Before she was able to attain the immense stardom and success that she has been relishing at present, Maris Racal initially had a difficult time making her own mark in the industry. But through her hardwork, passion, and dedication towards her craft, she is able to catapult herself into becoming one of the most brilliant and most popular actresses in the local entertainment scene.
And she opened up about the challenges she’d gone through before getting to where she is at present, as well as the lessons she learned along the way and the new dreams she aspires to reach during her much-awaited guesting in Bisaya online talk show “Kuan On One.”
Maris’ transition from “sheltered” to “showbiz”
As a 16-year-old neophyte in showbiz 11 years ago, who rose to popularity through her remarkable stint in “Pinoy Big Brother All In” as the “Singing Sunshine ng Davao,” she compared entering showbiz to being thrown in the jungle to fight and survive. Since she came from a simple and sheltered life in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, she admitted to going through a lot of adjustments in her early years.
“Kailangan mo talagang i-present ang sarili mo, kailangan pleasant ka, kailangan mong galingan sa mga interview. Hindi ka mahihiya. Mayroon din palang answers na hindi maganda pakinggan. Ang haba ng naging process hanggang sa na-master ko na kung sino ako,” she said, as she shared some of the things that she had learned then about becoming a celebrity.
Having witnessed Maris’ evolution from being “one of the best housemates” for her to becoming a continuously thriving actress through the years, not to mention that they had a chance to work alongside each other in the 2016 ABS-CBN series “We Will Survive,” host Melai Cantiveros expressed her admiration on how Maris never let discouragement get to her amidst of all the struggles that she goes through, particularly in showbiz.
The award-winning multifaceted Kapamilya star said that it’s because she does not see the industry as a competition against her colleagues but rather a competition against herself. Besides, she also aims to be a better version of herself every day.
Maris went on to recount how she would cry to her handler whenever there were no gigs coming to her since that would mean not being able to pay her bills. That’s why every time she would get a project, such as appearing in an episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” or “Ipaglaban Mo,” as well as getting cast in a teleserye, she relentlessly gives it her all, since she was in survival mode then.
Despite the problems that she faces, her combined passion, talent, and will to survive, has become her drive or the force that pushes her to keep working. She may have encountered challenges along the way, but it never crossed Maris’ mind to quit showbiz and go back to her hometown. Instead, she became more passionate about her craft and totally fell in love with acting, making her deduce that acting is really for her.
And all her sacrifices and apprehensions paid off, as more people have finally noticed and appreciated her hardwork, passion, and talent, which made her firmly believe that there’s indeed timing for everything in life.
“Mayroon kasi talagang timing. Para sa akin, ‘yong mga role na nasubukan ko, reason pala ‘yon. ‘Yon ang reason na naging ganito ako ngayon. ‘Yon ang reason na nag-grow ako at nahasa ako sa acting. ‘Yon pala ang training ko. So, naniniwala talaga ako sa patience para sa sarili and perseverance and prayers,” she stated.
Maris’ preparations for “Incognito”
Kuantie Melai went on to mention that Maris didn’t simply portray her roles by giving off the emotions and characterizations they require, but by also training for the special skills that her characters possess—just like what she did for her “Incognito” character Gabriela “Gab” Rivera. She and her castmates didn’t only undergo proper gun handling lessons and tactical and hand-to-hand combat training, but language lessons, too, since her character is apparently a polyglot who, aside from Tagalog and English, can also speak in Hiligaynon, Italian, and Nihonggo.
Maris related the funny stories behind Gab’s fluency in different languages, recalling how her lines were super long and bore tags “in Italian,” “in Hiligaynon,” or “in Japanese.” She was initially astonished and perplexed on how she’s going to do it, so on the very day of their arrival in Italy, she asked the help of a local to teach her how to speak in Italian, then immediately studied and memorized her lines. She did the same when tasked to speak in Nihonggo.
Maris on what inspires her to do well at work
With how she worked really hard and exerted tremendous effort for the roles given to her, Kuantie Melai remarked that Maris really deserves to claim the spot where she stands on at present. According to Maris, she never felt tired or lazy in going the extra mile for her characters since she firmly believes that it’s only her who can save herself, so she really has to do well at work.
“Kasi para sa akin, itong trabaho, hindi lang puro pera. Gusto kong makatulong. Kunwari may nangangailangan na relative o ‘di kaya kapamilya, gusto kong makatulong. ‘Yon ang prayers ko everyday, na ‘Lord, sana mabigyan mo ako ng trabaho para may matulungan ako kung may nangangailangan,’” she shared.
As she tends to put herself through intense challenges whenever she plays a new character, Maris divulged that she’s actually the type who just really wants to learn so much, especially new skills, for it is among the things that entices her about the roles offered to her. In fact, the next talent she aims to learn is pole dancing, since it’s a sport, an art, and an exercise in one, but she doesn’t have time to do that now. However, when the moment comes that she would be required to do so for a role, then she’ll definitely make time for it.