Award-winning Kapamilya actor Arjo Atayde has finally recovered from the dreaded COVID-19, as he resumes shooting for his latest movie and other projects.
"By God’s grace, I have finally recovered from COVID-19. It has been such a very taxing ordeal, but I am able to weather it through prayers and the support and love of my family, friends, and fans," said Arjo in an exclusive interview on Thursday, Sept. 23.
Following his full recovery, Arjo said that he is preparing to take off to shoot the remaining scenes for his upcoming film.
"The movie that we filmed in Baguio City is 98 percent finished. We only have a couple of sequences left to shoot and once all the coordination is ironed out, we will go back to Baguio to finish the sequences, and then we proceed to post-production," Arjo said.
Aside from the movie, Arjo said he is excited about his other projects with the Kapamilya Network. "I am also gearing up with exciting projects for ABS-CBN."
Arjo, 30, thanked his fans for their continued support of his projects.
"I wish to thank my fans for all the love and support. Your prayers and messages are giving me hope and the strength to work even harder and to strive for excellence as we create content that mirrors the extraordinary stories of ordinary people in the most innovative and creative way that we could. Your continued support fuels our drive and attempts to produce movies that are at par with global standards of excellence – films that, hopefully, every Filipino will be proud of," he said.
The actor has just launched his production house called Feelmaking Productions Inc. Its tagline is “Collaborate to begin. Capture to remember. Create to feel. We put the FEEL in film.”
Apparently, the abbreviation stands for “Freedom to create, Express emotions in an artistic manner at the same time produce Euphoric content that would touch people’s Lives in a positive manner.”
In December 2020, Arjo was named Best Actor at the Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAAs) for his role in the iWant original series “Bagman,” besting nine Asian actors and bagging the Philippines’ first-ever acting accolade in the main competition.
With his portrayal of a barber-turned-henchman-turned-governor in the socio-political statement piece, Arjo beat out (China), Manoj Bajpayee (India), Miller Khan (Indonesia), Bront Palarae (Malaysia), Anthony Wong (Hong Kong), Kha Ra (Myanmar), Zhang Yao Dong (Singapore), Prin Suparat (Thailand), and Ching-Ting Hsia (Taiwan).
Before being named the best in the region, Arjo was picked as the national winner for the Philippines by AAA’s jury members in the Best Actor category.
Arjo was also submitted for consideration by ABS-CBN’s Dreamscape Entertainment and iWant, now known as iWantTFC, in the local race.
Before his international recognition, Arjo’s effective portrayal of an anti-hero in “Bagman’s” two seasons has already generated praises from local viewers. He plays Benjo Malaya, an ordinary barber who learns to maneuver the dark and often thorny ins-and-outs of politics.