Aldenaline Rush
With Victor Magtanggol, his debut as an action star, Alden Richards is keeping his fingers crossed that the audience will be as excited to follow the action as much as he said he enjoyed doing it. Premiering on Monday, July 30, VM will be pitted against FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, the long-running/top-rating ABS-CBN series topbilling Coco Martin.
Even before he was tapped to play the title role in the new GMA action-adventure series Victor Magtanggol, Alden Richards has been showing his “superman” side by tackling the challenge of doing so many things at the same time, without missing a beat. After the premiere of Victor Magtanggol on Monday, July 30, pitted against the long-running/top-rating ABS-CBN series
FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano starring Coco Martin, Alden will switch from the VM set to the preparation for his concert on Sept. 21 at the Kia Theater, titled Adrenaline Rush (taken from the first letters of his first name and surname). He’s also promoting his new single, I Will Be Here — that is, aside from his daily appearance on Eat, Bulaga! and other projects. In an exclusive interview with The
STAR, Alden talks about how he takes the Herculean multi-tasks. Where do you get the energy to cope with your punishing work schedule? “’Yung passion ko for the work that I am doing and from the people that I inspire with my work. Entertaining people is energizing. Doon ko kinukuha ‘yung motivation to do all these things ng sabay-sabay.” Do you ever sleep?
“May ganoong angle. If I can sleep for three to five hours, I can be easily recharged for the next day. Ang isa pang susi kaya masarap magtrabaho kahit ganoon karami, masaya ang mga ka-trabaho ko. They contribute to the effort.” How is your diet?
“I am into intermittent fasting. Sa window time, I can eat anything that I like, from sweets to junk food, etcetera, so I don’t feel deprived. After 8 p.m., I don’t eat anything anymore, I just drink water. So for eight hours, I fill myself up, binubusog ko ang sarili ko then I fast for 16 hours.” You still have baby fat. “Yeah. Mahirap tanggalin, especially the fat in my lower abdomen. Pero labas na ‘yung four packs ko.” (Laughs) How did you prepare for Victor Magtanggol (directed by Dominic Zapata)? “Workout, extra effort at the gym. When Victor Magtanggol was still kept
confidential, I took effort to do workshop abroad. I also trained in martial arts, etcetera. Matindi talaga.” Aren’t you using any double in the life-threatening scenes?
“I see to it that I do the scenes myself, walang double. For the dangerous scenes, they would ask me if I could do them but even if I was willing, ayaw
nila kasi masyadong risky daw, and for safety measures daw. But I did most of the scenes, including the stunts.”
Does Victor Magtanggol now feel like second skin to you? Are we going to see an Alden that is different from what we see every day on Eat, Bulaga? “It’s an exciting kind of role. Ang sarap gawin ‘yung role. Victor Magtanggol is close to what Alden Richards is.” So talagang ready ka na to be an action star ha? “Sana po! I am getting there na. Papunta na tayo d’un. Hehehe!!!”
Some people are criticizing your costume. Are you really comfortable with it, in it?
“Honestly, yes, I am comfortable in it and with it. Mukhang mabigat lang but it’s actually light. I can run in it, I can do fight scenes in it, walang masyadong strain. It just looks bulky but it’s comfortable. It takes me only a few minutes to put it on and a few minutes to put it off.”
(The armor was designed by Edrian Baydo, a UST Fine Arts graduate who is currently working as a concept artist and illustrator for mobile games. “Victor Magtanggol’s armor is special,” said Baydo who added unique Filipino elements to it. “Parts of the costume design were inspired by the Moro maille armor.”)
How do you think the audience can relate to the story based on Nordic mythology, that it’s copied from the Hollywood movie Thor?
(According to concept creator Jules Katanyag, “When we were asked to pitch a story inspired by the Norse myths, I became excited. Pop culture’s access to this timeless story is limited to Marvel’s repurposed version of the tale. But there is more to the story than that. The opportunity presented
itself to tell an ever enduring and still relevant story…that can be reshaped into something that the Filipino audience can appreciate…In the Norse myths, the time of the gods ended with Ragnarok, but since the story is set in the present day, and the story is set in our country, this necessitates a character that best represents our identity and our passion to protect the things that we love, this necessitates the creation of a hero that will protect us from chaos. Thus, Victor
Magtanggol is created.)
“Actually, the Nordic part is only in the beginning, in the first episode, and not in the rest of the series. The story doesn’t revolve around the Norse mythology which was used only to explain the costumes, the gadgets and the names of the characters. But Thor will be there, part of the first episode. Also,
malapit sa puso ko ‘yung role kaya madaling gawin.”
Did you have any hand in choosing your leading ladies (Andrea Torres and Janine Gutierrez) and other co-stars (among them John Estrada and Pancho Magno as the villains, and child actor Yuan Francisco as Victor Magtanggol’s sidekick)? “The choices depend on management decision but they inform me about it for my approval. I really look forward to working with new people. Pero hindi naman ako namimili ng co-stars. I don’t do that. Wala naman akong nakakasamaan ng loob sa trabaho ko.” How many scenes did you shoot in Canada and in Japan?
“Not that many. We shot the mountain-top scenes for a few days in Vancouver and several days in the Tuyama Prefecture in Japan where I’m supposed to be looking for my mother (played by Coney Reyes) who is an OFW.”
Okay, Victor Magtanggol will be pitted against the ABS-CBN long-running (marking its third anniversary in September) and top-rating action series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. Handa ka na bang makipag-tapatan?
“Naku, honestly, masaya naman ako sa kinalabasan ng Victor
Magtanggol. GMA is investing so much on the series. Talagang
ginagastusan. I did my best to please not only the management but also the audience who looks forward na makabalik ako sa primetime.” (His last TV series was 2017 Destined To Be Yours with Maine Mendoza.) (E-mail reactions at entphilstar@ yahoo.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/ funfare or follow me on Instagram @ therealrickylo.)