Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition alumni Brent Manalo and River Joseph are entering a new phase in their careers as they star in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry Call Me Mother and the upcoming mystery-drama series The Secrets of Hotel 88.
In an interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, both young actors opened up about the surreal and life-changing moments behind these back-to-back milestones.
For Brent, working on Call Me Mother still feels unreal, especially since Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre have long been staples of his family’s MMFF traditions.
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“Until now, parang hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na I got to work with Meme Vice, Ate Nadine kasi yearly pinapanood namin, kaming family namin pinapanood namin yung entries nina Meme Vice and Ate Nadine sa MMFF and you know, parte an ako noon. I guess, parang panaginip pa rin siya until now,” Brent said.
Brent also addressed the buzz about his on-screen chemistry with co-star and PBB Collab Big Winner Mika Salamanca, saying: “Masaya kasi ayon din yung winowork on namin, yung chemistry namin so I’m happy na nakita iyon ni Meme Vice.”
READ: Vice Ganda, Jun Lana reveal story behind Disneyland shoot in ‘Call Me Mother’ trailer
But the biggest takeaway for Brent was witnessing first-hand the discipline and professionalism of seasoned artists he worked with in the film.
“Grabe yung professionalism nila, as in. I think it’s often talk about kapag ganyan yung mga big stars na. Kaya sila tumatagal kasi sa pagiging professional nila kaya ayon talaga pinakanabaon ko sa pelikulang ito,” he said.
For River, Call Me Mother is his first film, his first MMFF entry, and his first project with stars he idolized growing up.
“Call Me Mother was such a dream come true also kasi first time ko to be part of a movie and first time to me to be part of MMFF tapos kasama ko pa sila Meme Vice who has been an icon in the MMFF. Every year, lahat ng movies niya very iconic na napanood ko ever since I was young so it was very surreal to me to be part of a movie… This is an experience na I truly will never forget talaga,” he shared.
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Working with director Jun Robles Lana, Vice Ganda, and Nadine Lustre elevated the experience for River as well as the pressure.
“Super pressure and kinabahan ako kasi kaeksena ko pa sila Nadine and Meme Vice so ako yung first ever scene ko parang nanginginig pa ako and ang dami dami kong iniisip pero they made me feel comfortable naman and they are very approachable and they made it easy to work with them,” River shared.
READ: Why did Nadine Lustre say yes to a mom role in ‘Call Me Mother?’
READ: Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre grateful to be constants in fans' MMFF experience
Aside from the MMFF, Brent and River are also busy with their new series The Secrets of Hotel 88, where they reunite with their PBB Celebrity Collab batchmates and work with both Kapamilya and Kapuso stars.
Brent teased that fans will see completely different sides of the former housemates.
“Naka-two cycles na kami actually and marami talagang kailangan abangan talaga. Siguro ibang PBB housemates yung makikita niyo rito. Kung tingin niyo, nakita niyo na lahat sa loob ng bahay ni Kuya, may ipapakita pa kami na hindi niyo pa nakikita sa PBB house,’ Brent stated.
He added that the show’s unexpected blend of genres kept the cast excited. Brent also shared what shooting experience stands out for him.
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“Siguro yung opening scene ko, yung pagpasok ko. Bagong bago siya sa akin and doon ko talaga narealize na ang hirap maging artista,” he added.
Meanwhile, River expressed how grateful he is to be part of the main cast of a teleserye for the first time.
“Hotel 88 is something to look forward to kasi we have the PBB housemates but other than that is the story. It is about love and something that we can enjoy kasi isa po itong mystery drama na hindi mo malalaman kung sino. We would let the audience guess throughout the whole season,” he shared.
He highlighted how the daily taping schedule has helped them grow as actors: “I’m very blessed to be part of Hotel 88 kasi first time for me to be part of the main cast talaga and sa teleserye and feeling ko, dahil sa serye na maraming taping days na almost every day we are shooting, we will all come out as best actors kasi dito ang dami naming natutunan.”
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River’s favorite moment was filming a rare scene with all their PBB batchmates together.
“Yung favorite moment ko sa Hotel 88 is magkakasama kaming lahat ng housemates sa isang eksena dahil first time namin iyon. First time namin magsama sama sa isang eksena and it feels different kasi sanay ako na makita sila sa tunay nila na ugali sa tunay nila na personality pero dito ibang character ang pinopotray nila so I'm excited to see how it translate on scene,” he explained.