Ruru Madrid reprises iconic role in expanded ‘Lolong’ story

MANILA, Philippines — Ruru Madrid is returning to the primetime adventure project “Lolong” and reprising an iconic role that established himself as an action-drama actor.

His character, Lolong, has the ability to communicate and interact with the crocodile, Dakila, and is a representation of human care and concern for the environment.

His portrayal has also given him the opportunity to star in the full action series, “Black Rider.”

Premiering tomorrow at 8 p.m. after “24 Oras,” the show’s season two, or latest iteration titled “Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan,” also features the tandem of Ruru and Shaira Diaz.

They both play childhood friends, Lolong and Elsie, who have learned lessons about love and life in their town named Tumahan.

“Malaki ang changes dito sa narrative ng ‘Lolong’ season two (there are big and tremendous changes in the show’s narrative),” Ruru generously responded to one of the questions from The STAR during a recent group interview, “kasi nung una, kumbaga pino-plot palang natin siya kung ano ba yung ‘Lolong,’ ano ba yung Tumahan at sino ba yung mga cast dito (because the first season established what is ‘Lolong,’ the show and Lolong, the character, the place of Tumahan, and the people who inhabit it).”

What’s nice and interesting about how the “Lolong” narrative has been crafted, added Ruru, is that “it doesn’t only revolve around one person (or a character). Kumbaga lahat ng characters din sa ‘Lolong’ ay may backstories (all key characters have backstories) that explain why he or she becomes bad or is good (or their actions).”

This time around in “Lolong,” the “parochial” story will expand and explore in terms of place, people, issues, and events, as one may put it.

“Mas lumawak siya, hindi lang basta problema sa iisang lugar, hindi lang basta iisa lang ang kalaban na nanduon lang iikot yung pinaka problema (it covers a bigger story, and it doesn’t only tackle problems of a particular place. Lolong will not only have one nemesis),” said he. “Ngayon, ang dami, ang sobrang lalim (now, there’s a lot.) Siguro meron ditong mga malalaking mangyayari, first week pa lang, first day pa lang, may malaking talagang mangyayari na hindi inaasahan ng mga tao (there are big events that will unfold in the first day or first week in ‘Lolong.’ Events that viewers don’t expect to happen so soon).”

Aside from these “impending events” that will change the course of things in “Lolong” and promise to make it unpredictable, viewers can also look forward to the characters’ maturity.

“Of course, in season one, our characters were young then, pero ngayon kung makikita ninyo sa trailer ng season two, may magaganap na kasalan (but this time, as the trailer shows, there will be a wedding),” shared Shaira. “So, the growth in the characters is really evident na nakakatuwa kasi lalo niyang pinaganda (which is good, and that makes the story more engaging).”

So, the characters of Elsie and Lolong are past their teenage years.

As Shaira looked at it, the characters are also dreamers, and “dahil sa pagsusumikap at sa pagiging masipag, ay natupad ang mga pangarap namin (because of their effort, hard work and diligence, our characters are able to fulfill their dreams).”

“Mas lumaki yung responsibilities, mas lumalaki rin yung problema, yung mga pagsubok na pinagdadaanan nila sa buhay (they have bigger responsibilities and problems to have and handle in life),” said Ruru of the joys and challenges that maturity presents every character. “So, nakaka-excite (it’s exciting).”

Given the genre of “Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan,” the stars were also asked to rate the level of action and drama the viewers can look forward to, from 1 to 10, the latter being the highest. The two’s answer is above 10.

“Kung ano yung level of intensity na naibibibigay mo sa action, dapat yun din yung level of intensity na naibibigay mo sa drama kasi ang drama yung pinaka puso nito, (whatever level of intensity that you give to action should also be the same level of intensity you give to drama, as drama is the heart and core of it),” said Ruru about his takeaways from doing action and drama projects. “Hindi mo siya pwedeng basta maganda yung look ng action, basta maganda yung routine (it cannot be just about having beautiful executed action scenes and routines), (and then say) ‘OK na yan.’”

There has to be a solid combination and marriage of action and drama to make “Lolong” compelling. The action in it also needs to improve and keep up with new trends as seen in content shown in streaming platforms, Ruru said.

“It was very hard kasi, for example, there were instances when we would do six sets of fight scenes, and then, dun na namin siya gagawin, tuloy-tuloy, parang kailangan ko na lang i-psyche yung utak ko na parang magiging maganda naman ito, magiging sulit naman ito (we do everything there and continuously. I have to psyche up myself that doing so will make the story beautiful and it is all worth it),” recalled he. The production follows safety protocols.

“As long as na binubuhos mo lahat sa iyong ginagawa, binibigay mo ang puso mo dito, magtatagumpay ka (as long as you give what you can and your heart to it, you will succeed),” said the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Best Supporting Actor winner for his performance in the film, “Green Bones.” “Kumbaga, makakamit mo yung mga pinapangarap mo para sa proyekto, kaya yun ang motivation naming lahat (you will achieve what you aspire for a project, and that’s our motivation),” concluded he.

Watch “Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan” weeknights at GMA.