What Jericho Rosales learned after ‘Quezon’: ‘To be the bigger person’

Jericho Rosales is aware of the good, bad, and ugly reactions to “Quezon,” where he starred as the titular character, saying it was a film that taught him to be the bigger person.

The film made headlines after Manuel L. Quezon’s grandson Ricky Avanceña called out Rosales and its director Jerrold Tarog for allegedly disrespecting and distorting the former president’s legacy. This led to a swarm of mixed reactions from netizens on social media, with some speaking up in its defense.

“I did Manny Pacquiao, I did [Jesse] Robredo, but for ‘Quezon,’ ang daming lessons. It just really pushed me to become a bigger person,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Esquire Philippines’ Man at his Best award ceremony. “Someone kinder. I picked up wisdom talaga.”

“I learned to be more compassionate, humble, stronger, braver, and [have more] conviction. I never swayed and I learned about myself. It is what it is, we are actors and artists, and we serve the art,” he continued.

After the weeks-long promotion, Rosales has been more chill. Looking back, he admitted that “Quezon” was one of the films where he gave everything he had into sharing it to the public. 

“We had more busy promotion days than shooting days, and I never promoted a film this much. It’s because I believe in the film and I believe what it added to cinema. We welcomed naman everything,” he said. 

“Open kami sa reactions so it was a very interesting year for me. I learned a lot. I became calmer, wiser, more understanding, more accepting, so there were a lot of big lessons. All good ones. I still believe in what we made, I love what we did, and I’m so honored to serve cinema and our audience, and to be a helper of history, “ he further added.

For now, the actor will be taking a short break in December to catch up on his private life and, according to him, “learn more” about himself and his craft. But when asked if there’s anything he wanted to change about what happened this year, he declared that he won’t change a “single thing.”

“Not a single thing. Really. I feel like I’m blessed beyond what I asked for in terms of the good, the heavy, and the light, everything. I learned so much this yea,r and I worked so hard this year. I want more. I want to learn more. I want to be even bigger as a person, he said.

One of the actor’s reported projects is a film with Anne Curtis, marking their reunion in 14 years since the Philippine adaptation of “Green Rose.” He clarified that he doesn’t want to disclose further details but he’s excited about it.

“I’m very excited. I’m nervous, just because it’s another big and bold move for me, and for my team also. But I’m really excited about it now that I’ve learned so much,” he said. /mr