Gerald Anderson steps behind the camera for the first time

October 25 ------ Gerald Anderson proudly shared how he directed his first scene in ABS-CBN’s crime action-drama series “Sins of the Father.”

Produced by JRB Creative Production, the show features Gerald as one of the directors, alongside FM Reyes, Bjoy Balagtas, and Avel Sunpongco. Gerald is also the lead actor, portraying Samuel Trinidad, a bank manager, in the series that tackles investment scams.

“My first scene was actually with JC (de Vera) and LA (Santos). When they entered the building, that was the first scene I ever directed,” Gerald shared at a presscon. “And thank you also to them because that’s one for the books.” He also thanked the “amazing” producers, cameramen, and the entire production team for helping him out, stressing, “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Kapamilya actor’s foray into directing was just a “spur of the moment.” As he recalled, “JRB (Julie Anne R. Benitez) and I and the creative team were just talking. They presented to me one versus 100 scenes para malagay si Samuel in this one particular situation. And then I was also giving my inputs na pwede ganito, pwede ganyan. And that’s the beauty of this team, they are very collaborative. It’s really teamwork. “Miss JRB mentioned that if I want to direct that scene. And honestly, I said, ‘Wow! That would be an honor, a privilege.’”

He felt nervous at first because it was an on-the-spot moment. “But the fact that she had that trust in me, parang it gave me the confidence na parang, ‘Sige. Laban.’ And our directors were very gracious, and I was asking questions, ‘Direk, paano nga pag over the shoulders shots?’” He reiterated the importance of the support and guidance that he received from his fellow directors and actors in pulling off the scenes.

It never occurred to Gerald that he would get to direct someday, just as he didn’t expect to find himself in the acting field. “It’s a different animal, craft. It’s something that I did not really aspire to be but at the same time, when I was younger, I didn’t really aspire to be an actor. Wala talaga yan, sa basketball ang gusto ko or papasok ako sa military, nasa dalawa lang na yun,” he reflected. “But when an opportunity so good is handed to you, and it was handed to me after (having) 19 years naman in my (acting) career, (I accepted it). I didn’t attend film school. But I’m a very observant person, and I listen to the directors. I see them — how they worked for the past 19 years. I’m not saying that I’m at their level. I have so much to learn.”

The “Sins of the Father” is his first step into directing, he said. “Mas tumaas pa yung respeto ko sa kanila (directors) because it’s not an easy job, mahirap siya. You are the captain of the ship, you are the leader, there’s pressure from the production. Because we’re working with limited time, minsan yung location, minsan yung artista, when you put all of that together, and the director has to produce something na at least quality sana, it’s very hard. It’s very hard, but I enjoyed my experience.”

He learned a lot through the entire process, and for that, he was thankful. He also planned to direct more projects. “I want to direct more in the future, but hindi na ako yung artista,” he expressed. “I would like to do that because, of course, I want to test myself.” Acting and directing are two different fields, and doing both is really tough, added Gerald.

Apart from directing, he recently ventured into film production. His company, Third Floor Studios, teamed up with Dondon Monteverde and Erik Matti’s Reality MM Studios for the Metro Manila Film Festival 2025 entry “Rekonek.” The “Sins of the Father” delves into darker storylines that uncover large-scale scams like money lending, human trafficking, and employment fraud. The series also became the most-watched series on iWant.

Source: philstar.com