Ogie not afraid of failure

MANILA, Philippines - Drama is the king of primetime, says TV5 star Ogie Alcasid. But despite this, the Kapatid network takes the gamble to go head to head once again with the soap operas of competing networks with Confessions of a Torpe, Ogie’s first daily primetime series with the network since his transfer from GMA 7 last year.

The 46-year-old singer-actor was not supposed to do comedy for his first teleserye with TV5. When he signed up with the network last year, Ogie was originally slated to appear in The Gift, a heavy drama co-starring Nadine Samonte and Ara Mina. The show, which aimed to showcase Ogie’s dramatic flair, came as a surprise to those who follow the comedian’s career. While he’s no stranger to the world of TV drama, having headlined a few as a GMA 7 actor, his forte is undoubtedly comedy. 

But the network decided to change their programming strategy by airing a comedy instead of the usual drama in their post-newscast timeslot. The tactic worked to some degree with Sharon Cuneta’s Madam Chairman. Now, the network is hoping the gamble will pay off again with Confessions of a Torpe.

“I have a bigger responsibility here because it’s a fact that TV5 is behind the ABS-CBN and GMA 7. We need to be able to come up with something that’s different that our audience will enjoy watching,” Ogie says when asked about the challenges he is facing now as a star of the Kapatid network. Of course, the comedian is up to the challenge.

“You can’t avoid the pressure. Kasama yun eh, di ba? Wala naman tayong gagawin sa buhay na walang pressure. But for me, it’s a good kind of pressure and stress because you tend to do your best. You’re not complacent,” he explains.

As for The Gift, Ogie shares there are no hard feelings over the network’s decision to shelve the program. Although they’ve already done two weeks’ worth of episodes for the cancelled drama, the singer-songwriter believes, “There are things that we have no control over.”

“And the thing about our network, if they felt, ‘Okay, wag na muna ito (My Gift), huwag na muna natin ilabas ito dahil dun tayo sa comedy,’ okay ako dun. Kasya naman ilabas natin, hindi maganda reception, doon na tayo sa lahat nag-a-agree na ito muna gawin natin,” says Ogie.

Perhaps, the daily comedy show is a better fit for Ogie, who channels a character unlike those he has done in the recent past. Here, he plays Christopher “Tupe” Catacutan, the titular 40-year-old “torpe” who is head over heels with Monique Salcedo, played by Alice Dixson. Unfortunately, Pete Malaqui, played by Wendell Ramos, will stop at nothing to make sure Tupe and Monique do not end up together.

Gelli de Belen, Bayani Agbayani and young stars Albie Casiño, Mark Neumann and Shaira Mae dela Cruz are also part of the cast.

Ogie knows the show is a big risk for TV5, a David to ABS-CBN and GMA 7’s primetime drama Goliaths, considering the audience is still accustomed to drama on weeknights.

“We are not expecting major changes like we’re going to capture the market. We just want to offer something different, something very entertaining, comedy-wise,” he muses. “It’s a challenge, not only for me but for the entire network. They’re taking a risk; they’re willing to do a project that’s comedy. Alam naman natin sa primetime ang hari ay drama. Sumugal sila sa comedy — that speaks a lot about them.”

It’s an uphill battle for the Kapatid network, but Ogie is not afraid to fail. “Failure is what keeps us going, failure is what keeps us trying,” he says.

He adds: “I expect the best from everything I do. You put your best foot forward in everything that you do, and if it falls short then so be it. If it does well then so be it. The most important thing in everything that you do is that you did your best. Then you won’t feel so bad.”

Is Ogie anything like Tupe? “Hindi, hindi ako ganun. Makapal ang mukha ko,” he quips. However, the singer-actor does have advice for those who are, like his character, “torpe.”

“Stay that way because in the end, you’ll find someone. I think you just have to be true to yourself. If you’re that way, why force to be someone that you’re not? If you’re shy, you’ll probably find someone who is very outgoing and will end up doing all the work,” he shares.

Confessions of a Torpe airs weeknights on TV5.