What lured Piolo back to teleserye

MANILA, Philippines — After a four-year break from doing teleseryes, Piolo Pascual is returning to primetime TV via ABS-CBN’s Since I Found You on April 16.

In the light romantic drama under Dreamscape Productions, Piolo plays Nathan, a highly-successful businessman whose tough and demanding ways make the workplace living hell for his employees. The people around him will eventually change him ­— for the better.

The last series Piolo topbilled was Hawak Kamay, also for Dreamscape. While Piolo can be seen on weekends through Home Sweetie Home and ASAP, he said he intentionally stayed away from the daily grind of teleseryes.

His comeback is not without pressure. But Piolo is holding a different mindset these days, no longer engrossed with ratings. “I won’t deny that there’s pressure and kilig. Actually, sa tinagal ko na sa industriya, ito yung iniiwasan ko kasi nakakapagod. In reality, it’s really hard but when you do something like this, you draw strength or inspiration or energy from the people you work with and most especially from the viewers,” Piolo told reporters last Wednesday.

“Sinasabi sa akin, mag-TV ka kasi gusto kang mapanood gabi-gabi, so even if it’s tough, when you’re not doing it for yourself, you’re doing it for a bigger audience, not just your station, that alone excites me. But I’m no longer thinking about ratings these days. My priority is to improve my craft and be a team player.”

Directed by Antoinette Jadaone (fresh from the success of her film Never Not Love You), Since I Found You also stars Arci Muñoz, Alessandra de Rossi, JC de Vera and Empoy.

Of course, Alessandra and Empoy (a.k.a. Alempoy) is the tandem behind the highest-grossing indie film of all time, Kita Kita, produced by Spring Films, the movie outfit Piolo co-owns with director Joyce Bernal.

Last Wednesday, the 41-year-old leading man talked to the press more about his TV comeback, his life as a producer and his other sources of inspiration. Here are excerpts from the roundtable interview:

On why it took him four years before he returned to teleserye acting:

“I was begging off kasi di ko talaga kaya, kasi ang hirap kung every day nag-ta-trabaho, especially ’pag hand to mouth na, meaning yung shino-shoot n’yo today, ipapalabas kagabihan, wala ka na talagang ibang gagawin, and I really want to focus on doing movies and other stuff like producing. But ito, offer ko na sa ABS, to do a soap opera. I’m just happy that they gave me something that’s really different. It’s a departure from the drama series that we’re used to doing, especially Hawak Kamay, wherein lahat ng kamalasan nangyari sa buhay (ng character) ko.

Piolo with Since I Found You director Antoinette Jadaone (third from right) and co-stars (from left) JC de Vera, Arci Muñoz, Alessandra de Rossi and Empoy —Photo by ALLAN SANCON

“So this time around, with the help of the director na napaka light ng treatment, and especially my co-stars with the special mention of Alempoy, tinanggap nila after Kita Kita, kahit di sila ang bida dito. I’m hapy because they don’t need to do this soap, but they are. And I’m working with Arci and JC na first time ko makakasama... malaking regalo.”

On his character and how he can relate:

“Gray-ish (the character). Hindi siya ganun kabait, hindi siya iyakin so maganda na sinimulan siya na scarred, hates the world, but what will soften his heart are the people around him. With their help, he will discover the importance of life, love, and how to treat the world. And just because bad things happen to you, it doesn’t mean you also have to treat others badly. That’s my takeaway from this.”

“(Can I relate to my character?) In some aspects, pwede. But my character has a lot of issues in life, whereas I’m a very positive person, regardless of the circumstance. I’m not the type who’d dwell on the negative things in life. I’d rather appreciate the blessings all around me or happening to me, than to seek revenge or to have hatred in your heart. Yun palang, opposite na kami ng character ko, pero na-e-enjoy ko at least kasi kailangan kong mag-isip paano ba yun? You have to bring out the bad side in you, the angst, the bitterness in life. I put it all there. But in real life, I’m very positive, hindi ako nag-iisip ng masama sa kapwa ko. All the more iniisip kung yung good side ng bawat isa.”

On his main requirement for accepting a TV project or a film role:

“Yung iba! I think every artist’s requirement is to do something that challenges him as an actor, as an artist. It’s what excites me, when I’m given a role that I’ve never done before. Before, I thought I already hit the glass ceiling in terms of exposure and popularity. Hindi ko naisip na marami pa pala pwedeng gawin na roles. There are many more approaches to acting that you can do. And as I’m growing in this business, I appreciate my craft more, I respect it more because of those kinds of blessings that come my way. It humbles me because there are still people who want to see me on TV or in the movies. That’s my inspiration, my driving force...”

