MANILA, Philippines - Aljur Abrenica (photo) is more confident in seizing what lies ahead: His destiny.
This is how Aljur described the state of mind of Prince Almiro, the character he plays in GMA 7’s fantaserye, The Last Prince, now on its sixth-week run.
“Prince Almiro’s experiences in the real world have served him well. He is now ready to rule the Kingdom of Paladino because he is sure of his purpose,” he said.
Spurring Prince Almiro on is his amore, Lara (played by Kris Bernal). According to Aljur, Lara is also up for major challenges now that she is resolved to go head on with her nemesis, Bawana (Bianca King).
“Palaban na din si Lara ngayon,” he quipped.
It’s art imitating life. Aljur said that since The Last Prince is his most challenging project because of the technical aspects (the prosthetics he uses takes two hours to apply, for one), the logistics (they shoot on-location most often) and the dynamic storyline, he and Kris have to be more disciplined unless they do not live up to the demands of their fantaserye.
“We make sure that we have memorized our lines and internalized the nuance of our characters even before the cameras start grinding. That way, we can just concentrate on perfecting our scenes once we’re on,” Aljur explained.
Aljur also credits the success of the show to the growing rapport he has with Kris whom he has worked with for the nth time. He said that the more they get to know each other, the easier it is for them to interact naturally in front of the cameras which translate to more effective portrayals.
Directed by Mac Alejandre, The Last Prince tells the fairy tale story of a kingdom in the clouds called Paladino. This magical realm is headed by the noble King Adorno (Emilio Garcia) and his beautiful wife Queen Lamara (Carmina Villarroel) with their three children Prinsesa Saraya (Bubbles Paraiso), Prinsipe Javino (Geoff Eigenmann) and Prinsipe Almiro (Aljur).
According to reviews, the show is reminiscent of classic love stories such as Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood.
Carla Abellana, Angelu de Leon, Eula Valdez, Chynna Ortaleza, and Chanda Romero also star in the show.
Aljur is also wrapping up work on his debut album to be released under GMA Records and Sony Music.
Aljur endorses Cocktales, Bench, Travel Pros, Skechers and Belo Medical Group.