‘The Secrets of Hotel 88’ stars share takeaways from series

The cast members of GMA Network and ABS-CBN’s mystery-romance collaboration series, “The Secrets of Hotel 88,” recently shared the realizations and lessons they gained while filming the show.

Singer-songwriter Klarisse de Guzman discovered her acting potential while working on the series.

“Kaya ko pala kahit papano,” Klarisse began during the midseason presscon of “The Secrets of Hotel 88.” “Even in ‘PBB (Pinoy Big Brother),’ kailangan kong umarte. All of the cast (members) are great actors. It was challenging, I had a hard time memorizing, expressing my emotions, but I learned from them. I asked them for help. Nanghihingi ako ng mga techniques sa kanila. So I discovered that I can do it.”

For Kira Balinger, the unpredictability of the story was one of the things she enjoyed most during the shoot.

“I like not knowing what’s going to happen. So when it came to the script, I just read and studied my scenes.”

“It’s about enjoying what we’re doing,” Josh Ford shared, adding that he was glad that he was able to portray his role as Justin well.

“And of course, to always be uncomfortable. Parang ayoko kasi maging comfy sa isang scene kasi alam mo na kung anong gagawin mo… You have to always put your 100 percent effort into your character. You were chosen for the role so you have to show your best for the people.”

On the other hand, essaying the role of Leon was the “biggest and most challenging” acting experience for River Joseph so far.

He elaborated, “Because he has a lot of secrets and his character is very deep. I really found it challenging to portray him but then I’m very thankful to the prod and to the cast because they’re always there to support me.”

He plans to carry the lessons he gleaned from the series into his future projects. “Never stop learning, never give up… Just do your best.”

Esnyr, for his part, shared, “Actually natakot po ako nung pagbasa ko sa script ko na ganitong eksena. But I’m very grateful because finally, I can be more, I can do more beyond just providing lightness and comic relief in the story.”

“I think this is what the viewers have been waiting for like paano kaya kung more than that na yung pinagdadaanan ni Raphie?” Esnyr said of his character. “Kaya ayun medyo natatakot po talaga ako. Hindi ko pina-play kay direk (Henry King Quitain) yun and I didn’t look at the screen but I’m confident that direk was able to bring out the character and may napakita kaming flavor.”

AZ Martinez, meanwhile, realized her knack for comedy while doing the series.

“I’m funny pala,” she declared and echoed Kira’s thoughts about the unpredictability of the story. “Usually sa na-experience ko naman sa acting, I would practice ahead of time, the script and all that. And I feel that hindi ko nade-deliver as natural as how it should be. And it’s harder to adjust if you have it practiced in your head and parang hindi mo na makukuha yung gusto talaga ni direk.

“During the taping, I’ve learned na not to be over prepared but just to understand it, like read the whole script, understand how it goes and then drop it.”

Dustin Yu agreed, emphasizing that one should fully understand the script to properly approach each scene. “If you didn’t study it, you wouldn’t know where the character is coming from. So you really have to know it para alam mo yung atake… and I’ve learned that also from direk Henry.”

For Ralph de Leon, portraying Martin helped him discover his range as an actor. “With Martin, palaging masungit at galit. In the recent episodes, medyo nababali yung pagka-masungit ni Martin. Medyo napapa-sorry na siya.

“So having that and making sure that he turns into that actual person instead of that caricature na masungit na boss na masta-stuck dun sa image na yun sa utak ko. Especially with the help of direk, I was able to find (different) ways (of portraying him), yung iba yung galit, iba yung pa-kilig, iba-iba yung approach but of course, as Martin pa rin.”

One of the challenges for Will Ashley, on the other hand, was filming in a locked-in setup in Puerto Galera, away from his family and friends. Nevertheless, the experience taught him to be more patient and to trust the process.

While Bianca de Vera admitted feeling scared of doing action sequences, she later discovered her affinity for the genre.

“I remember my first action scenes, na-ere na siya yung na-kidnap ako and then dalawang mahabang araw yun sa action unit na sunod-sunod,” she recalled. “We had just arrived at the airport from Dubai at that time and then diretso sa port and taping. So sabi ko, ‘Kaya ko ba to?’ Because I never really dreamed of becoming an action star.

“After that day, I called my dad, ‘Daddy, may bago na akong pangarap. I want to be an action star.’ I didn’t know that about myself. So maybe a few years from now, although I love doing romance, drama and family scenes, isa yun sa mga comfort zones ko talaga na parang pag ginagawa ko yun I feel so at home, action kasi, thriller and mystery, it’s a challenge to me.

“And I feel like matuto ka talaga kapag ginagawa mo yung isang bagay na hindi ka marunong. So I really, really enjoyed that.”

Meanwhile, Brent Manalo learned to trust his director, co-actors and himself while filming “The Secrets of Hotel 88.”

“The series has elements of romance, mystery, action and horror. And it’s my first time to do that. Andaming nangyari dun na behind the scenes na, ‘Yeah, ganito pala mag-action.’ But it’s a learning experience really. We’ve all learned from it and ang saya na kinaya namin lahat.”

According to its synopsis, “The Secrets of Hotel 88” raises the stakes as it enters its midseason. Both families’ search for justice becomes more complicated as bigger secrets emerge and the possibility of death threatens everyone inside the hotel.

(Catch “The Secrets of Hotel 88” weeknights at 9:35 p.m. on GMA Prime, Kapamilya Online Live, and Kapuso Stream, and on GTV at 11:25 p.m. Episodes are also available seven days in advance on iWant).