RURU MADRID will be facing two formidable female villains in “Black Rider”: Katrina Halili and Gladys Reyes.
Both come from playing goody-goody roles in their last shows, so now, they are happy to be bad girls once more.
“Yes, aside po sa male contravidas na makakasagupa ko sa show, may mga astig na babae ring magiging tinik sa landas ko as Elias, the Black Rider,” says Ruru.
“I am so happy kasi alam naman natin ang kalibre ng Katrina Halili at Gladys Reyes bilang respected villains in local showbiz.
"Sa screen lang naman sila contravida, but in real life, pareho silang mabait at magaan katrabaho.”
Katrina played the mother of Jillian Ward and sisters in her last drama series, the hit afternoon show “Prima Donnas 1 and 2”.
Now, she is back on primetime in “Black Rider” as Romana, a hired killer.
“Isa akong sexy assassin dito, pero malayo pa ang tatakbuhin ng character ko na di pa puedeng ikuwento rito,” she says.
“Noong una, akala ko, basta contravida lang si Romana, but she’ll also figure in action scenes.
"E, namamahinga ako sa amin sa El Nido, Palawan, tapos tinawag ako at pinasabak ako sa training ng martial arts, shooting guns, doing stunts, fight scenes, pati pagsakay sa big bike.”
At first, she was doubtful if she could do all the difficult things that they require from her.
“Noong una, sabi ko, kaya ba ito? Kasi at home na ko sa pagiging nanay na iiyak-iyak sa ‘Prima Donnas’.
"Pero nung ginagawa ko na, na-enjoy ko naman. Natagtag uli ang katawan ko and I lost the fats I gained while on vacation in El Nido.”
Gladys’s last soap was “Madrasta” where she played a good girl, Elizabeth Ledesma.
"In “Black Rider”, she plays Madam Sasha Buenaventura, the wife of a mayor, Zoren Legaspi.
“All out contravida ako this time,” she says. “Yung character ko, she’s hungry for power kasabwat ang other villains like Raymond Bagatsing and Roi Vinzon.
"May ibang offers sa akin after ‘Madrasta’ pero, pandemic e. Puro lock in taping, so ayokong malayo ako sa family ko.
"This show, di ko matatanggihan kasi I want to support Ruru na nakatrabaho ko na noon sa ‘TODA One I Love’ at pareho kaming Iglesia ni Kristo members.”
She is just worried that Zoren’s wife, Carmina Villaroel, might get jealous of her.
“Kasi patay na patay sa akin si Zoren dito, e,” she says. “Mabait siya rito, ako yung maldita at sobrang in love siya sa akin. Na-miss ko yung magpakasama kasi alam nyo naman, mabait ako sa totoong buhay.”
Zoren is seated in front of her and keeps on laughing.
“Hoy, tawa ka ng tawa,” says Gladys. “Bakit parang ikinahihiya mo ako? Aminin mo, yun naman talaga ang role mo as Mayor Alfonso, sinasamba mo ako at hindi kita masisisi.”
Even the other cast members are laughing out loud because of Gladys’ comic antics.
Don’t miss “Black Rider” when it starts airing on GMA-7 this Monday, right after “24 Oras”.
