Ten years in the industry, Kapuso star Ruru Madrid on Thursday, August 11, could not help but be proud of himself after finding success in GMA Network.
He is currently the star of Lolong, the Kapuso Network’s biggest teleserye, and is hosting the upcoming reality game show Running Man Philippines.
The actor joined the talent search program Protégé back in 2012. From there, he went on to prove that he is one of the most promising artists on GMA Network, landing his first big break in 2016 as part of the 2016 fantaserye Encantadia.
During the virtual media conference of Lolong, Madrid is still on cloud nine after finally achieving his goal of becoming an actor.
“I’m just very proud. Ayokong sabihin na proud ako sa sarili ko but you know, sobrang naging proud din ako. Dahil before ako makapasok sa GMA, grabe din ang pinagdaanan ko. At first, akala ko suntok sa buwan. Hindi ako ganito, hindi pa gan’to ang itsura ko noon.
“I was so thin, wala akong talent at all. Hindi ako marunong umarte, kumanta, sumayaw, wala talaga. As in makapal lang talaga ang mukha ko. ‘Yun lang ang pinanglalaban ko noon,” he said in front of select media people, including LionhearTV.
During his journey to becoming one of GMA Network’s most sought artists, the actor discovered that talent is useless if there is no passion.
“Doon ko na-discover na lahat ng talento kayang aralin. Pero ‘yung pagmamahal sa trabaho mo, iilan lang ‘yung mga taong ganoon.
“Kasi once na ‘yung ginagawa mo, sobrang minamahal mo—kasi magdo-domino effect na iyan eh.
“As long as mahal mo ang ginagawa mo, at marunong kang makitao. Ayun ang pinakamahalaga dito sa industriya natin. Kasi lahat naman ng talento kayang aralin pero ang pagiging makatao at ‘yung pagmamahal sa craft, as in bibihira ang mga ganiyan.”
But it wasn’t always pretty for the actor. He almost gave up multiple times, especially with Lolong. The series had setbacks after the pandemic greatly affected the whole world.
Madrid, during those times realized, “I realized na everything happens for a reason. Kung ‘yung mga panahon na iyon hindi kami natutuloy. Noon kinekwestyon ko, I mean, what’s happening? Baka hindi ba ako deserving para dito sa project na ito or talagang—parang pakiramdam ko minamalas lang talaga ako.”
He added, “But I realized na kinailangan naming lahat na pagdaanan iyon para mas mahalin namin kung anong mayroon kami right now.
“Kaya siguro kami nagdaan sa maraming struggles, sa maraming challenges, para mas maibuhos namin ang best namin sa bawat scenes na ginagawa namin, at nagre-reflect right now lalo na sa pagtanggap ng mga tao.”
Now, Lolong is the second most-viewed program in the country, only lagging behind 24 Oras by 0.3%.
The actor is currently in South Korea, taping for Running Man Philippines, which will premiere on September 3, 2022.
