor: Rick FormalejoFashion Associate: Carla BuyoStylist: Edlene Cabral, assisted by Bullet ReyesMakeup: Hernan SorianoHairstylist: Juvy Soriano PanganibanPhotographer’s assistants: Karl Rimando, Salvador Reyes, Dave Orpilla, and Dustin EstucheIntern: Sophia AnchetaVideographer: Pat Buenaobra, assisted by Gimo BesingaShot on location at Proscenium TheaterSpecial thanks to Star Creatives, Viva Artists Agency, Illo&#x27;s Catering, and Rockwell&#x27;s Tracey Castillo

Carlo Aquino has wowed audiences with an extraordinarily uncanny talent for emotional authenticity and a luminous intensity. Gaining even more fans in "It’s Okay To Not Be Okay," Carlo shares how he crafted this character and how it made him a better human being.

Carlo Aquino has wowed audiences with an extraordinarily uncanny talent for emotional authenticity and a luminous intensity. Gaining even more fans in " It’s Okay To Not Be Okay ," Carlo shares how he crafted this character and how it made him a better human being.

Love Is A Spectrum: Carlo Aquino on How 'It's Okay To Not Be Okay' Has Influenced His Future Acting Choices

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Love Is A Spectrum: Carlo Aquino on How 'It's Okay To Not Be Okay' Has Influenced His Future Acting Choices

Leah Puyat

Published Oct 02, 2025 06:30 PM PHT

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Updated Oct 02, 2025 07:20 PM PHT

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