Why Herlene Budol finds Empoy difficult to work with

Empoy (left) and Herlene Budol pose with trophies from New York Festivals TV and Film Awards. —HERLENE BUDOL/FACEBOOK

Working with Empoy can be challenging, Herlene Budol admitted. But not for reasons one might expect.

It goes without saying that Empoy is an effective comedian—too effective, in fact, that Herlene ends up laughing in scenes where she shouldn’t.

“Ang hirap po niyang katrabaho, sobrang hirap. His facial expressions make me laugh even if we’re doing a heavy scene where I have to cry,” the beauty queen-turned-actress said in recent video conference for the final week of GMA Public Affairs’ “Black Rider.”

In the primetime action series, which ends on July 26, Herlene plays a battered wife named Pretty. She later on finds an admirer in the motorcycle rider Oka (Empoy), who later convinces her to pretend to be his wife to please his dying father. Their relationship eventually blossoms.

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“When I look at him, I can’t help but break character. I become a fan girl. Bata pa lang kasi ako, napapanood ko na ang isang Empoy. His smallest movements and nuances bring out my real personality,” Herlene said.

Their characters’ amusing cat-and-mouse dynamic surprisingly earned them not a few fans who think they have chemistry together.

“In terms of chemistry, our director Rommel Penesa, would tell me, ‘Meron talaga.’ I’d reply, ‘Talaga ba, Direk?’ I just try to enjoy every moment when I’m working with him. Masaya naman po kami kapag naglalandian sa set,” Herlene said with the deadpan humor she’s known for.

Just like dancing

Herlene was initially supposed to play a guest character, but the supposed one-day taping became two. Before long, she was a regular cast member. Little did she realize that “Black Rider” would be physically more challenging than the previous show she topbilled, the successful afternoon soap, “Magandang Dilag.”

“I wasn’t used to the kind of acting we did here, all the scenes where I was physically abused. But the shift in my character was a quick one and it had great impact on me,” she said, adding that playing Pretty taught her a lot of new things as an actress.

“You always have to listen intently to the actor you’re doing a scene with. You have to be focused, because it’s hard delivering your lines, pouring out your emotions while trying to remember your blocking. There are a lot of cues, it’s like you’re dancing … Mahirap na sabay-sabay,” she related.

Thankfully, her more experienced costars, like Rio Locsin and Aleck Bovick, are always there for support.

“With Ate Aleck (who plays Pretty’s enemy, Lorna), she guides me during our catfight scenes. She’d tell me, ‘My hand will touch your face.’ I would reply, ‘Te, sige lang.’ Faking is hard. But I was able to learn techniques that I can apply in the future,’ she said.

Intense emotions

Herlene still has a tendency, however, to hold on to intense emotions long after the director yells “Cut!” That’s something she’s still trying to work on.

“Sometimes, I go to my personal assistant for a hug or to vent because I can’t let go of emotions. Ang sakit ng nararamdaman ko physically, emotionally, lahat ng may ‘-ly.’ Grabe. Sometimes, I bring them home with me,” she said.

Still, she’s thankful for the experience and the friendships she built on the set of “Black Rider.” “Pretty is now a big part of my life … I get to work with actors I look up to. Masarap dito, walang plastikan. Now, I’m having ‘sepanx’ (separation anxiety) because the show is about to end,” she said. “I will miss our bonding. The friendship we have is priceless.”

Should “Black Rider”—topbilled by Ruru Madrid—get a second book in the future, Penesa and creator and writer, Erwin Caezer Bravo, said they would love to give Herlene’s and Empoy’s characters a spinoff.

But for now, the focus is on bringing the story and all its subplots to a close.

“Some will end up being happy; others, sad. The characters will have different fates, just like how it is in real life. Not everyone has a happy ending. But we tried to make things as realistic as possible. We’re leaving out some clues, just in case we end up doing another season,” said Bravo. “Black Rider” bagged a bronze award for drama at the New York Festivals TV and Film Awards.

“Whatever the case, we will continue telling relatable stories inspired by the masses. There are lots of stories, characters and places within the ‘Black Rider’ world that can still be explored. There are a lot of Filipino stories waiting to be told,” he added. INQ