Why Derek Ramsay feels ‘guilty’ to work during Christmas

Derek Ramsay (right) with wife Ellen Adarna and her son Elias during Christmas 2022 —DEREK RAMSAY/INSTAGRAM

While Derek is grateful that his comeback acting project, “(K)ampon,” is part of this year’s edition of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the actor said this also meant he would have to work during the Christmas holidays and this made him “feel guilty.”

“I’ve had my entire career where Christmas was really meant for family. It’s really my favorite time of the year. I would always try to make up for all the sacrifices I’ve made throughout the year for my family during this season,” he told Inquirer Entertainment during a recent interview. “This is also why, before I got married, I made sure not to join the MMFF every year, just every other year. It’s difficult to work during this period. However, if the project is good, it’s also rewarding. It’s tough finding the right time to balance family and promoting an MMFF film.”

Derek, who took a break from acting when he married actress Ellen Adarna in November 2021, said he agreed to do “(K)ampon” because he liked the story. “I believe in the script. It’s nice that the MMFF selection committee believed in it, too, and picked it as one of the first four entries. I guess they also saw what we saw in the script,” he pointed out.

King Palisoc’s “(K)ampon” was first chosen as an MMFF entry in 2019. Kris Aquino was supposed to be Derek’s leading lady then. He is now paired with Beauty Gonzalez.

Scene from “(K)ampon” —QUANTUM FILMS

‘Doing something right’

Quantum Films producer Joji Alonso swore that Derek gave everything he’s got while making the film. When we asked for his reaction, Derek said: “Atty. Joji is somebody that I really respect. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to work with her. There were many times after shooting some scenes when Direk King would come up to me to say, ‘Kinilabutan ako d’on!’ or he would shake my hand. You can see that he’s excited with what he saw. Meanwhile, I honestly feel like I’m a bit rusty, so I would ask myself, ‘Is the passion still there?’ But based on the reaction of Direk or Atty. Joji’s comment, I’m assured that I’m doing something right here.”

Both of Derek’s MMFF best actor wins were from projects produced by Quantum Films—“English Only, Please” in 2014 and “All of You” in 2017. “For Atty. Joji to say that I did a better performance than those two means a lot to me. It also makes it harder to stay away from acting. It’s the little things, the positive comments, that keep me motivated, that makes me happy and want to do more,” he said.

Complement

Derek claimed he is not expecting another best actor recognition for this one. “When I start a project, I always want to do it right. I never enter a project thinking I want to win best actor. If your energy level and your coactor’s are different, then you’re not necessarily complementing each other. It’s just not going to blend well. I prefer working with people as a team. I don’t just think of myself. A scene will be perfect only when the people in that scene start to work together. I gave everything that I had because that’s just how I am, but not for the intention of winning best actor or for people to notice my acting,” he said.

Derek is convinced that he worked really well with Beauty and young actor Erin Espiritu in this project. “We complemented each other. It all boils down to the script and the captain of our ship, our director, who puts us in the right direction. I’m a very transparent person—I’ll have some mood swings or I’ll be upset about something—but when the camera lights turn red, I make sure I do my job well.”