On Thursday, July 28, Derrick Monasterio pointed out that he did not aim to have a great physique to land titular roles like Return to Paradise.
Monasterio started going to the gym when he was just 17, eventually falling in love with fitness. However, he did not expect GMA Network to turn him into a hunk actor.
“Kasi, noong 17 ako, nag-start akong magbuhat. Tapos nagkaroon ako ng kaunting muscles. Tapos ‘yun na! Hinubaran na ako, hahaha,” he jest.
Monasterio only wants to lead an active lifestyle and has no intention of showing his body just to land leading roles.
“So for me, hindi ko naman talaga siya like pinlano. Ako talaga, I was just being fit, just love working out. Pero ‘yun nga, hindi ko in-expect na magagamit ko siya dito sa ganitong role,” he said during the virtual media conference of the series.
Furthermore, Kapuso’s talent wanted the audience to realize that he is more than an actor with a set of abs. He wants them to know that he can “deliver” thanks to his wonderful team.
“Well, siyempre gusto ko rin po na makita nila na hindi lang ito puro pa-yummy, mga ganiyan. Gusto kong makita nila na kaya ko ring mag-deliver.”
“I give credits to my director, to our acting coach, to the staff, to the bosses. Lahat sila, hindi ko ito nafi-feel na parang trabaho eh. This is a collaboration between talents and happy ako na napunta ako dito sa team na ito.
“I think for me this is the best team that I’ve worked with and grabe lang ‘yung passion ko for this project kasi grabe din ang passion nila. So collab.”
Return to Paradise also stars Protegé finalist Elle Villanueva in her first titular role.
The series will begin airing on August 1, replacing Raising Mamay.