NEWS ANCHOR Ces Drilon has forayed into acting. She plays the mother of Ali King in “Love Team: Beyond Boys’ Lockdown”, a spin off of the hit Boys Love series last year, “Boys Lockdown”, starring Ali and Alec Kevin.
“I am thrilled and excited,” she says at the solo zoom presscon for her.
“After I got retrenched rom ABS-CBN, I feel that now is the time to explore new things and do things outside of my usual comfort zone. So why not experiment?
"I’ve done some movies before playing myself, doing some interviewing. Why not do something I’ve never done before, acting, portraying other roles than being a journalist?”
She tried retiring for a while.
“But it’s not for me. I got bored. I’m in a state of flux, so I took courses in natural perfumery, soap making, scent making and now I have a new brand called Probinsiyana, creating things for healing from nature.
"Our products like soaps, sprays and smudge sticks are now available online. The pandemic forced me to look into other things and explore other parts of myself. I now feel so energetic, I didn’t know that at my age, I’d be this busy. 24 hours is not enough since I’m also president of TOWNS Foundation.
"I’ m starting my own farm in Indang, Cavite. Gusto ko sarili kong mga tanim ang gagamitin ko for my soaps, my sprays and my smudge sticks. I’m putting up a greenhouse muna.”
Was she convinced to do the show easily?
“Yes, it didn’t take me much convincing. Darwin is the show’s producer and he approached me thru a close friend.
"When they offered the role to me, they said they had me in my mind as it’s perfect for me. I thought the reason is my youngest son (Andre, who has come out as bisexual), pero di naman pala nila alam.
"I like my role as it’s quite an important role. I’ll be in the entire season. My character used to be in showbiz and I’m a well known personality.
"Now I act like a stage mother to my son played by Ali King, which I wouldn’t do in real life. I did an acting workshop before the shoot and it was so helpful.”
She’s enjoying the shoot so far.
“It’s a lot of fun. I have no more restrictions like before, kasi noon maraming bawal because of my being a journalist.
"Now that I’m into acting, I realized there’s so much thought and hard work that get into acting, so much preparation when you take a role. I have now so much more respect for actors.”
Is she able to connect with the younger members of the cast of “Love Team”?
“Yes, I’m a Kumu streamer, every Monday at 8 PM, so at home ako sa mga bagets. I also watched a couple of BL series kaya I know how it goes.”
Was it easy for her to accept her son after he came out?
“In the end, we’re all human beings. Your love for your child will tell you how you will react. Kung mahal mo talaga siya, hindi importante kung anong gender niya.
"At first, I was surprised. I said, do you know how to use a condom? Which is a napaka-ignoranteng reaction. When someone comes out to you, just find time to listen, hear them out.
"Be sensitive to them. Before I accepted this, I asked my son if it’s okay for him for me to take on this role and he said yes. I really believe it’s about time that their own unique stories be told.”
It’s common knowledge she’s loveless right now after she broke up with former newsman Ricky Carandang, her partner of 13 years, since she found their relationship no longer nurturing. Is she looking for somebody new?
“No, hindi ako naghahanap. But if the universe would conspire and I'd meet someone, who knows. It’s hard breaking up in the middle of the pandemic but I felt I have to move on.”
So nai-stress Drilon siya? “Yes, nai-stress Drilon ako,” she says laughing.
How does she feel that gay lingo used her name Ces for Stress? “Nakakatuwa. Hindi naman siya derogatory, e. Basta ako, I’m happy right now. My four sons Ory, Miko, Gian and Andre are my advisers, they teach me and help me out in my business.”
So after “Love Team”, does she expect to get more acting offers? “I have no expectations. It’s not like I’m going into an acting career full blast. We’ll just see how it goes.”
Meantime, “Love Team”, as directed by Jade Castro, has started a Kickstarter fundraising campaign thru https://bit.ly/LOVETEAMKickstarter.
This is a first in the history of the boys’ love genre, asking for global fan support received by Season One to help reach the overall production budget.
The crowdfunding campaign will run up to January 27, 2022. Donors will enjoy perks such as associate producer credits, personalized video greetings, and more. The show is produced by Ticket2Me, Bit by Bit Company, and 2TinCans PH.
