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Jerry Donato - The Philippine Star
April 5, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Derrick Monasterio further displays his acting mettle by portraying the meaty role of coach Zach, or Z, in the GMA-Viu murder-mystery series, “SLAY.”
The Sparkle GMA artist described the character as someone who is an overly confident, wicked and arrogant playboy in the “Kapuso Showbiz News” interview. But there’s a reason behind his character being flawed, the actor implied.
Derrick is presenting an engaging and nuanced portrayal. That and the good comments or praise from a GMA executive are music to his ears.
“Naintindihan ko naman kung bakit nila sinasabi yun (I understood why they were saying it),” said Derrick about delivering average performances before in a recent press conference.
“Naintindihan ko na (I understood it well)… I was playing around too much. I was not serious. Yung ginagawa mo nag-re-reflect dun sa mga nakikita ng mga tao (what you do reflects in what people see or say),” added he.
Since artists aspire to be better in their work, Derrick had this to share on a career turning point or realization.
“So, siguro ang ginawa ko lang talaga, eh, (perhaps what I did was) mindset shift and nakakatulong din talaga ang pagtanda sa totoo lang (what also did help was becoming mature),” said he.
Following his train of thought, one could glean that through the years, the actor has learned to look at his personal and professional lives with maturity and objectivity.
“Ngayon, tinitignan ko na ang sarili ko kung ano ang mali (now, I look at myself and reflect on my shortcomings). Ganun din yung ginawa ko sa career ko (it’s the same approach I do in my career),” said he.
Ano ba ang mali, ba’t nila nasasabi kasi siguro hindi ko pa siya ganun ka mahal dati (I was thinking back then, ‘What have I done wrong?’ ‘They’re saying it because I’m not that committed to my work’). Pero ngayon nalalabas ko ang lahat ng gusto kong sabihin at mga nararamdaman ko sa work ko (but now, I’m able to express what I think and feel about my work or role).”
And what has also brought that welcome change in him is girlfriend Elle Villanueva.
The Sparkle GMA artist Derrick Monasterio adds coach Zach to his list of interesting characters he has played on the small screen. His inspired portrayal is noticeable.
“Laki ng tulong talaga ni Elle kasi siya talaga ang nag-gu-guide sa akin (she’s a big help because she guides me),” said Derrick, who also talks about his acting work with her away from the klieg lights.
His relationship with her has taught Derrick values that somehow come in handy in his work.
“I’m paying more attention to her. Mas naging empath ako sa kanya na nag-reflect din sa trabaho ko (I have become an empath, which also reflects in my work),” said Derrick, who listens intently to the lines of his fellow stars on the “SLAY” set, like Gabbi Garcia (as Amelie), Julie Anne San Jose (Liv), Mikee Quintos (Sugar) and Ysabel Ortega (Yana), whom he shares the screen with at certain points in the narrative.
Derrick’s chat with “Kapuso Showbiz News” revealed that it’s his first time to play such a fitness influencer role and to do the murder mystery genre.
“Ang challenge ko dito is siguro kailangan laging high energy yung character (the challenge here is to keep the character in high energy),” said Derrick. “Laging may bigat yung boses para paghugutan talaga nila. I have fun portraying him because the character is new to me, unlike the previous ones I’ve done before. Masarap siyang paglaruan, very free kami sa set (it’s fun to play with and interpret the role. We’re very free on set in approaching our roles.)”
The “SLAY” TV series has shown so far that Zach had a scorching tale and demise and exposed his antagonistic nature to viewers. Even if some characters consider him vicious, the crime that befell him needs some plausible explanation and the character also deserves justice.
Part of uncovering the truth is interrogating the four female characters.
During the presscon, Derrick was also inquired about the possible culprit behind Zach’s fate and his answer was the character Yana, played by Ysabel.
“She’s the most innocent. Usually, ganun (it’s like that). It seems that if you’re gonna put a big twist in the end, it’s usually the most innocent one and I think it’s (the character of) Ysabel. And she’s a law student. So, she knows to cover up, alam niya yung dapat iwasan (she knows what to avoid to prevent the truth from being revealed),” said he.
Follow “SLAY” Mondays to Thursdays at 9:25 p.m. on GMA.
