Ang bagong serye ng GMA-7, ang The World Betweeen Us na pinagbibidahan nina Jasmine Curtis Smith at Alden Richards, ay magsisimula nang mapanood simula sa July 5, kapalit ng First Yaya.
Hindi ito ang unang pagsasama nina Alden at Jasmine, pero ito ang unang full-length teleserye na pagtatambalan nila, kaya masasabing nakilala na rin nila ang isa’t isa.
At sa pagsasama nila ngayon, mas nagkaroon ba si Alden ng ibang pananaw kay Jasmine, mas nakita rin ba niya ang mga pagbabago o maturity nito na maire-rate niya?
“Ang hirap naman mag-rate ng mga ganyan,” natawang birong apela niya.
Pero ayon din kay Alden, “Si Jas po kasi, if I can recall it correctly, nagkita tayo sa isang opening ng supermarket, ribbon cutting, malapit po sa may U.S.T. Ayoko na lang pong mag-namedrop ng brand.
“Pero si Jas po kasi, all these years na nakilala ko siya, kapag nagkikita po kaming dalawa, there’s a certain feeling na parang ang tagal na naming magkakilala.
"Yun ang comfort that I found whenever I see her and whenever I work with her even more. Parang that brings us into the character that we have to play.”
At kung pagiging kumportable raw, masasabi ni Alden na kumportable siya kay Jasmine bilang katambal.
“Ang laking bagay po kasi, kapag kumportable ka sa isang tao and you work with them. No pressure, walang wall, nasa same page kayo.
"Gusto niyong mapaganda ang trabaho niyo. You’re very passionate about what you’re doing. Iyon ang nabibigay sa akin ni Jas unconsciously,” saad niya.
Sabi pa niya, “So I don’t know kung ganoon din siya sa akin. But personally, yun po ang isa sa mga bagay kung bakit this soap is working.
"And as you can see rin po sa trailer na pinalabas namin, parang it’s about time rin po na whenever we do a love story, we give the stigma na something romantic should happen off-cam between the actors that you’re watching.
“I’d like to believe na nag-grow na rin po ang audience natin na parang it’s really more about the project rather than the personal lives of the actors in it.
“Ito pong The World Between Us is proof of that, and they have to watch it to see it po.”
ALDEN AIMS TO ALWAYS EVOLVE AS AN ACTOR
Diretsahan na rin naming tinanong si Alden sa naganap na online mediacon ng The World Between Us noong June 23 kung wala nang ilangan o ano mang inhibition sa kanila ni Jasmine.
Hindi na ba nila iniisip ang magiging reaksyon ng ibang fans?
“When it comes to that, I have learned how to make decisions by myself,” sabi ni Alden.
“Kung makikinig lang po kasi ako palagi ayon sa sinasabi ng iba, coming from other experiences, hindi po ako maggu-grow as an actor. The same goes with Jasmine as well.
“If we always listen to people who bring us down and not support our endeavors and iyong mga ginagawa namin, hindi po kami maggu-grow.
"Mai-stuck lang po kami sa mentality na laging 'ayaw ng ganito, ayaw nila ng ganito' sa social media. We don’t function like that.
"We’re not robots. We’re learning machines. We like to learn. We like to experience. We like to explore different stuff for our growth.
"Kasi, iyon po ang... I’d like to believe, one of the principles of a good actor, evolving actor.”
ALDEN AND JASMINE'S 'SECRET LANGUAGE'
Ang ‘cute’ ng sagot ni Alden nang tanungin namin kung kumusta ang mga kilig scene nila bilang romantic drama nga ang The World Between Us.
“Sa kilig naman, kami ni Jas, we don’t really prepare for it.
"Pero for some reason, take one siya, e,” nakangiting at may pagmamalaking sabi niya.
Dugtong pa niya, “May ganoon, and all the more na hindi pinagpaplanuhan ang isang bagay, all the more na nagkakaroon ng bunga.
“Siguro kami ni Jas, meron na po kaming secret language.
"Hindi po kami nag-uusap masyado kapag hindi kami nasa work. Of course, kapag pahinga kami, we have our own personal lives as well.
"Pero for some reason, there’s a secret language. I don’t know… parang mga ganoon po. Tinginan lang, alam na namin. Script, basa, action, cut, good na.
“Kung comfort at comfort lang ang pag-uusapan, wala na pong problema. Na-surpass na namin.”
ALDEN ADMITS INITIAL APPREHENSION ABOUT STORY
Inamin naman ni Alden na noong una raw na inalok sa kanya ang serye, nagkaroon siya ng pag-aalangan na tanggapin ito.
“Actually, noong una kong nabasa iyong script for The World Between Us, actually, I was a little bit apprehensive about it. Hindi ako sure, the story was based on the novel, Wuthering Heights.
“I was looking for a different kind of project, more on the acting piece side. After a thorough explanation from our creatives, I realized na ibang klase kasi ito.”
Sabi pa niya, “When we started taping it, When we started reading the script, iba iyong nababasa mo na siya kesa naririnig mo lang siya sa kuwento.
“Parang that started the fire within me to create this character na normal na tao, na very relatable.
“I guess, iyon ang culture natin as Filipino viewers: to really watch a teleserye and look for characters that we can latch ourselves onto.
"Parang naghahanap tayo ng character sa mga pinapanood natin na puwedeng mag-represent ng current life natin as human being.”
ALDEN ALL PRAISES FOR CURRENT PROJECT
Sa kabila ng pawang malalaking teleserye rin ang nagawa na niya tulad ng Victor Maggtangol at The Gift, tahasang sinabi ng Asia’s Multimedia Star na sa tingin daw niya, ang The World Between Us ang pinakamagandang teleserye na nagawa niya.
“Through the cast, story, director, I think this is gonna be one of my best teleseryes in five years,” lahad niya.
“No offense to my other teleseryes. I’ve learned from them, marami akong natutunan. Marami akong na-discover from those projects, but this project is something different.
“Every single day na gumigising ako for taping, I always look forward going to the set, not because I have to work, not because I have to earn money, but about the project.
“Iyong passion ko, I think, we all share it. We’re all on the same page. We wake up, we go on set to fulfill the requirements of the character of the story.
"I guess, that’s what make this teleserye different from all the teleserye that I’ve done before.
“I’m so happy with this project.”
ALDEN BREAKS OUT FROM CLICHÉ ROLES
Ang karakter na ginagampanan ni Alden sa The World Between Us ay si Luisito “Louie” Asuncion. Kung dati raw na ang mga role na ginagampanan niya ay puro naka-angkla sa good side, good boy, ngayon daw, iba naman.
Sabi nga niya, “Because of those struggles that my character experienced within the story, there’s a certain learning and certain twist within my character itself.
“This time, I’ll be playing a role na hindi lang puro good boy. There will come a time in the story that I will take vengeance on the people who have done me wrong, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.
“So medyo gray siya. Hindi all-white character. I’ve never done anything like this on TV. Noong magkaroon ng ganoong anggulo ang character ko, all the more that I have so much to give, I have so much to learn from it.
“Gusto kong maging malinis ang transition sa bawat stages ng character ni Louie and to be reasonable as well.”