Kiray happy doing support roles
Since her stint in the kiddie gag show “Goin’ Bulilit,” teen actress Kiray Celis has been doing shows one after the other. After playing support in “Mara Clara” and “Growing Up,” Kiray is now one of the lead stars of “Luv U.”
“Kahit naman pong sinong artista pangarap na magkaroon ng show na ikaw ang bida. Hindi naman po ako malungkot ako na support lang ako. Masaya ako talaga, so kahit anong guesting, gagalingan ko palagi,” Kiray told Yahoo! OMG Philippines and some members of the press at the 7th anniversary celebration of “Goin’ Bulilit” in ABS-CBN compound on Friday, February 17.
Chance to shine
Her contemporaries in “Going Bulilit”, like Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes have already established themselves as lead actresses. Kiray doesn’t feel any less happy for getting support roles since she considers every acting project a good opportunity to shine.
“Sabi ng RM (Road Manager) ko, ‘Huwag raw akong malulungkot kapag lagi kang support.’ Sabi ko, ‘Bakit po?’ (Sabi nya), ‘Ang mga bida nawawala na lang yan bigla, hindi na sila kayang i-support, dapat bida sila lagi. Ang mga support hindi nawawala,” she said.
She also does her best in every role she plays, whether big or small. Kiray cites Dimples Romana and Ketchup Eusebio who always play support roles, but whose screen presence is just as powerful.
“So, hindi yan sa bida-bida. (But on) sa patagalan, pagalingan. Feeling ko natutuwa naman sila sa akin. Mas gagalingan ko na lang,” Kiray said.
Kiray admits getting worried people might forget her when she graduated from “Goin’ Bulilit.” She said that she also went through the “awkward stage” and stopped acting for awhile before she made her comeback in “Mara Clara.”
“Naisip ko iyon kasi bago mag “Mara Clara,” (baka) hindi na ako kilala ng mga tao kasi hindi na nila ako nakikita. Pero, wala, Kiray pa rin, alam pa rin nila pangalan at itsura ko pagkabalik ko,” she said, smiling.
Kiray said in a previous interview that she is proud to be part of “Goin’ Bulilit,” which is now on its seventh year.
“Proud ako na pag sinsabi nila na “Pag galing sa ‘“Goin’ Bulilit,” magaling yan.’ So, masaya po ako na marunong na talaga akong umarte ngayon,” Kiray said.
She thinks reinventing herself and playing various roles have helped in making her click among the viewers.
“Dapat laging may bago sa iyo. Kasi kung iyon at iyon ang makikita sa iyo ng mga tao, magsasawa sila kaagad,” she said.
She even jokes about herself.
“Inaasar nga ako nila na after ng “ASAP Rocks,’ ang papalit daw “Kiray and Friends.” I love it nga eh, feeling ko naman.”
Kiray and Inigo
But she was not as happy about rumors linking her to Piolo Pascual’s son, Iñigo.
“Syempre, hindi lang si Iñigo ang iniisip ko nun, pati si Papa P kung ano ang iniisip nya sa akin. Kasi syempre, may mga lumabas na issue noon na ginagamit ko lang si Iñigo para sumikat ako. Ayaw kong isipin rin nya na dahil close ako sa anak nya, makikipa feeling-close rin ako sa kanya. Pinapakita ko sa kanya na mataas pa rin ang respeto ko sa kanya,” she said.
Kiray said that she and Iñigo are just close friends. And she is happy their friendship has survived the rumors and issues.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanya after the issue, ‘Buti kaibigan pa rin kita.’ Magkaibigan pa rin naman kami. Mag-best friends talaga kami,” Kiray said.
