Ensemble cast joins Arjo Atayde in Cattleya Killer

MANILA, Philippines — Arjo Atayde plays the lead character of Anton de la Rosa in the rebirth of Cattleya Killer in the forthcoming primetime series on Prime Video.

The series is a spin-off of director Rory Quintos’ dark, psychological action-drama thriller, Sa Aking Mga Kamay (1996), with Aga Muhlach in the lead role.

“With the guidance of director Dan Villegas, direk Ruel Bayani, our writer Dodo Dayao and production, watching documentaries, videos and my own research, we were able to create my character,” Arjo offered.

“I just tried to get into the character and went with the flow based on instinct. There was a lot of analyzing in the beginning, especially when direk Dan was trying to explain how the character should be portrayed.

“Everything was studied and I was helped by the production. It’s pure collaboration between direk Dan and with my co-actors, colleagues and with everyone’s guidance plus a lot of research on my own.

“That’s my self-study. I’m more of a visual learner in terms of absorbing, so I watched a lot of documentaries, a lot of videos, and interviews. With that, I aligned whatever I watched with whatever the personality or character that Cattleya demands.”

After Cattleya Killer was screened at the MIPCOM Cannes in France in October last year, the producers received the great news four days later that the crime drama series would be carried by Prime Video.

However, the information had to be kept under wraps for a long time. “I’m glad that it’s no longer a secret,” said director Ruel Bayani, who is also the head of ABS-CBN International Productions. “Now, we can tell everybody about it.”

Cattleya Killer has a dream cast with the dream staff and production crew. “I am pinching myself,” said direk Ruel. “It was like I was only dreaming.”

Cast and crew strictly followed the 12-hour work schedule throughout the shoot. “We would start shooting at 5 a.m., then you would be advised, ‘Miss Z, pack up ka na ng 3 p.m. kasi hindi ka aabot.’ I like that because you can condition your mind with your work,” shared Zsa Zsa.

“You don’t have to complain. Everything is given to you. Even the food that you request. It was just a breeze to work with everybody and I didn’t encounter any difficulty.

“The script was given to us way ahead of time so you could memorize your lines. Even in Zoom meetings, we practiced our lines in the script. Everyone was so professional.”

Everything about Cattleya Killer was so memorable for Ria Atayde. “It’s nice to be able to say you’re proud of what you work on and I feel that comes rare,” she said.

The entire experience was also unforgettable for Jane Oineza. “To get to work with an amazing cast, the team, the crew, everyone was amazing,” Jane said. “Everything made a mark on me. Surreal experience for me.”

Ricky Davao, who plays police officer Demet Noble, insisted the whole thing they all went through was not easy. “What we all went through was not that simple,” Ricky granted. “From the production side, the writing (to) shooting in the middle of the pandemic, they were all hard.”

Nevertheless, he added, “The rapport of everybody, the professionalism, we all loved what we were doing, everything became easy.”

Interestingly, Christopher de Leon, who is in the original cast of Sa Aking Mga Kamay, carried on to Cattleya Killer and the cast was thankful.

“We’re very much overwhelmed that he agreed to join this cast,” Arjo commented. “We are very blessed to have him because he’s very giving. He is such a brilliant actor. No words can explain how grateful I am to be given the opportunity to work with him. Tito Boyet was really good. It was one hell of a ride.”

The ensemble cast of Cattleya Killer also includes Jake Cuenca, Rafa Siguion-Reyna, Ketchup Eusebio, Nonie Buencamino, Joel Saracho and Frances Makil.

Direk Ruel, cannot be thankful enough that the producing partners, Nathan Studios, headed by Arjo and Ria’s mom Sylvia Sanchez, are likewise supportive.