Saying Khalil Ramos is on a roll is an understatement this first quarter of 2025. For starters, he was given the Puregold Cinepanalo Film festival's BEST ACTOR award for the film Olsen's Day, a film directed by JP Habac (who also won as the Best Director). I've had the the impression of him being an "actor's actor", someone who's been able to do it successfully.
His stellar filmography, unquestionable knack for doing acting pieces, have taken the nod of film critics. The chance to talk to him today was certainly, an opportunity to pick his brain a little. He was capable, even impressed us by the way he answered questions. It felt he was on his toes the whole time, very eloquent, albeit being a semi-introvert.
Winning this award doesn't mean he's going to be picky, he's always about the script, about the craft, and when asked, he didn't even expect this at all. He says "I don't think about it being a competition at all, even though it is a festival. This was something very personal for the Director JP Habac, and it's a big thing to be trusted with this kind of material. I felt my duties as an actor became bigger because of it. You want to tell this story the way he wanted it to. The process had to be more open when we made Olsen's Day. I was already happy that Direk JP was happy about my performance, but during the awards night, a few of us were only there. We were there to celebrate with everyone. Then I won, and even Direk JP Habac won too, so we were just ecstatic. This goes to show that when you pour your heart into the story, a lot of people would connect and relate to it."
Rest certainly is a luxury for both Khalil and Gabbi. Khalil was working on three platforms at the same time. Aside from Olsen's Day, he was doing a Neflix series called "How to Cheat Death" with Gabbi, and "One Hit Wonder" with Sue Ramirez on the same platform. He's also in the 9 Works Theatrical production of "Liwanag Sa Dilim" as Elesi, a very interesting character trying to find his roots. He felt it was 2023 all over again because yes, he did a lot tooo during those times in different mediums.
He feels energized as an artist that he could do all these roles, working with different people, saying he loves what he's doing, tired but definitely fulfilled in artistry and passion. Here's our interview with him this afternoon:
If he feels he resonates with the character and the script, he would do it no matter how big or small the production is. If he likes the story, that gets precedence over other things. His schedule is super packed for sure that he had to decline a few opportunities, that's the only time he needs to decide. He was doing three characters in one week (in January), which was crazy but did it by studying characters individually saying "At a certain point, you have to be as real as possible in your pursuit with the film. Sometimes your body doesn't know you're already doing it. You're commanding it, and your body just follows. If it's tired, then you've got to pull other tricks in the bag to finish it. I need to find another technique to be more effective. Your co actors especially in Liwanag Sa Dilim will influence your performance, and they've all been a breeze to work with."
Khalil is still in "Liwanag Sa Dilim" at the RCBC theater til April 13th, and watch out for "How to Cheat Death" on Netfilx this April 2. "One Hit Wonder" will premiere around May. Khalil is just starting, I bet he's bound for more accolades with Olsen's Day as they plan to also put it in streaming platforms soon.
