Martin del Rosario received rave reviews for his portrayal of transgender beauty queen Kevin Balot in Malaala Mo Kaya aired last Saturday, May 18. In an exclusive interview with Push.com.ph, the young actor shared that his recent role was quite challenging. “Siyempre medyo mahirap kasi hindi lang siya basta gay role, transvestite pa. Tsaka Miss International so kailangan marunong ka ring gumalaw.”
He shared that he sought advice from Balot himself in order to give justice to the character. “Pinag-aralan ko rin talaga. Nagpaturo ako mismo kay Kevin Balot kung paano ‘yung kilos, pano hindi magmumukhang OA.”
When asked what made him say yes to the role, Martin remarked, “Matagal na rin akong hindi gumawa ng gay role. Siguro last two or three years ago pa, sa MMK rin ‘yun. So ngayon parang wala namang masama.” He added that the more daring the role is, the more he wants to do it. “For me mas challenging role, mas gusto ko. So ayun, challenging role so tinanggap ko siya.”
Martin was ecstatic about the positive feedback that he received. His portrayal even trended on Twitter, locally and worldwide. “Nagulat nga ako eh nagtext din si Kevin na nagtrend siya worldwide, number one. Nagtrend siya nationwide din.”
He admitted that he never expected such an overwhelming response from the viewers and he is thankful for the support. “Di ko naman ini-expect pero nakakatuwa dahil grabe rin sa Twitter ‘yung mga tao. Sinuportahan talaga nila. So nakakatuwa kasi pinaghirapan ko rin naman ‘yung MMK na ‘yun at nakakatuwa na ma-appreciate ng mga tao ‘yun.”
With his superb performance in MMK, is he open to the possibility of playing a gay character in a movie? “Oo, okay lang sa akin,” he said.
