How Gerald Anderson’s mom inspired him to keep doing heroic deeds

Actor Gerald Anderson, who has been featured in a number of viral videos showing him rescuing people during calamities, said he attributes this drive to help others to his mother, Evangeline.

“I was still very young when I first became aware of the things she does to help relatives and friends. Even though we didn’t have much money then, my Mama would make an effort to help when someone wanted to borrow from her. She would pawn our radio just to be able to give, so I think I got it from her,” Gerald told Inquirer Entertainment during the media announcement of his next ABS-CBN series, “Nobody.”

“It’s important to be kind and patient because we don’t know what other people are going through. I’m not saying that people should copy what Mama did, because we were also struggling with our finances back then. But I’m young and physically strong, so I know I can still help others,” the actor said.

Another video of Gerald that went viral recently shows him rescuing a family trapped in waist-deep floodwater when Typhoon Carina ravaged Luzon in July. Reporters asked the actor to recall the incident. “I don’t know why this has become a big deal. It’s just something you naturally do. The floodwater was starting to rise. I was able to bring all my cars to higher ground, and I was in the process of bringing up my motorcycles, too, when someone in an inflatable pool passed by our garage and said, ‘There are people still trapped at the end of that street.’ That person spoke directly to me, so I couldn’t just say ‘OK, good luck!’ That’s how it started. After that, we got on our own inflatable pool and started helping.”

All of his four motorcycles got flooded, but Gerald said that was OK. “I can have them repaired eventually. What’s more important was to bring people to a safer place,” he said.

He admitted that there were instances when he felt scared for himself, especially because the floodwater kept rising and moving fast. “Every time we would return to the end of the street to rescue more people, we would feel the water rising even more. There was even a time when we had difficulty getting inside the compound,” he recalled.

Looking back at the incident, Gerald said: “If you know that you’re able to bring people to a safer place because of teamwork, then you’re able to sleep soundly at night. That feeling is priceless—no matter how rich you are, or how many motorcycles you own. Walang kapalit. That feeling is also what I want the audience to experience in my new show. During our preproduction meetings, I described so many situations to our creative team, those that I know really happened because I was there.”

“Nobody” will be directed by Benedict Mique and produced by JRB Productions. “I can honestly say this is the best show for my comeback,” said Gerald, who was last seen on TV in the drama series “A Family Affair” (2022).

“I’m very excited because this is something similar to what I’m doing off-cam. We will start taping soon. Based on the teaser, you might think that this is just an action series, but it’s really going to be the journey of a person. We don’t know whether he is a hero or a vigilante, or whether he has integrity. A lot of exciting things are going to happen to him. My request to the JRB unit, whose people are so collaborative, is to help me turn this into a great show.”

Gerald said he wants to make the show “as real as possible.” He explained: “We have situations in our personal lives and as a nation that are difficult to handle. This is kind of sensitive—as a nation, we have outside forces meddling with our affairs. As individuals, some of us go through difficulties related to our family or our economic status. That’s what I want to show, the realness. In fact, one of our meetings that started at 6 p.m. ended at 12 midnight because we kept tossing ideas. We hope to be able to include most of them.”

Gerald said they hope to release the show this year. Training for the cast will start this week. “We will have a cast reveal soon. I was also part of their auditions. Some of us will have martial arts training, stunt training and gun firing. I play a law enforcer here, so I will have special training on how to use guns, although I already have a background from the work I do with the Coast Guard. I will also try to share my knowledge with the cast members.”

Gerald is currently an auxiliary commander of the K9 Special Support Squadron of the Philippine Coast Guard.

“I promise you, the story will be inspiring. It’s based on events that happened in real life,” he added. “It’s not just an action-drama series. It’s about someone who is going through the same experience as all of us. The situation he faces here makes his story very different. He is a ‘nobody.’ For sure, a lot of people will be able to relate to him.”