With his idols’ blessing, Ruru Madrid lives out his action star dreams

Ruru Madrid –GMA PUBLIC AFFAIRS

One of Ruru Madrid’s favorite pastimes as a kid was watching action flicks, especially those that starred Fernando Poe Jr., Philip Salvador, Monsour del Rosario and his “biggest inspiration,” Sen. Robin Padilla. And so, it goes without saying that Ruru ended up aspiring to become an action star.

Now, at 25, that dream he manifested for so long is starting to materialize.

After “Lolong,” Ruru is set to return to primetime television with GMA Network’s new action-drama series “Black Rider,” whose expansive cast includes Monsour and his other idols, like Gary Estrada, Raymart Santiago and Zoren Legaspi.

Philip Salvador, his former mentor in the reality talent search “Protégé,” promised to make a guest appearance in the show. While Robin isn’t involved in the show, he offered Ruru his well wishes, nonetheless and even went as far as calling him “the new action star of this generation.”

That he now gets to mingle and work with his idols is nothing short of surreal for Ruru.

“I have been manifesting this. It has been my dream since I was a child to do action movies. These people are my inspiration … And now I can get close to them. I don’t want to say that I feel like I belong, but just being with them and being told that they see lots of potential in me when it comes to action is so heartening,” Ruru told the Inquirer in an interview.

Confidence boost

The Kapuso star’s encounters with Philip and Sen. Robin in a recent meeting for the “Eddie Garcia Act” gave him a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the show’s premiere on Monday.

“Tatay Ipe hugged me and told me he was proud of me, and that I have come a long way since ‘Protégé,’” Ruru related. “He made sure to remind me that I should stay humble, na huwag akong magbago. He reminded me that I shouldn’t forget about the heart of the story while doing intense action scenes … the reason my character is fighting in the first place.”

When he was introduced by Sen. Robin as “the new action star of this generation,” Ruru couldn’t help, but feel shocked—like the ground was about to swallow him whole. “I didn’t even know he knew me,” he said, laughing.

“I got to talk to him before, when he attended a story conference for ‘Encantadia’ (2016) for Kylie (Padilla, his daughter). But this time, I really got to talk to him up close. I told him how much I look up to him, how big of a hero he is to me. I told him I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him because he’s my biggest idol and inspiration in action,” he related. “Hearing what he said about me, sobrang sarap sa puso—kinilig ako,” he added. “He said he appreciates [my efforts], because not a lot of actors from my generation are doing action. He told me to keep going, because he sees the way I move, the passion in me and the love for my craft.”

Produced by GMA Public Affairs, “Black Rider” follows Elias Guerrero (Ruru), a delivery app motorcycle rider who turns into a vigilante. With the community dubbing him as the new “symbol of justice and hope,” Elias, the Black Rider, sets out to fight and stop the notorious syndicate the, Golden Scorpion.

‘Natural chemistry’

As he goes along, he crosses paths with petty thief Bane Bartolome (Yassi Pressman), who, unbeknown to him, has a dark past with the Golden Scorpion. “Yassi is still the person I met 10 years ago. She’s such a versatile actress, from sweet characters to fierce and badass,” Ruru said. “We have a natural chemistry on the set.”

Directed by Erwin Tagle, Rommel Penesa and Richard Arelano, “Black Rider” also stars Matteo Guidicelli, Katrina Halili, Jon Lucas, Rio Locsin, Gladys Reyes and Raymond Bagatsing.

Unlike “Lolong,” which was shot during the height of the pandemic and hampered by restrictions, “Black Rider,” Ruru said, will take place in a much bigger world.

“When we did ‘Lolong,’ we couldn’t explore or go to different places. But now, viewers will see something different each night. We have different celebrity guests. Hindi tinipid. We want to give the people a well-crafted show,” said Ruru, who started training for the role six months ago.

“Our fight director Erwin trained us. ‘Lolong’ was more hand-to-hand combat. Here, I have to ride motorcycles. We will promote Filipino martial arts like yaw-yan and arnis. The character here has more skills. The stunts and fight scenes are difficult,” Ruru said. We started when I was still shooting my previous show ‘The Write One.’ I would go to training even without sleep. I didn’t want to take the network’s trust in me for granted.” One of Ruru’s most memorable experiences so far was doing action scenes with Monsour, who left him starstruck on the set.

“Being kicked by him is an honor,” he said, laughing. “I have watched his films, how he fought, the way he kicked … He trusted me and gave me great tips—kung paano ang mga anggulo, mga sapaw. And I was like a sponge, soaking in every bit of knowledge I could. Because I know I can apply these things at work.”Monsour, on other hand, was particularly impressed by Ruru’s willingness to take risks and determination to do his own stunts.

“Ruru has big potential. Sinabayan nya ako sa fight scenes … There was this one scene where I had to kick him and then he had to fall down on drums and concrete without any cushioning or padding. I thought a stuntman was going to do it, but as it turned out, Ruru’s execution was actually better,” Monsour recalled.

The series, Ruru added, is also a way of showing appreciation for our delivery riders, whose service has been invaluable to everyone, especially during the pandemic.

“I talk to our delivery riders when I get the chance … to get a feel where they’re coming from and know more about their hardships. I also know riders in person,” said Ruru who makes sure to tip these workers generously. “I see to it that I tip them well, especially when it’s raining. It might seem like a small gesture to you, but not for them.”

“But more than the riders, the show is also about ordinary people fighting every day, people trying to find solutions to problems that get thrown to them every day, people rising above challenges,” he said.

When Ruru first entered show biz, all he wanted was to see himself act on television. Now, he has realized that there’s more to his chosen profession. “There were people who didn’t believe in me and told me I wouldn’t make it… but thankfully, I didn’t give up. Now all the hard work is paying off,” he said. “I achieved what I had been praying for and more.”

“I want to prove, not just to other people, but also to myself, that I can do it and I’m deserving of this role,” Ruru said. INQ