For Maalaala Mo Kaya’s “Living2Care,” episode, challenges will be more difficult for Andy (Zaijian Jaranilla), his father Abe (Nonie Buencamino), and his siblings. Playing Andy’s brother in the episode, Akihiro Blanco sat down with Kapamilya Chat to talk about his experience working for MMK and what’s keeping him busy these days.

Akihiro, who recently had a very intimate birthday celebration, keeps himself busy with game streaming, working out, and playing basketball. He also attends online filmmaking class, working on his dream to be a director. The dream kicked in after his sudden interest in production works and love for watching movies. Looking forward to his directorial debut, he envisions Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla in his first film. 

The ABS-CBN star wants to play criminal mastermind ala Joker someday and his dream leading lady is Julia Barretto. He knows the sky’s the limit. This faith in himself and in the endless possibilities keep his passion burning.  “’Pag may gusto ako sa buhay, lahat ‘yun mangyayari kasi gusto ko, ‘yung hindi mo susukuan. At saka dapat masaya ka sa gusto mo. ‘Pag masaya ka at kuntento ka sa buhay, mangyayari ‘yun.”

Having been in the industry for a decade, Akihiro learned that passion fuels excellence and that it helps to just enjoy the process. One thing he loves most about being an actor is learning from veteran stars and creatives. “Marami kang nakikilalang tao na iba-iba dito sa industriya, parang Kapamilya talaga. Marami kang matututunan hindi lang sa acting kundi pati na rin sa production. Ang sarap nila i-observe kung paano sila makisama bilang tao. Napakasarap sa puso.”

Akihiro then talked about his MMK episode with Zaijian, Nonie, Karen Reyes, and Lovely Rivero. He plays Nonoy, the loving brother of Zaijian and Karen’s characters. His similarity with Nonoy is that they both want to prove themselves to others.  

Sharing his takeaways from the episode, Akihiro said teamwork and a tightly knit relationship are a family’s greatest weapons in overcoming difficult challenges. “Kahit anong mangyari sa inyo, kailangan n’yo talaga mag-stick together, walang iwanan. Kapit lang. Ganun talaga ang buhay, eh… Pero ang pinaka-importante talaga ‘yung sama-sama kayo.”

In sync with Zaijian’s stories during his Kapamilya Chat guesting last week, Akihiro shared that work was light and easy, at the same time full of passion. “’Pag trabaho, trabaho kami. Pero ‘pag off kami, ang ginagawa namin, nagkukuwentuhan. Parang hindi mo mafe-feel na first time mo doon sa set na ‘yun.” Playing mobile games also became his ultimate bonding activity with Zaijian and Karen. He also mentioned that he’s looking forward to more ML (Mobile Legends) sessions with Zaijian, who is also a streamer like him.

Catch the second episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya’s special two-part series “Living2Care” this Saturday, July 10 on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.