The making of the upcoming action-packed Kapuso teleserye Lolong had its star Ruru Madrid admit on Tuesday, June 21, that he had almost decided to leave showbiz for good.
Madrid, 25, got the offer to star in the series in 2019 and was already preparing by that time. However, the Covid-19 pandemic delayed most TV and movie productions, including the one he was about to top-bill.
In the show’s press conference, the actor recalled the series of unfortunate events that made him question his life choices.
“So everytime na sisimulan po namin ang proyektong ito, laging nagkakaroon ng problems.
“Naalala ko noon, mag-shoot na sana kami nang vlog, biglang binagyo po ang studio, binaha. So hindi po natuloy. Then mag-shoot na sana kami for our first taping, bigla pong may nag-positive. So ang dami pong mga ganoong struggles,” he shared.
These challenges had Madrid losing his passion for acting. The thought of going back to studying was at the top of his mind.
“Then umabot po sa point na nawalan ako nang gana sa career ko; na parang maybe this is not the right career for me, maybe hindi talaga ito ‘yung tama na para sa’kin. Parang gusto ko nang bumalik sa pag-aaral noong mga panahon na ‘yon.”
During the taping, the Kapuso actor also suffered a foot injury, putting the show’s production into a pause, and making him feel like a “burden.”
“Noong naramdaman ko ‘yung injury, hindi ko nafeel ang sakit na na-injure ako. Pero na-feel ko ‘yung hassle sa lahat ng tao. Na because of me, made-delay na naman, na ang tagal na namin itong inintay. Limang araw na lang sana kami pero because of what happened, kailangan na namang ma-delay na naman kami.”
He has been in showbusiness for ten years, and Lolong was the project he dreamed of.
“Then nag-pray lang ako. Madaming tao ang naniniwala sa’kin, ang daming mga tao na nagsasabi sa’kin na, ‘Hindi Ru, ‘wag kang susuko. Ang tagal mong inintay iyan ngayon ka pa ba susuko?'” he said.
The Kapuso artist even pushed himself to work after sustaining an injury.
“Pero chinallenge ko ang sarili ko. Nag-therapy ako, nag-rehab ako. Para lang at least maging ready ako once na bumalik taping kami. To be honest, noong nagbalik-taping kami, hindi pa ako 100% noon. Pero sabi ko kay Direk noon, ‘Direk, kahit na gaano kahirap, ibubuhos ko na ang lahat dito.’ Kasi ganoon ko kamahal ‘tong show na ito.”
The actor pushed forward through the help of some people, including his cast members, directors, and GMA Network. He also thanked Direk Rommel Penesa for making the series truly worth waiting for.
“Hindi magiging ganito kaganda ang programang ito kung hindi dahil kay Direk Rommel Penesa. Kaya sobrang thankful po ako sa lahat nang bumubuo ng programang ito, sa production, sa mga bosses, sa cast, sa directoral team, to our writers, maraming maraming salamat po,” thanked Madrid.
The series is about to air on April 4 on GMA Network.
