KYLE ECHARRI HONORS LATE SISTER THROUGH 'THE RIDE'

For 22-year-old actor-singer Kyle Echarri, landing his first lead role in an action film — “The Ride,” where he stars opposite Piolo Pascual as his onscreen father — was a bittersweet career milestone.

- By NATHALIE TOMADA

Kyle shares a tense moment with Piolo Pascual who plays his father in the action drama. Directed by Thop Nazareno and co-produced/distributed by Spring Films, Cornerstone and MQuest, 'The Ride' is still showing in SM cinemas nationwide.

While he was filming the Thop Nazareno-directed movie, his younger sister Isabela was battling, and later succumbed to, brain cancer, in April 2023. She was only 12.

“During ‘The Ride,’ my sister was going through cancer po. So, while we were shooting, I was going through a whole mental battle,” Kyle recalled, thanking his costar, Piolo, for helping him stay focused and finish the shoot despite what he was going through off set.

“I don’t think I would have ever been able to strive out of it without a brother like Piolo who was helping me through the whole process.

“Only a couple of people understood what I was going through the time. If there’s anyone who really understood, it was him because he was there and I'll always appreciate him for it.”

Looking back, Kyle described his “The Ride” experience as nothing short of a rollercoaster ride — having to pull off intense stunts while also dealing with the emotional weight of a film about an absentee father caught in a life of crime, but who wants to break the cycle with his estranged son.

“I think (the action and drama scenes) were both equally as hard. To be honest, I was very new to either and when it came to the emotions, talaga may karga naman din na po ako. I think every actor will say this, you have to put a little bit of yourself into your character.