"Most Promising Old Actor" ang birong taguri ni Piolo Pascual sa sarili dahil sa dami ng mga proyekto niya this year.
“I said yes to everything,” sambit ng 46-anyos na aktor noong Oktubre 19, 2023, Huwebes, sa Kao Manila ng Newport World Resorts, Pasay City.
“I guess it was brought about by the pandemic, you know. We got so bored not doing anything.
“And then, nung nagkaroon naman ng chance to really do taping, and there was a constant demand for new content, so andaming platform na nagbukas.
“So, andaming opportunities especially for us na from the showbiz industry. Nagsunud-sunod naman.
“So it actually started with Replacing Chef Chico. That was my first, we shot it first quarter of the year.
“And then I jumped right away to The Ride, the film that I did with Kyle Echarri. And then I went to Ibarra [musical].
“So when I said yes to Ibarra, it was I think six months before we actually started rehearsing. Same thing with Mallari.
“When I signed with Mallari, it was the day after Ibarra but we were filming four months after.
“So my schedule was really planned out long before everything transpired. Basically, six months to a year, nakakasa na siya."
Read: Piolo Pascual accepts Ibarra musical; no questions asked about talent fee
Pagpapatuloy ni Piolo, “So from Ibarra, I said I needed to take a break. Because the role is different, it’s all new to me, the first time I ever did a musical.
“So it kinda took a toll on my body and my mental being because I had to really dig deep and immerse myself. So I wanted to have a vacation for a month.
“But nag-tour pa kami ng All-Star naman ng Cornerstone sa States din. And then after Ibarra, I signed on for Mallari.
“And then as soon as I got back from my vacation then sa Milan, diniretso ko na yung Mallari.”
Co-stars ni Piolo sina Alessandra de Rossi at Sam Milby sa Netflix original series na Replacing Chef Chico. Sa Nobyembre na ang streaming nito.
Read: Piolo Pascual, tinanggap ang 'Mallari' dahil sa "take it or leave it" asking price
Three historical films
Ang horror thriller na Mallari ay isa sa sampung official entries ng 49th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Tatlong karakter ang ginampanan dito ni Piolo sa magkakaibang timeline.
Isa si Piolo sa mga suporta sa historical film na GomBurZa, na official entry rin sa MMFF 2023.
Read: MMFF 2023 Top 10 official entries: Pinaghalu-halong romance, drama, horror, comedy, fantasy, action
Natapos na rin ni Piolo ang pelikulang Moro ni Direk Brillante Mendoza, kung saan co-stars niya sina Christopher de Leon, Baron Geisler, at Laurice Guillen.
Piolo Pascual and Joel Torre in Moro
Pare-parehong de kalibre ang mga pelikulang Mallari, GomBurZa, at Moro. Pinost ni Piolo ang trailer o teaser ng mga ito sa kanyang Instagram account.
Lahad ni Piolo, “Sabi ko, ‘My gosh! Sarap naman to be part of you know these historical films!’
“It was such a privilege to be able to be part of something historical na at this point of my life and my career, you know, this not your typical romcom that I’m accustomed to do, you know.
"These are milestone films. So, ang sarap ng pakiramdam na you get to be chosen to represent a certain character such as Ibarra, such as Mallari, such as Pedro Pelaez in GomBurZa, and also to be in a socio-political film na Moro.
“So, parang you wanna give voices to these characters. So you wanna own it. And that kind of provilege only happens once in a while. So you really embrace it.”
Ang huling MMFF movie ni Piolo bago ang Mallari ay ang Dekada ‘70 (2002) na idinirek ni Chito Roño. Tampok din dito sina Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon, Carlos Agassi, Marvin Agustin, Danilo Barrios, at John Wayne Sace.
THREE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
Nahirapan si Piolo sa pagganap sa tatlong magkakaibang karakter sa Mallari.
Read: Piolo Pascual changes his mind about retiring from acting because of pandemic
Piolo Pascual in Mallari
Pagtatapat ng Ultimate Heartthrob, “It humbles me every time I take on a new character such as this when I did Mallari. It was hard.
“I had sleepless nights. But I took it on because I wanted to challenge myself…
“Ano ba itong napasok ko? Ang hirap! Kasi, first shooting day pa lang, tatlong characters na yung ginawa ko.
“Sabi ko, ‘I dunno, I dunno what I got myself into.’ Pati yung pagpasok ko sa set, that same night, within the ending, I had to do three different characters, you know, in one scene.
“I was breaking down, and I really lost it, you know. As an actor, you get to of course kinda stop yourself pag sobra na, pag tough na.
“Eto, I couldn’t stop crying. I just couldn’t stop crying. I was just so vulnerable, and then… napakahirap kasi nung conflict nung story, ng character. So, kailangan mo siyang pasukin.
“And then, going to our set na nagpagawa sila ng community sa isang farm, they built a church where we shot the scenes, may mga bahay, may farm, may fountain… may magic!
“So, sabi ko, wow! Gagalingan ko na rin talaga, di ba? Tapos sa isang ancestral house sa Bulacan, that’s where we shot yung mga interior. Magaganda yung location.”
Twelve straight hours lang nagsu-shoot si Piolo pero para sa Mallari, inaabot siya ng 15 hours.
“Minsan, putok-araw, e. ‘Hindi natin puwedeng balikan ang eksenang ‘to, tapusin natin ‘to!’ sabi ko.
“Hindi naman ako producer dito, bakit ganito? Pero it was worth it. It was worth it. Everyone just really wanted to come up with a beautiful film, and I hope we have one.”
Co-stars ni Piolo sa Mallari sina JC Santos, Gloria Diaz, Janella Salvador, Elisse Joson, Ron Angeles, Vangie Labalan, Bart Guingona, Tommy Alejandrino, Angeli Sanoy, Erlinda Villalobos, at Angie Castrence.
SPECIAL PARTICIPATION
May special participation si Piolo sa GomBurZa, na official entry rin sa MMFF 2023. Personal siyang tinawagan ng direktor ng GomBurZa na si Pepe Diokno para gumanap na Pedro Pelaez, ang mentor ni Jose Burgos.
Piolo Pascual in GomBurZa
“We’re happy because it also got in, you know. It’s good for education, sa mga student,” sambit ni Piolo.
Parehong mahirap ang papel na ginampanan ni Piolo sa Mallari at GomBurZa.
Pagtatapat niya, “Yung GomBurZa, isang buong page, Spanish. So, yung sa court na nandun ako after, I just really fainted. I fainted.
“Hindi mo puwedeng lokohin yung accent, e. And then, I had a Spanish coach there. So ang hirap.
“And then pag-switch ko sa Mallari, ahhh… I dove in it first. Hindi na ako nag-isip. Sabi ko, ‘Kung lumabas ako… sunduin niyo ako pabalik.’
“But with the guidance of Tita Angie [Castrence], I was able to understand the journey of the character. Kasi nagkaroon ako ng kabatuhan.
“So I expected worse. I really thought I would really lose it. But since conducive siya, kasi naka-lock in ako, e. Hindi ako umaalis ng set, so I was always just in character.”
Magandang karanasan para kay Piolo ang paggawa ng Mallari kaya handa siyang gumawa ng kasunod na horror thriller.
Meron na ngang offer sa kanya na isu-shoot sana sa Enero 2024. Tinanggihan niya iyon dahil hindi kaya ng schedule niya.
Sa Enero 2024 kasi ay mag-uumpisa na siya ng taping ng bagong teleserye na 100 episodes.