Papa P mala-tagos sa dugo ang gustong gawin nila ni Juday; inamin kung ba’t ‘di natuloy ang early retirement!

Itinuturing ni Piolo Pascual na isang milestone para sa kanyang career ang hit seryeng Pamilya Sagrado, na magbubukas na ng bagong yugto sa bago nitong timeslot na 9:30 PM pagkatapos ng Lavender Fields na nag-umpisa na kagabi.

“I’ve never been this invested in a show. It’s nice to get to play a character na masasabi kong not just challenging, but a milestone for my career as well. I’m so happy seeing their [Kyle Echarri at Grae Fernandez] growth. They owned it,” sabi ni Piolo sa mediacon at thanksgiving event para sa serye noong Linggo ng hapon (Setyembre 1).

 Proud din siyang makita kung paano niyakap ng kanyang mga co-star ang hamon sa roles nila at malaki rin ang pasasalamat niya sa patuloy na pagtangkilik ng mga manonood sa serye.

 Kinilig naman sina Kyle at Grae sa papuri ng mga manonood sa kanilang mahuhusay na pagganap sa kanilang mga karakter at binansagan na nga silang rising leading men at dramatic actors ng ABS-CBN.

 “Nakakaka-pressure but I’m so honored to be called one of the “next in line.” Maraming magagaling na artista sa ABS-CBN kaya para sabihin na isa ako roon, talagang nagpapa­salamat ako,” ayon kay Kyle.

 Sabi rin ni Grae na lagi niyang binubuhos ang best niya upang bigyang-buhay ang isang karakter, “I’ve always been concerned with work and the story. I’m just an actor to serve the story of the writer and the story for the audience na may ibibigay tayo na message and entertainment.”

Samantala, tinatrabaho pala ni Piolo ang makulay na buhay ni former police chief and now Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

Ito ang naging rebelasyon ng actor sa aming interview with other entertainment editors. “Well, I’m working on a Magalong project. I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to disclose it. So I spoke with Mayor Magalong, and we’re interested in kind of making a movie out of his life. So that’s in the pipeline.”

Isa pang consistent siya sa plano ay ang magampanan ang buhay ni former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Sa Malacañang siya lumaki dahil sa inang matagal doon nagtrabaho. “But personally, since I grew up during the Marcos time, when my mom was working in Malacañang for 19 years, that was my environment growing up. So I’m a Marcos baby. I want to provide our audience something that they’ve not seen growing up or for them to know about a person. So nothing political, no political agenda whatsoever,” pagdidiin ng award winning actor.

Pero handa raw siyang i-give up ang kahit anong ginagawa niya sakaling pumayag si Judy Ann Santos na magkaroon sila ng reunion movie.

“I’ll drop everything for her. I mean, I owe her so much, and I miss working with her if I’m given a chance, anytime, in a heartbeat,” pag-amin ni Papa P.

Umaasa pa rin ang fans nila ng actress na magtatambal ulit sila. “Ako rin naman nag-eexpect pa rin eh, one of these days. I learned so much from her.”

At ang naisip niyang genre, kung sakali : “Gusto ko nga sa amin parang Tagos Sa Dugo eh. Parang something crime ‘yung ganun, thriller, suspense, psychological drama. Parang hindi rom-com.”

Pinagbidahan ito ng Star for All Seasons na si Vilma Santos-Recto noong 1987.

Nang tanungin kung ano ang dahilan at tila natatagalan ang muli nilang pagsasamang dalawa, diretsahang sagot ni Papa P., “Not me, ask her, hahaha! I’m open.”

‘Di gaya nung una niyang plinano na pagku-quit sa showbiz when he turned 40, ngayon daw ay excited si Papa P na gumawa ng mas marami pang proyekto na lalo pang hahasa sa husay niyang umarte.

“I’m already excited to do another one. I don’t think I must stop. After Flower of Evil, after Pamilya Sagrado, I already asked Dreamscape, or ABS, for that matter, what the next show is going to be. Ayun nga, nagkaroon ako ng renewed excitement for content and giving life to characters that are more diverse nowadays because we have more choices and access to different platforms. 

 “So yeah, I’ll never stop creating content and producing stuff that would make me feel productive and, at the same time, may mabibigay kang bago. You know, I always try to keep on thinking of new concepts so that we can serve our audience something that they can be proud of and we can champion as Filipinos.”

Wake up daw siguro ‘yung sinabi niyang gusto niyang mag-quit noon. “Siguro, I had a wake-up call because I remembered before I was turning 40 that I wanted to quit. I was so, parang, I wanted to leave while I was still on top of my game. And I was humbled by the Lord. Ang dami pang projects, how dare you resist or refuse work that comes your way? You can be a conduit or a vessel for some projects that can help people, other people, or for shows. So parang nagkaroon ako ng excitement, renewed excitement because I felt during the pandemic that it was boring pala ‘pag wala kang ginagawa. Sabi ko, hindi ko pala kayang walang ginagawa sa buhay. Ayaw ko maging unproductive. And since the start of the pandemic, naglo-loosen na sya. Hindi na talaga ako tumigil. So I have like four movies that I finished during the pandemic. Tapos, I just kept doing stuff left and right. And it hasn’t stopped since then. So I’m just really parang trying to bring my A game every time so that I don’t have to compromise or feel regret after.”

Bukod sa Pamilya Sagrado, ngayon ay puspusan ang kanyang paghahanda para sa shoot ng 2024 MMFF entry nila ni Vic Sotto na The Kingdom ng APT Entertainment.

 Sobrang grateful umano siya sa sunud-sunod na assignment mula sa ABS-CBN at Dreamscape Entertainment, maging sa independent producers tulad ng Mentorque, producer ng MMFF entry niyang Mallari, kung saan nag-uwi siya ng mga parangal, kabilang na ang best actor mula sa 7th EDDYS (Entertainment Editors’ Choice) ng Society of Philippine Entertainment Editors (SPEEd).