Almost Paradise lead star Christian Kane has praised the Philippines, saying that while filming in the country, “it actually felt like a home for me”.
Christian Kane was in the Philippines for five months while filming the WGN America original series, Almost Paradise which premiered on March 30, 2020, on WGN America. Kane’s fellow co-stars included Filipino actors Arthur Acuña (Niño, Bourne Legacy), Nonie Buencamino (Heneral Luna), and Ces Quesada (Signal Rock).
Kane played the central character of Alex Walker, a former US DEA agent who was forced into early retirement, moved to the Philippines, and now runs the gift shop at the island’s luxury resort hotel.
In his interview with the Deepest Dream, Kane talked about his friendship with the Filipino cast and crew and affirmed the reality of the Filipinos’ Mabuhay spirit.
“This Filipino crew and cast – they just embraced me. They knew I was away from home. They knew I was somewhere I had never been before working. I visited Boracay for like five days and now I’m (in the Philippines) for five months. And they just took me in and they embraced me. It felt like there was family. I never felt out of place; it actually felt like a home for me,” Kane shared.
“It’s true, man. It’s there. The spiritualness of these people. The friendships that I made and the family that took me in – that’s all Mabuhay and it’s a real thing out there. It does exist and I can tell you right now, it’s all around you,” the Almost Paradise star observed.
Kane also said having a positive mind is one of the keys to surviving a long production away from home.
“Well, it just depends. If you go into it with a positive mind and to me I didn’t really have to be away from home because a couple of weeks in, it really felt like a home. I had a lot of Filipinos around me that were just like I said they made me feel like family.
“It’s not a culture shock. It’s funny because you’re so far away and people look at it – if you go look at the map and look at the Philippines, you might say ‘My God you must have been so far away from what he knows and what he loves.’ But it wasn’t.
“We’re all people. It doesn’t matter where you go. Everybody speaks English there. I tried to learn some of the language and you make the best of what you can do. But if you’re going to get homesick, just remember, this is going to sound pretty bad, but there’s (numerous) other people in Los Angeles right now that would cut off their left arm to trade places with you,” added Kane.
The Hollywood actor-musician also talked about working with Filipino – American director Dean Devlin and his friendship with him that started 13 years ago when they did the show, Leverage.
“We both are cut from the same cloth. It’s so much fun to work with somebody like that because the reason I became an actor was to do stuff exactly like Leverage, exactly like The Librarians, and exactly like Almost Paradise… You’re fortunate enough to win the lottery and become an actor. But not a lot of people get all the roles that they want to play. I’m getting all those roles because I’m working for Dean Devlin,” he said.
Kane also praised the director for using the Philippines as a character and not just as a backdrop or a location.
“We’re trying to show the Philippines to people from the United States and around the world in a way that they’ve never seen before,” said Devlin during his contract signing in September 2019 with ABS-CBN International, the line producer of the 10-part series.
Christian Kane is the star of hit US TV series Angel, Leverage, The Librarians, Into the West, among many others.
Dean Devlin is an American screenwriter, producer, television director, and former actor. He is the founder of the production company Electric Entertainment.
International shows and films such as Korea’s Laws of the Jungle, Survivor South Africa, FOX’s Maledicto, Netflix’s hit film ‘The Platform’ or El Hoyo, Watchlist, among many others have previously showcased the Philippines and the talents of Filipinos.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Christian Kane for appreciating his stay in the Philippines and affirming the Mabuhay spirit of the Filipino!
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