Earlier this year, Maika Rivera was seen as part of the talented cast of the top-rated primetime series FPJ’s Batang Quiapo where she played the role of Atty. Vera Saldivar. Since then, the former GirlTrends member admits she is still reeling from the whole experience on the set and working with seasoned actors.
“Kakatapos ko lang mag-Batang Quiapo. Siyempre ibang klaseng experience talaga. Maraming salamat kay kuya Coco kasi malaki talaga ang tinulong niya sa akin. Talagang he made sure that the characters are good as well, acting-wise. Kailangan talaga sharp,” Maika told PUSH ABS-CBN during her exclusive interview at the Shake, Rattle, & Roll: Evil Origins story conference.
READ: Girl Trends’ Maika Rivera dreams of playing Darna
Maika also considered herself very lucky to be able to get to see Batang Quiapo director and main star Coco Martin in action on the set. She shared what about his working style inspired her the most during that time. “The hard work and humility in that guy — grabe talaga ‘yung hard work niya. ‘Yung dedication and ‘yung passion niya sa every eksena is why he’s the Primetime King,” she said.
The 29-year-old actress also recalled one of her most memorable moments of shooting scenes on the streets all day for the show. “Naka-heels ako dun eh. Naka-heels ako na tumatakbo kami sa Malabon and, wala lang, same lang siya when you’re outside and the weather is the same. In fact, it was exciting because it’s something that you don’t really get to experience on a daily basis,” she said.
Having been part of the all-female group GirlTrends for almost four years, Maika looked back with gratitude for what she considered her initial training into showbiz. “Of course, being part of GirlTrends talaga, that was really the starting point talaga. It gave me the opportunity to learn about the industry. Every single day, we trained. Hindi lang siguro nahalata (laughs). Pero we trained talaga. Tapos it’s something that we take pride in. And of course, looking good is part of business, it’s part of the industry. We needed to take care of ourselves kasi we needed to prove na karapat-dapat kami dito sa industriya,” she said.