Mata sa mata ang confrontation ng mag-among Essie (Ruby Ruiz) at Margaret Woo (Nicole Kidman) sa Episode 5 ng limited series na Expats.
“Ang title nun, 'Central,'” pahayag ni Ruby sa mediacon nitong Enero 30, 2024, Martes ng hapon sa studio ng Cornerstone sa Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City.
“Because Central Hong Kong. Ang Central Hong Kong… originally ang title nun was 'Essie,' in the original script. Pero pinalitan nila, Central, para mas malaki ang sinasakop.
“Because it is like a tribute to overseas Filipino workers. Dun ipinakita yung ano namin, confrontation with Margaret.
“Na inamin niya sa akin, na nagsu-sorry siya, ‘Pasensiya ka na,’ ganun, all in English, na bakit ano. ‘I’m sure, meron kang galit sa akin’ dahil ganito, ganito, ganito, ganito. Hindi ko na masyadong i-spoil yung details.
“Kumusta yung eksenang yun? That was my favorite scene. Not because it’s with Nicole Kidman. No.
“But it’s because that’s where I felt the essence or the dilemma of a migrant worker.
“Yung dilemma ni Essie na… Alin ba ang pipiliin ko? Ang sarili kong pamilya? Should I go back to the Philippines and spend the rest of my life with my children and my apo?
“Or to spend the rest of my life with the family, my surrogate family that I’ve already established in Hong Kong? With the Woo family.
“So, dun ipinakita yung… di ba, ganun naman ang mga ano, e. Kasi, nag-immerse din ako dun sa mga domestics. Yun lagi ang dilemma nila. Dahil pag napalapit ka na dun sa pamilya…
“Favorite ko yun dahil in terms of acting experience, yun talaga, naranasan ko, at kung gaano ka-powerful ang isang Nicole Kidman. OK.
“Nakatingin lang ako sa mata niya, e, kuhang-kuha ko. Nagpadala lang ako, ika nga, yung ganun.
“Kaya when people, after the premiere in New York, were congratulating me, ‘Oh you are very good in that scene!’ — I would always tell them na, ‘No, it was Nicole.’
“Because it’s really her scene. Ang ginawa ko lang, nag-react lang ako sa kanya as the character.
“And everything came out so beautifully. Very heartwarming yung ano, pinakita, dalawang klase ng babae.
“Isang expat, isang… migrant worker. Tapos kung papaano yung conflict namin. Yung confrontation, I mean.”
Read: Prime series na Expats starring Nicole Kidman, may Tagalog dialogues
Ang Episode 1 (“The Peak”) at Episode 2 (“Mongkok”) ng Expats ay nag-streaming umpisa Enero 26, Biyernes, sa Amazon Prime Video.
Nakatakdang mag-streaming ang Episodes 3 and 4 sa Pebrero 16.
Anim na episodes ang Expats, nag-shooting sa Hong Kong at Los Angeles, California sa loob ng labing-isang buwan.
Maliban kina Nicole at Ruby, nasa cast nito sina Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, Tiana Gowen, Bodhi del Rosario, Amelyn Pardenilla, at Jack Huston.
ON WORKING WITH NICOLE KIDMAN
Madam o NK ang tawag ni Ruby kay Nicole. Kumusta ang bonding nila off cam?
Napangiti si Ruby, “Napakabait niya, OK. Natural na natural. Taung-tao… bakla din siya. Yon.
“She really makes sure… especially sa akin, 'no, kasi ako lang naman yung kaeksena niyang Pilipino dun na ano.
“Very considerate siya at talagang mararamdaman mo, she tries to make you feel at ease, ganyan. Marami na akong anecdotes, e, even during our first day of shoot.
“Yung silya ko, yung shooting chair, itinabi sa kanyang upuan. Si Essie, nakatabi kay Margaret. E, ayokong umupo dun.
“Kasi ano, nosebleed, di ba? Pero doon ako pinaupo, siguro para magka… you know, to establish rapport.
“And she’s very conscious of that, in fairness to NK as we would fondly call her. NK, NK!
“So ayun, she would strike small conversations to make you feel at ease. Na in the beginning nga, sabi ko, ‘What? Pardon?’ Kasi nga, yung kanyang accent.
“Tapos buti na lang, yung anak ko was andun lang sa isang sulok. Pag hindi ko talaga maintindihan, nag-e-excuse ako. ‘Excuse me,’ tatayo ako. ‘Anak, i-research mo nga yung sinabing ganito,’ ganun.
“Kasi yung accent niya, very Australian. But she was very friendly, very warm. And even on set, kunwari ano, ikaw na ang kasunod na eksena, naka-standby ka na.
“So, makikita niya ako. Pag nakita na niya ako, ay! Yayakapin na ako nun, ‘Oh, Ruby is here!’ ganun.
“Kaya nga pag ano rin, inaagahan nila yung pagpasok ko sa set, pag gusto nilang ano, maging masaya si Nicole. Kasi naaaliw siya sa akin, parang bakit?!
“Kasi kunyari ano, sinabi niyang ganun sa akin, tinanong niya, ‘What did you do yesterday? It was our free day.’
“Parang nabigla ako sa tanong niya, hindi ako prepared. OK, akala ko, mga kung ano ang itatanong niya sa akin, about Philippines, ganyan.
“Pero ang itinanong niya, ‘What did you do yesterday? Yeah, it was our free day.’ ‘Ah, I did my laundry,’ sabi kong ganyan.
“‘The whole day?’ ‘Oh yes, because I was fascinated… your washing machine here. With one click, and you find out it’s already dry.’ So, natutuwa siya sa mga ganung ano ko.”
Read: Ruby Ruiz, angat ang acting; napahanga niya maging si Nicole Kidman
"ECHOSERA DIN ITONG SI NICOLE."
Matapos ang isang emotional scene nila para sa Episode 5 (“Central”), sinabihan daw ni Nicole si Ruby, “You are so good, blah-blah-blah-blah.”
Pagtatapat ni Ruby, “Parang thought balloon ko, ‘Echosera din itong si Nicole. E, siya nga itong ang galing-galing. Sobra talaga! Ang galing!’
“Yung parang ano, tuod ka na lang pag hindi ka nadala with the way she carried the scene.
“I mean, that’s my honest ano, ganun, hindi sa pang… Ang galing talaga! Yung sobrang powerful! And I was just looking into her eyes.
“So after nun, sabi niya, ‘How do you feel about the scene?’ Sabi ko, ‘My God! Thank you.’ Sabi niyang ganun, ‘You are the one.’ ‘No, you are the one.’ ‘You are the one,’ hawak-hawak niya yung kamay ko, ‘We have chemistry, Ruby.’ Ganun.
“Tapos sabi ko, ‘I have one question,’ nakatingin pa rin ako sa kanyang ganyan. ‘What is it?’ Akala niya siguro, kung ano ang ire-request ko. ‘Are you wearing contact lenses?’
“Di ba? Ang ganda ng mata niya, parang napakanatural. ‘No!’ tapos tinap niya yung mata niya, ‘Why did you ask?’ ‘Because you know in our country, our lead actors, they usually change their colors.’ Ha! Ha! Ha! Ikinuwento ko, those are what we do.
“Her eyes as an actress, that’s really her asset. Kasi talagang nagsasalita kahit walang linya.
“And you feel her energy. And ang dami kong natutunan sa kanya bilang artista.”