With her upcoming primetime show, “My Guardian Alien,” Marian Rivera has added sci-fi to the growing array of genres — from drama, fantasy, romance, and action to historical and comedy — that the Kapuso actress has successfully ventured into thus far.
At key points of the story, she will portray Katherine, the doting mom to Doy (Raphael Landicho) and loving wife to Carlos (Gabby Concepcion), and an alien with the unique name 11-1-20-8-5-22-9-12-5, whose pod has accidentally dropped to Earth.
Such a human-to-extraterrestrial transformation, as some may agree, appeals to the sense of wonder of the young and even the young-at-heart. It could be a reason why Marian immediately gave the GMA Prime show consideration.
“This was something I liked,” she said about her reaction when “My Guardian Alien,” along with other proposed projects, were presented to her by GMA in a recent press conference, “and I told myself, ‘Ay, ang ganda nitong gawin.’ Bago sa akin at sure ‘ko na mapapanood ng mga anak ko (It’s something new to me and I’m sure my kids can watch it).”
So, it was love at first pitch for Marian, who is making a return to the primetime timeslot.
“Gusto kong gumawa ng isang serye na mapapanood ng mga anak ko at magiging proud ako (I want to do a TV series that my children can watch and I will be proud of),” added she.
Marian has two kids — Zia and Sixto or Ziggy — with husband Dingdong Dantes.
She said she’s at a point in her professional life where she wants her kids to be proud of everything she does.
“Ito na siguro yung time or moment sa buhay ko na sa tuwing may gagawin ako ay gusto ko na maging proud yung mga anak ko sa akin,” shared she.
Thus, the five years that she waited to star in another primetime show were all worth it.
Prior to this, Marian made a small-screen and big-screen acting comeback via the weekend sitcom, “Jose & Maria’s Bonggang Villa” in 2022 and the romance-drama “Rewind” (2023), now the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.
In “My Guardian Alien,” she is sharing the screen with veteran leading man Gabby and adorable child star Raphael.
“Napaka-gaang ka-trabaho ni kuya (it’s so easy to work with him),” shared Marian, “napakabait katrabaho.”
In-between takes, the ensemble cast is given time to talk to each other and see some aspects of the actors’ personalities, like the fun side of Gabby, who is fond of making jokes, according to Marian.
“So, ginagawa niyang light ang mga pagkakataon (he makes every moment light),” shared she. “The times I (also) appreciate about him are when we talk about our lives… nakita ko kung gaano niya kamahal ang pamilya niya (I’ve seen how much he loves his family). Yun ang na-appreciate ko sa kanya, napakabait niyang tao (he is a very nice and good person).”
As for Raphael, who played Little Jon Armstrong in the hit live-action adaptation “Voltes V: Legacy,” Marian found the child actor to be really good at acting and very cute. “Si Raphael ay mahusay na bata, magaling umarte atsaka ang cute, cute niya.”
On getting into her dual roles and doing family drama, sci-fi, and fantasy in the series, Marian said she made some adjustments initially.
“At first, it was challenging to be working on the set of a soap after a five-year break,” said she.
She revealed that she initially struggled with finding her angle, the lighting and even her lines. “Hindi ko alam kung saan ang anggulo ko, nasaan ang lighting, nangapa talaga ako, and even the lines, kasi parang medyo nahirapan. I seemed to have a hard time memorizing the lines and everything.”
Then she eventually found her foothold and acknowledged the help that everybody, from her production assistant to director Zig Dulay, gave her.
Since one of her characters is an extraterrestrial being, Marian was also asked about her thoughts on its existence.
Her response was in the affirmative, piquing one’s interest. “Dahil ginawa ko ito, oo. Kaya manood kayo baka mamaya magpakita sa inyo,” she quipped.
In the next breath, she said, “Minsan kasi mahirap paniwalaan ang mga bagay na hindi mo nakikita, ‘di ba? Mahirap sabihin na oo, pero hindi mo naman nakita. Ngayon kasi ang pinagbabasehan natin yung nakikita. So, malay natin kung meron. (Sometimes, it’s tough to believe something you don’t see. Seeing is a basis for believing. Who knows if an alien does exist?)”
With her upcoming show, which will premiere on April 1 at 8:50 p.m. and air weeknights thereafter, Marian reiterated that she looks forward to doing more projects that her children can watch and be proud of. “So lahat ng ito ay blessing para sa akin (All of this is a blessing to me).”