How family dinners at Franco Laurel’s house changed since ‘Drag Race PH’

Laurel (left) with fellow cast members of “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim” —FRANCO LAUREL/INSTAGRAM

Actor Franco Laurel said Sunday dinners has become a lot more interesting since his younger sister, Yanah, became one of the producers of “Drag Race Philippines.”

“I always ask my sister what’s happening. She would always reply, ‘I can’t say, Kuya, because I signed an NDA (nondisclosure agreement).’ So, she doesn’t tell me much until the episode has aired,” Franco told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview. “Whenever the family watches it, we’d say, ‘Did that really happen?’ or ‘Grabe ang away nila!’ or ‘They’re so wild this season!’ To be honest, I only started watching it because it was my sister and her best friend Alex Lopez who first brought it to the Philippines. I’m praying that there will be a Season 3 soon.”

Franco appears in the romantic-comedy series “What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim,” a project that he earlier said was “an answered prayer for me. I’m working with some of the best people in the industry.”

Embracing grief

He continued: “I’ve been in the business for almost 30 years, and I’ve done quite a number of roles that I really enjoyed. I’m just looking forward to working with young actors. I want to work with Piolo (Pascual) and John Lloyd (Cruz). I’ve already worked with Kathryn (Bernardo), Daniel (Padilla) and Jodi (Sta. Maria), with Maricel Soriano, too. I’ve also worked with Direk Coco Martin. I just want to do projects with them again.”

Meanwhile, Franco and his family will be commemorating the death anniversary of their mom, Fely Reyes Laurel, in September. He shared advice for those who may also be coping with the loss of a loved one.

“This is one thing that I’ve realized: You have to embrace grief. There are different stages of grief, just go through them because if you skip one, somewhere along the road—even 10 or 20 years from now—you will have to go back to it. It’s better if you go through it now,” said Franco.

“I always recite this prayer, ‘Lord, please turn my mourning into dancing.’ You should also pray that you dream of your loved ones. I’ve dreamed of my mom for almost 10 times already and each time, I see her very happy. Pray that you’d be able to talk to them and hug them,” the actor said. INQ