Nadine Lustre gets reminded of own relationship with dad in ‘Roadkillers’
MANILA, Philippines — Nadine Lustre was reminded of her own relationship with her father when she filmed the action-thriller “Roadkillers.”
In the Studio Viva-produced series, Nadine takes on the role of Stacey Sunico, a daughter trying to make amends for the past trouble she caused her doting and forgiving mechanic father Nato (Bodjie Pascua). She later learns about her father’s clandestine life as henchman for a corrupt politician.
When her father falls gravely ill during COVID times, a desperate Stacey goes to extreme lengths to save him — but fails. Now, she must face the ultimate challenge of fulfilling her father’s dying wish: to be buried next to her mother. However, someone knows the crime she has committed, leading Stacey down an even deadlier and more dangerous path as she will do whatever it takes to honor her father’s final request.
Apart from exploring the extent of what a child can do for a parent, even if it means bordering on the extreme and the criminal, the series highlights the unique relationship dynamics between a father and a daughter. For one, it was Nato who taught Stacey how to drive and troubleshoot car problems — skills that would come in handy as the story progresses.
When Nadine was asked if she connected to her character on this aspect, the actress shared that there was indeed some common ground between her own upbringing and relationship with her father and those of her character.
“Nakakatawa yung sakin kasi nung napanood po ng dad ko yung ‘Roadkillers,’ sabi niya parang ako lang si Bodjie,” she began in response to The STAR’s question during the post-screening mediacon on Friday.
“Nung nag-shoot nga po kami with Tito Bodjie, talagang he reminds me of my dad like with everything, the jokes, the way he talks.
“And my dad is really a mechanic by profession. I also grew up really as a daddy’s girl, so I love tinkering with things, even the white out tape, even those of my classmates, I would fix.”
“Just because I was fascinated with my dad na mahilig and magaling siya magkumpuni ng mga stuff, like even the controller of a playstation, he can fix it. So, I grew up like that (looking up to my dad) exactly like how Stacey is.
“Although my dad, hindi naman siya henchman ng pulitiko (laughs), but just the same sobrang naaastigan din ako sa dad ko. So while we were shooting the whole series, every time I had an interaction or scene with Tito Bodjie, I remembered my dad.”
Though Nadine could never imagine herself resorting to Stacey’s drastic decisions in the series, she could draw parallels between hers and her character’s traits.
She said, “I guess I am stubborn but not on that level because with Stacey, with the things she has done, she’s really on the extreme side… In a sense, I can also do everything for my family but not up to that extent.
“I also love Stacey because — sorry for the word — no BS siya. I believe that’s also the kind of person that I am. She’s, as in, dedma like wala siyang pakialam sa sarili niya kahit magmukha siyang madungis or anything. At some point, I’m also like that. I’m very simple. It’s just that now I’m very different because, you know, if I’m on work mode, iba talaga. But on a normal day, sobrang relax lang ako.
“And she’s very boyish, the same as me. And I guess… not necessarily as a daddy’s girl but as a family person. Because how Stacey was brought up, her environment kasi, her dad handles guns and cars because he’s a mechanic. So, I guess a bit similar although there were no guns when I was growing up, cars lang… So, I was very… ‘cowboy.’ That’s how I can relate to Stacey.”
One thing that Nadine really enjoyed while doing this series was the action-packed scenes. There were car chases, gun fights, some grappling and close action.
“I really love doing action. Even with direk Rae, as soon as she told me about the project, of course, I would say yes because I’ve really wanted to do action for a long time,” she shared.
“With regards to preparation, I also underwent training in firing, assembling guns, and stunts. We really had to rehearse (the stunts) especially because the environment, the conditions, as you can see in the scenes, are sandy, there’s dirt, and it’s rocky, so it’s really very tricky. As much as possible, the director wanted the stunts to be realistic.
“At the end of the day, Stacey is not a superhero, she’s just a normal person. So it’s really a lot of that but I really enjoyed it a lot, especially the training.”
Nadine said she hopes to do more films with similar themes and tones in the future.
“More darker and grittier projects, I guess. It’s really just because my previous projects were mostly rom-com (romantic-comedy) and drama. So now, I’m at a point (in my career) where I want to explore different genres and I want to take on more challenging roles,” she said.
“Nakakatawa kasi may nabasa po akong article with the headline, ‘Nadine ayaw na mag-loveteam, gusto maging psychopath,’ (laughs). Yun naman po yung lagi kong sinasabi because it is very interesting, you know, like doing a role of a psychopath or a killer or someone who is deranged, just trying to figure out how this person’s mind works.”
She elaborated that she’s fond of going into the “intricate details” and studying people for characterization. Plus, she enjoys watching crime documentaries, horror and psychological thrillers.
“So, I want to dive into that and so far naman po, all of the projects or at least, I guess, the direction that I’m taking is really headed towards that,” she said.
She disclosed that her next project is the folklore horror film “Nokturno” with Mikhail Red, her director in “Deleter,” which won her the Best Actress award during the 2022 Metro Manila Film Festival.
“So, I’m really, really excited to see what projects will be pitched to me. I’m so looking forward to it.”
“Roadkillers,” which originally debuted on Prime Video, will begin streaming on Viva One come March 1.
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