BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

MANILA, Philippines — Actual lovers Ruru Madrid and Bianca Umali, together with Paul Salas and Mikee Quintos, lead the star-studded cast of “The Write One,” the initial co-production between Viu and GMA. The fantasy romance drama continues to entice audience among different age brackets with its twists and turns. Viu Philippines had a chat with the show’s leads to talk about their work as a couple and what they have learned from being part of this groundbreaking project. Read some of the highlights from their conversation below.

Ruru and Bianca’s Takeaway from Playing Liam and Joyce

Ruru and Bianca, who play the main roles in “The Write One,” enjoy the challenge of filming challenging situations and displaying a range of emotions in order to give Viu-ers and Kapuso fans a terrific performance. 

“The Write One is completely different from the past projects that we’ve had. It’s the first collaboration project of Viu and GMA, so the audience is different, the market is different, and the challenges are different,” says Ruru. “That’s why we work hard to give it our all for every scene.”

The main characters also discuss how it is more difficult to comprehend their characters’ feelings in order to understand the “plot twist”—the rewritten timeline that Liam (Ruru’s character) writes to alter their lives. 

“The characters we play are complex, and we cannot just show one-dimensional emotions. Each scene requires us to feel and display a variety of emotions, so that we can give justice to the scene,” adds Ruru.  

Bianca finds evoking the emotions of the character to be both difficult and gratifying, especially for her role as Joyce. “It’s one of those things that you have to experience for you to understand how we get into that state of ‘okay, I am ready, I am in character,’” she quips. 

“My favorite lesson from Joyce is her sense of unconditional love as a woman, a daughter, a wife, and a mother. I experienced all this from Joyce,” says Bianca. She finds it pleasant to portray a mother for the first time because she aspires to be a mother in the future. 

“I see the possibilities of being a mother through Joyce. I keep asking myself, ‘oh, so if this happened to me as Bianca, how would I handle this situation? How will I respond? That’s what I love about Joyce,” she adds. This is particularly apparent in the opening moments, where Liam and Joyce are navigating the difficulties of raising a young family and the accidents that led Liam to mistakenly alter their lives using the magic typewriter. 

Ruru, on the other hand, learned from playing Liam the value of practicing moderation while requesting more and being grateful for what he already has.

“‘The Write One’ is a story about contentment, really. Sometimes, we don’t see that we actually already have what we need: a loving family, a happy life, enough resources, but we push ourselves and want more. It’s not bad to dream big, but we shouldn’t overdo it. We should learn to appreciate everything that we have before we ask for more.”

Ruru and Bianca collaborated for the first time as a real-life relationship on “The Write One”. They had initially been each other’s safe haven and haven outside of their individual pursuits, but this program taught them how to successfully combine their relationship and on-screen work. 

“I realized we had to go through this experience for us to see better how we work as professionals. I saw how amazing Bianca’s work ethic is: from how she treats the staff on set to how she prepares for the role… I am lucky to have her as my leading lady and the love of my life,” shares Ruru.

Bianca was pleasantly surprised by how quickly she developed a deep fondness for Ruru. “I love Ruru, and it fills my heart to see other people look up to him whenever he succeeds in his projects. But I didn’t expect to feel this way—that I would be a fan, that I would idolize him so much, seeing how he works, how patient he is as an actor, and how determined he is to deliver a great scene.”

“He’s the glue that keeps everyone in the production, really,” adds Bianca. “He taught me a different approach to working—one that allows everyone in the project to be driven and determined to work hard.” 

Paul Salas and Mikee Quintos discuss how to deliver a fantastic scene by unwinding

Paul revealed that he still experiences first-day nervousness before filming when asked about their creative approach for developing their series characters. “I try to relax myself. I focus on the object of my character (Hans), that he’s a loving person, and is a lawyer by profession. I did my research.”

Mikee mentioned that she used to overhear him conversing on the phone with her father, a lawyer, while they were recording.

Paul says that having his off-screen partner Mikee in the same series has been a huge benefit for him. He is grateful to have someone to remind him to unwind during filming. 

The same is true for Mikee, who values Paul’s presence on set, especially during situations with a lot of stress.

“I always feel a little intimidated when I’m excited about a scene. I want to give justice to scripts that I believe are written very well,” Mikee shared. 

Mikee added that the way Via expresses herself makes her persona the most relatable. “The environment and the people she grew up with are big factors on how she reacts to what’s happening around her. These are details that are not explicitly shown on screen, so more than just the actor tasked to play Via, I feel like it’s really responsibility to show how Via is as a person; that her actions are greatly influenced by her past experiences.”

The couple discovered throughout this assignment that appearing in one show brought out their rivalry. Paul, though, clarified that the rivalry is healthy.  “Instead of feeling pressured, we enjoy the competitiveness that we feel when working together.”

On collaborating with seasoned thespians and upcoming twists

The four leads of The Write One discuss the depth of skill in the cast, saying that they found it both motivating and a good challenge as young actors in the business to work with seasoned actors like Miss Lotlot de Leon, Ramon Christopher, Mon Confiado, and Art Acuña on set. 

“They have this certain “veteran” energy where they don’t even have to say anything,” said Mikee on acting with veteran actors such as Miss Lotlot de Leon who plays as Ruru’s (Liam) mother in the series. “With just a gesture or the way they look at you in a scene, they are able to bring out emotions from you. So what you do is to just let the emotions flow.”

“And to feel that no matter the age difference, no matter the generation gap, it feels so good to be in a room wherein we all have the same level of love for what we do,” adds Bianca.

The four major characters are inspired by this enthusiasm and determination to give their all in the remaining episodes of the drama, which is why we should continue watching.

On Viu (https://bit.ly/ViuTheWriteOneEp1), you may watch past episodes of “The Write One” or view them in advance from Saturdays through Tuesdays. Visit www.viu.com or download the Viu app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to watch for free.

Additionally, GMA Telebabad is available Monday through Thursday at 9:35 p.m. at 11:30 p.m., with a simultaneous broadcast on Pinoy Hits and I Heart Movies. on GTV. GMA Pinoy TV offers access to the program for viewers worldwide. 

*Cover Photo/Thumbnail Photo from Viu Philippines PR