On October 25, actor RK Bagatsing admitted feeling shocked to see his role as a politician in Huwag Kang Mangamba trended on social media.
During the media conference for the series’ The Healing Finale, Bagatsing recalled that his fans and friends joked about him filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2022 election after seeing the photo of his politician character in the series.
“Ginawa ko ‘yung status na ‘yun kasi may fans na nagku-comment sa akin and parang may last day, or two days na lang, matatapos na ‘yung filing ng COC.
“So ‘yung ibang fans nagsasabi sa akin na, ‘o ikaw kailan ka magpa-file?’ and mayroon din akong pinost na picture namin ni sir Christopher de Leon na para kaming side by side na para kaming dalawang pulitiko na tandem. So ‘yung mga kaibigan ko nagku-comment, ‘o pwede ka nang tumakbo ah.’
“So ayun parang lahat sila binibiro ako about filing COC. And, I was like, ‘ano ba kayo tatlong beses na akong nagpolitiko sa roles ko, even sa Apocalypse Child, congressman ako, so okay na ako doon. Huwag niyo na akong pilitin.’ And nagulat ako nagtrending siya sa online.”
The trending post was a photo of him standing side by side with seasoned and multi-awarded actor Christopher de Leon.
Bagatsing expressed his gratitude for the response from fans about his portrayal of Miguel Advincula in the series. However, he admitted having doubts about his acting skills early on.
“Syempre nakakataba ng puso ‘yun. Any role naman eh, malakas kasi ‘yung impostor syndrome ko eh. Feeling ko mga first few weeks of doing any role, feeling ko papalitan na ako or tatanggalin na ako kasi hindi ko makuha kaagad ‘yung kailangan sa role.
“Pero eventually, tulad nga ng sabi ni Tita Sylvia Sanchez, focus ka lang sa craft mo and unti-unti dumarating ‘yung mga comments about what you do or how you do it. Kung ano ‘yung nararamdaman nila doon sa character na ginagawa mo. Overall nakakatuwa na nakakatanggap ako ng mga role na politician, so ibig sabihin I must be doing something right.”
As for the series, watch him along with the series leads Andrea Brillantes and Francine Diaz in its remaining three weeks on air. Huwag Kang Mangamba: The Healing Finale, will be available on Kapamilya Channel, TV5, Kapamilya Online Live, iWantTFC, TFC, WeTV, and iflix.
