Miguel Tanfelix breaks away from love teams in hard-action project ‘Batang Riles’
Sparkle GMA Artist Center actor Miguel Tanfelix ventures into action-drama via “Mga Batang Riles,” essaying the character named Kidlat, who grows up in the depressed and impoverished community of Sitio Liwanag.
His follow-up project to “Voltes V: Legacy,” the local and live-action adaptation of the anime series, and “What We Could Be,” a drama romance, further puts to the test Miguel’s adaptability and versatility to handle any role given to him, even if it means sans loveteam mate.
Vignettes of the show’s trailer showcase how Miguel seems to be “in the zone” for the viewer to vicariously feel what life is like to a batang riles or a child who lives near the railway.
The “Mga Batang Riles” narrative premieres on Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. over GMA.
“Siguro nakikita po nila yung drive ko, nakikita nila yung passion ko sa bawat ginagawa ko po (perhaps they see my drive in and passion for every project that I do),” said Miguel about the good breaks such as leading primetime shows his mother network has gifted him in a recent press conference.
“Actually, wala naman pong issue sa akin kung kahit saan po ako ilagay kasi ibibigay ko yung 100 and one percent ko (I have no issue with any role or show they assign me because I will give my 101 percent).”
He felt that they appreciated his work and he assured the people behind his career that he will never fail them and will only give his best.
“I’ll make sure that I’ll deliver,” added he.
So far, he considered “Mga Batang Riles” his most action-packed of all the shows he has done.
“Ito talaga yung hardcore action kasi dati, kunyari, ‘Voltes V,’ mas maraming action pa yung robot kaysa sa amin, eh, pero ito yung hardcore action na every taping day (it’s really a hardcore action as compared to, let’s say, ‘Voltes V,’ where the robot did more action sequences than the characters. Every taping day is hardcore action),” shared he. “Hindi pwedeng walang action, hindi pwedeng walang stunts. So, it’s physically tiring every day for us (the actors who play the batang riles) and that really excites us, for the entire cast. There’s something we look forward to every taping day, na ano kayang stunts ang gagawin namin (like we think of what stunts we’ll be doing this time).”
Stunts include jumping off a train and doing so requires careful execution on their part as well as on the production side.
Aside from the heavy action the show provides, Miguel said that it is also heavy drama. “Kaya siya nagiging action kasi yung mga lalaki na laging nag-re-resort sa physical, di ba? ‘pag overwhelming emotions (the reason why it’s action because when men have overwhelming emotions, they tend to resort to physical response), so hardcore action, pinaka-hardcore sa lahat so far (this is the most hardcore action I’ve done thus far).”
As for his character Kidlat and the kind of roles he might take on in the future, he had this to say: “Siguro iba talaga po yung character sa totoong buhay, siguro mas daring, mas mature, mas aggressive, sabihin natin mas may initiative.”
The cast members shoot in a place where one sees the disparity of its inhabitants from those who live comfortably, said Miguel. It helps him and his fellow stars bring some sense of realism to their portrayal.
“Yung pino-portray naming character is nararanasan ng mga totoong tao sa totoong buhay (the characters we portray experience what the people in the area experience). So, every time there’s a window to take rest from the set, konting of chit-chat with them (we have a bit chat-chat with them), and mararamdaman mo yung mga problemang pinagdadaanan nila (you can feel the problems they go through) at hindi po ito nalalayo sa mga pinagdadaanan ng bawat characters namin (these are not far from what our characters deal with in the show),” said Miguel. “So, talagang true, parang totoong buhay po itong panonoorin ninyo (na) pinagdadaanan ng mga taong pinagdadamutan ng karapatan sa buhay nila, ng mga opportunities (what the viewer will watch seems close to real life, like the challenges people, whose some rights are denied and who have limited opportunities, face with).”
With his character as the leader of the group of batang riles suggesting that it’s a preview of him foraying into a solo acting career, the young star said, “May mga love interests na papasok dito sa show po namin. So, marami po, marami po (kayong) pwedeng abangan (there are love interests that will be incorporated in the show. So, there’s a lot that you could look forward to).”
After its premiere, watch “Mga Batang Riles” weeknights on GMA Prime programming.
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