Dennis Trillo on the ‘Naked Truth’

Award-winning actor Dennis Trillo was one of the Filipino stars to take part in the Naked Truth underwear show, a racy presentation by Filipino brand Bench that drew immediate criticism for putting a female model on a leash on the catwalk. The brand apologised last week — twice — to their fans and to actor Coco Martin, the model who held the leash. But the attention was not all on Martin.

Trillo talked to tabloid! about walking the ramp.

The show became controversial for many reasons. One was about Coco Martin walking the ramp with a girl on a leash. Many feminist organisations objected to it. Your thoughts?

I can’t really comment on that. All I know was that that segment of the show had a circus concept, and all of us involved in the show had no intention of degrading women. In fact, we were celebrating health and fitness, among men and women, something that people should be concerned about. The message, at least for me, was live healthy, and that’s where the sex appeal comes from. You don’t try too hard to be sexy. It will come out naturally.

Your appearance was one of the most talked-about. How do you feel about that?

Flattered. I never thought it would have such an impact on the audience. In fact, I thought it was just going to be one of those shows.

What was different this time?

Well, I worked out really hard this time. I have never been fitter all my life. Plus the underwear we were made to wear was really very, how do I say it, revealing. [Laughs].

Did you have an idea of what you were going to wear?

Yes, we had a dress rehearsal and also it was presented to us from the start during the meetings. I knew it was a bit sexy, but it was decent. It was really nice. So I thought I had to be prepared for this one.

What was going through your mind while walking the ramp, knowing all those people had their eyes on you?

I have done many shows like this before, but never this revealing. I was a little bit nervous. I just thought it will only take a few minutes. I told myself, ‘Just get on with it’.

No awkwardness?

At the night of the show, nothing. During the rehearsals, yes, a little bit. We would tease everyone so sometimes there were awkward moments. But come the night of the show, it was just, ‘Let’s get on with it’.

What preparations did you make?

A lot of gym time, strict diet. There was really a lot of sacrifice involved. They were very careful about who could be in the show — it wasn’t just celebrities. One really had to have a good body. We are, after all, modelling underwear.