On how he keeps his footing amidst the influx of newbies in showbiz:

“Unang una yung anak ko di ba (laughs)? That’s the last thing you want — that is to compete with your own offspring (referring to Iñigo Pascual). But the mere fact that I’m still in the business after 20 years, I’m really grateful for the chance that’s given me. That alone humbles me. Any moment or one day, I’ll just wake up, wala na lahat yan, so I’m really just taking advantage of this time and the kind of opportunity that the Lord is giving me. I’m focusing more on the blessings than the competition.

“My mantra in life, ever since, is you don’t compete with anyone, you don’t compare yourself to another person, para hindi ka masaktan pero umabot na ako sa punto na, you know, you actually don’t compete or race against yourself but against time. Time is all I have right now so I make sure that I’m going to use the time given to me well.”

On challenges and experiences as a film producer:

“(Producing) just happened, eh. You know, we’re actually celebrating 10 years of Spring Films next year since Kimmy Dora was released in 2009. Di ko to ginusto. What I wanted was to become an international star. But I didn’t know I’d become a producer.

“Mas mahirap yung ginagawa ko sa Spring Films ngayon because there’s a bigger risk, there’s cash out… Yung business deals that involve my hard-earned money, it’s no joke.

“It’s the most difficult decision I’ve done... challenging but it’s worthwhile. Maganda siya kasi marami kang na-e-employ, nabibigyan ng trabaho. I think, because of Kita Kita, I got more inspiration to do more. After Kita Kita, ang daming lumapit sa amin. As an artist, when you read a good story, sarap gawin. With Kita Kita, I wanted to do it, but I said I wasn’t the right person for it, same with Meet Me at St. Gallen. Basta pag nakaka-basa ako (ng script), kailangan ko ibaba para sabihin di ako ang artista, kailangan mong ibigay sa iba… But those opportunities, wherein I get to read a good story, I won’t let go of it anymore and we make sure to find the right actors and people to work with.

“So, (producing) is a bigger risk but it excites me more in terms of creativity. I get to apply more the things I’ve learned from the entertainment industry in the last 20 years.

“(With the movie hits) nagkaroon tayo ng tapang kasi nagkaroon tayo ng budget eh. After Kita Kita and Meet Me at St. Gallen, we really wanna explore more. We have an animation, Hayup Ka, which is gonna come out sometime soon. So, we have five movies in the pipeline.”

On the film on the Marawi siege and other projects:

“It all started with Kuya Robin Padilla. When we received our earnings from Kita Kita, direk Joyce said she’d give a donation to Marawi through Robin Padilla because he put up a foundation which will provide houses to the displaced people of Marawi. I find it really noble, you know where the money is going. So sabi ko, sige, tutulong ako. Tapos naisip namin ni direk na mas malaki yung maitutulong mo kung gagawa ka ng film.

“The Marawi film is not really based on real-life stories, but inspired by... Now, we’re having the final casting. Nabigay na yung downpayment ng mga investors namin so we’re really happy... This is an advocacy, walang tatanggap ng bayad, gagawin namin to para tumulong. Masarap siyang gawin kasi maraming gustong sumali sa project. Even with big stars, we have them audition because we really are trying to find the right actors for the characters. We’re now doing the draft four of the script because we really wanna offer something… so that people will be aware. This is not a typical situation. This is a Philippine war, you know. Ang dami nating napanood na mga western movies about war, but naisip namin ni direk Joyce na ipakita naman natin ang giyera sa Pilipinas, what happened, that had global attention. It’s important for people to know what to do after this. My takeaway is that you should know what’s happening around you, to open your eyes, and to pray more and love life better.

“What we wanna offer is something more brave, aggressive. So, with Hayup Ka and Marawi, there’s still a lot we can give to the audience, who I feel are looking for something different, and with the help of ABS-CBN. We’re both on the same page, alam namin na ang gustong makita ng tao is resurgence of cinema. We want to be able to uplift our cinema experiences and hopefully, we can bring back the golden age of cinema.”

On putting romance on hold and enjoying being a bachelor:

“It’s a choice. Ayoko talaga. Ang dami ko kasing gustong gawin sa buhay. I’m not looking for it, I don’t want to look for it. Ayaw ko nalang muna. There’s a lot going on in my life right now. My career is my love life. I’m enjoying doing things like this where you gain worth and you see that you make other people’s lives better by what you do, by what they see you do.”