Rhian Ramos on why she’s stayed loyal to GMA

August 15 ------ Rhian Ramos unexpectedly turned emotional when The STAR asked how GMA Network had earned her fierce loyalty for almost two decades as a Kapuso artist. Earlier this week, members of the press, including this paper, witnessed the renewal of Rhian’s exclusive contract with GMA as one of the network’s prized talents.

In attendance were president and chief executive officer Gilberto Duavit Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer Felipe Yalong, and officer-in-charge for the Entertainment Group and vice president for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy. Also present were Rhian’s manager, Michael Uycoco, and her “discoverer,” senior vice president for Programming, Talent Management, Worldwide, and Support Group, and president of GMA Films, lawyer Annette Gozon-Valdes. Network executives took turns praising and thanking the actress during the signing.

“From a number of drama roles to hosting reality, musical and lifestyle shows throughout these years, Rhian has not shown anything but versatility, professionalism and loyalty,” Duavit said. “She is a fine example to all of us, and Rhian makes us very proud.” Ching-Sy expressed her gratitude to the actress: “Thank you for choosing to remain a Kapuso once again. Isa kang natatanging Kera (queen) hindi lamang sa ‘Encantadia’ kundi dito rin sa GMA at sa mga puso ng manonood. I’ve seen your growth as an artist, and I can proudly say that you are one of this generation’s best actresses. Please continue to grow and be an inspiration to other people.”

Gozon-Valdes recalled discovering Rhian in a commercial when she was still a teenager. “You’ve gone such a long way. You’re one of our best actresses now. But what I admire the most about you is that you keep living out your faith. You were a strong Christian from the start until now. Thank you for trusting GMA again. We’ll always be here for you.”

When asked by The STAR for her own perspective on why she chose to stay a Kapuso all these years, Rhian shared: “You know, I was given this opportunity at such a young age. I was a kid who didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know that this was work. And I didn’t know what acting was. I couldn’t even speak the language. And they gave me that, and it changed my life. “I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve literally had zero adult experiences that I’m not a Kapuso. As in bata pa lang ako, Kapuso na ako until I grew up.

“So, it’s not so much that I’m loyal to the station — I feel like they have been loyal to me. They didn’t just treat me like a business. They didn’t just treat me like, ‘Oh, this is one of our businesses… it’s not doing well right now, let’s kill it.’ “It’s not like that. They always treated me like a person and continued to give me opportunity after opportunity. And since they stuck with me when I gave them the worst of me, I’m gonna stick with them while I give them the best of me. “That’s what I want to do for the network, that’s what I want to do for everyone who’s sitting there, all of the bosses that are here today, and that’s what I want to do for the Kapuso audience — just look for the best of me and give it to them.”

The contract renewal comes at a very exciting time in the career of Rhian, who’s currently playing the main villain Mitena in the primetime series “Encantadia Chronicles: Sang’gre.” “It’s been almost 20 years, but I feel like all the roles that I’ve been getting lately have just been, like, painit ng painit, pabigat ng pabigat. I think it’s a testament also for me, how I feel about it, how much trust the station gives me each time, how much trust the writers give that they think, ‘you can do it.’ I feel like it’s just starting, there’s so much more we can do together in the coming years,” she said during the intimate media huddle.

Rhian, likewise, reflected that her priorities and motivations have shifted since the beginning of her career. The 34-year-old actress was discovered as a teenager in a fast-food chain commercial and made her acting debut in the 2006 primetime series “Captain Barbell.” “I really didn’t have any artistic goals in the beginning, I kinda wanted to just make money and then have a business, and quietly grow old somewhere… but now, there’s so much expression that I want to get out of me na para bang when I see a scene that I haven’t done before or an actor I haven’t worked with before, I see it as this super big opportunity of growth for me. Like I want to do that! “It’s very different already — what used to excite me then and what excites me now. I don’t even look at my paychecks. That was my whole ‘why’ before. Now my ‘why’ is, I want Philippine free TV to be the same level as what people expect from cinemas. I want people to turn the TV on, feeling excited because they can watch art.”

Source: philstar.com