It takes a village to raise a child. 

Successful projects are always a shared vision, a product of a team with common but differentiated responsibilities. Exhibit A: GMA Public Affairs’ “Black Rider,” which recently won big at the New York Festivals TV and Film as a Bronze Medal awardee, and Ruru Madrid loves to go above and beyond in sharing the recognition for the show’s job well-done. 

As the top-rating GMA Prime offering ushers in a second season, “Black Rider: Bagong Digmaan,” ‘Kapuso Primetime Action Hero’ Ruru Madrid reflected on its recent success - a feat he believes must be credited to its cast and crew from top to bottom,

“Mahirap mag-mount ng action, pero napadali ito kapag ganitong collaborated ang lahat, at maipagmamalaki ko na sa grupong ito, walang nagpapataasan, lahat nagtutulungan,” he said during a media interview on April 16.

COLLABORATIVE TEAM EFFORT

Black Rider has been on an absolute tear since it began airing in November 2023, notching top-ranking ratings since January 2024. It first claimed the number one spot on January 24, as reported by GMA Integrated News based on the data provided by NUTAM People Ratings.

Ruru likes to think that it is the healthy and collaborative mindset of everyone involved in the show that has been working wonders for Black Rider’s success despite all the difficult complexities behind making this project.

“Kapag pinapanood natin minsan feeling natin madali lang pero sa totoo lang… kahit pagsama-samahin lahat ng nagawa kong shows before, ganon syakahirap… Pero lahat (dito) pantay-pantay. Yun siguro yung naging sikreto, kaya nakakakuha ng ganitong klaseng achievement,” shared the 26-year-old actor.

“Sobrang lalong nakakagana magtrabaho, nakakagana na mas galingan pa lalo,” he added.

Asked about his being hands-on on and off-cam, Ruru said it just came naturally right off the bat, which is nothing new for someone as passionate for one’s craft as he is.

“Yung pagiging hands-on kasi, ever since I started this series, alam ko sa sarili kong ibubuhos ko lahat para mapaganda ang mga eksena na gagawin ko. Pero di lamang pagdating sa eksena yunng trabaho ko dito, kundi yung pagiging united ng lahat,” claimed the Primetime Action Hero 

A huge part of his unspoken leadership is his desire to gather everyone, from the artists to the members of the crew, in order to further enhance the show’s synergy.

“Tina-try ko hangga’t maaari na kahit pagod kami lahat, kakain kami sa set, bonding - ‘di lang sa co-actors but also sa crew at sa staff - na maging isa kami, isang hangarin, isang layunin - sa tagumpay na gusto namin ma-achieve,” he noted.

LIVING THE DREAM

Ruru Madrid is living his lifelong dream as an action star, headlining no less than GMA Network’s top-rating and award-winning “Black Rider.” 

“Pangarap ko ‘to eh, pangarap kong magig isang ganap na action star,” said Ruru with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

The Kapuso homegrown likes to think that his learnings from this full-action series are just as, if not more important than all the achievements and praises Black Rider has been receivintg.

“Hindi lang sya basta numbers o ratings eh, for us yung achievements ay nakukuha sa lahat ng natutunan namin habang ginagawa namin itong programang ito. Whenever I work with these action stars na nakakatrabaho ko. May mga natututunan ako every time ka-eksena ko sila at yun yung achievement ng Black Rider na habang buhay ko dadalhin,” he shared.