Boyet pours praise on 'son' Coco

MULTI-AWARDED actor Christopher de Leon has done varied, challenging roles in his acting career that spans more than four decades.

- JEMUEL CAINGLET SALTERIO

Yet, for his character of gangster Ramon Montenegro in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,’ he nearly backed out.

“Everything that we did here in ‘Batang Quiapo,’ hindi mo makikita sa pelikulang Pilipino,” Christopher said in a final interview with CCM Film Productions following the tragic death of his character, Ramon Montenegro, in the March 6 episode of the action-drama series.

“It was three years of rollercoaster ride. I enjoyed every minute of it. My role was the best.

“I enjoyed being a gangster. Enjoy na enjoy ako. The guy, Ramon, is savage. Ngayon lang ako nag-portray ng role na gangster in a syndicate. I played a gangster in the past, but dito we were dealing with drugs. It was fun. Every taping, it was fun.

“Lahat ng tao na nakasama ko dito, people took care of me. Everybody was supportive, even the actors for three years. Naging pamilya ko na itong ‘Batang Quiapo.’ Thank God for this.”

Boyet - as the actor is fondly called - does not deny he actually had second thoughts at the start of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” three years ago. He wanted to back out when he found out how intense his character would be.

“Unang-una, to be honest, kinabahan ako,” he said.

The excitement he initially felt towards his role and being part of the project was suddenly replaced with fear and apprehension on his first day at work.