Marking their return to a Kapamilya series, Ejay Falcon and Yassi Pressman expressed their gratitude for being part of Dreamscape Entertainment’s action-drama series Roja.
During the show’s finale media conference, Yassi shared how fulfilling it was for her to work on a project where she felt warmly welcomed.
“Pinaka-fulfilling siyempre is to be able to do my art in a place that feels like home and nawelcome po ako ng buong buo, by everybody here and by ABS-CBN and everyone from Dreamscape. Talagang naalala ko po talaga kung bakit mahal na mahal ko tong trabahong to, that’s the most fulfilling for me,” Yassi said.
In the series, Yassi portrayed Ayen, the daughter of Emil, played by Joel Torre, who leads the siege at La Playa Roja. Her character carried one of the story’s biggest secrets and revelations, which ultimately explained why the hostage situation at the resort happened.
In a previous episode of Kapamilya Chat, Yassi also shared that she initially did not expect her role to last until the end of the series.
“Sobrang laki po ng gratitude ko po sa pagiging part nito. Coming from the (start), akala ko po one scene lang hanggang sa humaba ng humaba at umabot na po ako sa finale. cThank you and talagang nakaka-inspire po talaga,” she expressed.
The actress also recalled one of her most memorable scenes in the show when her character was slapped by veteran actress Lorna Tolentino, who played Greta, the wife of Ayen’s lover Magnus (played by Raymund Bagatsing).
Yassi revealed that she personally told Lorna to make the slap as real as possible, saying it was an honor for her to do such a scene with the veteran actress.
Meanwhile, Ejay, who recently returned to acting after years of hiatus while serving as a public official, shared a similar sentiment about being part of the series. The actor admitted he initially thought his role would only be brief since he joined the show during its second half.
“Actually, kahit ako na-surprise, di ko talaga alam. Noong unang inoffer sakin ng Dreamscape, sabi special participation so akala ayon lang na mag-te-taping ako, isang lock in and then biglang pahaba ng pahaba yung character ko and blessing iyon para sa akin,” Ejay happily said.
Ejay played Lieutenant Marlon Areza, a police officer who arrives to help the victims of the La Playa Roja siege. According to the actor, he immediately appreciated the depth of his character.
“Natutuwa ako kasi ang ganda noong character. Sabi ko nga, yung character ko, marami na akong ginawa dating mga teleserye but yung character ni Lieutenant Marlon Areza, parang naging fan ako noong character niya kase yung pagiging pulis niya, siya talaga yung by the book, sumusunod talaga sa batas,” he explained.
He added that the role highlighted that being a police officer goes beyond simply using a gun, saying: “Hindi lang basta napatunayan ng character niya na hindi lang ang paggamit ng baril yung pagiging pulis kumbaga yung integridad niya, yung pag save sa mga taong na nangangailangan ng tulong.”
The actor also thanked Dreamscape Entertainment and ABS-CBN for giving him the opportunity to return to acting,.
“Very thankful ako sa Dreamscape at sa lahat ng mga taong nandyan sa pagbabalik ko bilang artista and siyempre yung action genre, una ko namang minahal ko iyan and sa ABS-CBN din po yung nagmold sa akin para makagawa ng mga ganito,” he added.
Catch the finale week of Roja weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and ALLTV, as well as via Kapamilya Online Live and iWant. The series is also available for streaming on Netflix.