Kapamilya React: Jameson Blake reveals the happiest, toughest part of playing Drew in “A Family Affair”

Those who have been watching A Family Affair ever since it started last June would surely know that the Estrella brothers and Cherry Red (Ivana Alawi) used to have a close-knit relationship, until they became adults and various circumstances affected their bond.

One of those is the tragic demise of Cherry Red’s beloved father Mang Panyong (Lito Pimentel), after he was murdered by Drew (Jameson Blake), the youngest and black sheep of the Estrella brothers. And in this episode of Kapamilya React, the young versatile actor looks back on some of his remarkable scenes in the series and, at the same time, share a few things about his portrayal of his character.

First off, the intense scene wherein Paco (Gerald Anderson) assaulted him upon finding out that he’s the culprit behind the murder Mang Panyong, who’s the father of his wife Cherry Red. He recounted that it was his first scene for the fourth cycle of their lock-in taping after having their month-long break. Thus, he asked the production team if there’s any warm-up scene prior to it, but there was none since the scenes they had to do then were mostly heavy and fiery.

Nonetheless, he commended Gerald for being a great actor, as it has been easy for him to get into his character and make his co-actors feel his emotions as he’s able to express it through his eyes. Besides, their bond off-cam helps them be comfortable with one another, so there’s never an awkward moment between them every time they do scenes together.

With regards to the happiest and toughest part in portraying Drew, Jameson disclosed that he actually appreciates how challenging his character could be. He stated, “’Yong pinakamasaya para sa akin is ‘yong challenge playing Drew. I don’t know if a lot of actors would say this, pero ako, para sa akin, gusto ko na may challenge. I think that will help me improve my craft.”

Meanwhile, the difficulty for him is absorbing everything that Drew went through, the crime he did, and putting himself in the shoes of a killer. It may have brought him to a rollercoaster ride, but he truly enjoys it. He’s also grateful that their directors and his co-actors were there to help him out evey time he’s having a hard time.

Moving on to the second scene, it was Drew’s kilig moment with Heaven Peralejo’s character Tori, wherein he confessed that he has a crush on her. According to him, this is actually their third time to work on the same project, but it’s the first time that they are paired with each other.

When quizzed how he’s able to build her on-screen chemistry with Heaven, he disclosed that knowing each other and being friends in real life has helped him to connect with her easily and to eliminate the awkwardness between them.

The third scene was one of Drew’s breakdown moments, to which he was quizzed what he would do if he’s going to be in the same situation as his character and the Estrella family. Jameson perceived it as “tricky,” but as himself, he definitely would not have the urge to kill someone in the first place and he’ll probably surrender since it’s the best thing to do for him.

Playing Drew also made him realize that drugs and other vices are not good ways to escape problems, and that it’s very important for us to get along well with our siblings and parents, so all of us can understand each other.

And lastly, that shocking scene wherein Drew killed Mang Panyong during their heated argument while he was high on drugs. Even though his character had already done a lot of irrational things that upset and enraged the people around him, as well as the viewers, Jameson admitted that there’s never been a time when he got mad at him nor disagreed with Drew’s actions. It’s because he wanted to see Drew through his eyes and understand why he did what he did. Besides, it’s his way of making his portrayal compelling, too.

Apart from the lessons he learned from Drew, his other takeaways in playing his character are to don’t drink too much coffee before a heavy scene as he tends to get so tensed easily, and to ask for help from his co-actors, the directors, or the staff and crew, which he was too shy to do before.

Jameson capped off this Kapamilya React episode by thanking everyone for watching A Family Affair every night and by imparting how happy he is for the support and positive feedbacks they consistently receive from the viewers. He’s also glad to do this for them and hopes that they’ll continue to watch the series.

A Family Affair airs every weeknight on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, and iWantTFC.