In just two weeks, actor Zaijian Jaranilla had to go from playing the troubled and confused youngster Gio in “The Broken Marriage Vow” to playing the trustworthy sidekick, Ding, in the new “Mars Ravelo’s Darna” series, “I had to let it go really quickly,”

“I needed to remove being Gio in my mind and embrace Ding the moment I was informed that I would be sent to the ‘Darna’ set two weeks after we finished the show,” Zaijian recently told Inquirer Entertainment. “I may have had to say goodbye to being Gio quickly, but the lessons that the character taught me I will carry as I journey through life.”

Zaijian stated that it was difficult to get rid of Gio at first, especially since he became so involved in character development during the project’s preproduction stage, “While we were already taping, my coworkers would notice that, even off-cam, I would look angry all the time, that I was often irritable. I was like, ‘’Di naman ako ganon!’ I didn’t realize that I did method acting for this project, but that’s what my coworkers observed from me. I guess that explained why I just couldn’t snap out of it easily and had a hard time becoming Ding right away,” He explained.

In “The Broken Marriage Vow,” the sole child of Jill (Jodi Sta. Maria) and David (Zanjoe Marudo) in “The Broken Marriage Vow,” whose marriage is wrecked after the latter takes on a mistress called Lexi (Sue Ramirez) and eventually starts a family with her.

“Gio’s self-pity overwhelmed him. He felt that everything that was happening to his family was all his doing. What I learned from playing him was that one should not be too emotional, that one should be more open-minded,” Zaijain said

“When I get older and eventually have a family of my own, I will make sure to check on my children as often as I can. I want to be there for them and help explain situations that they find hard to understand. Of course, I will try my best to have a complete and happy family.”

This time, addressing youngsters who could be going through something similar to Gio’s, the young actor went on to say:

“I just think that no child deserves to be part of a broken family, but this is a fact of life, a reality. Some marriages do break up. Know that there will always be someone to be there for you, if only you’d try to reach out. Also, don’t close your doors to the possibility of having a loving relationship with the new partners of your respective parents.”

“Self-pity and self-blame are your worst enemies, so you have to have an open mind. Try as much as you can to understand and cope with the situation that you’re in. Know that what’s happening is also difficult for your parents. Don’t be hasty in your decisions and actions. Don’t do things that you may regret in the end,” Zaijian said.

Zaijian then told Inquirer Entertainment how much he thanked costar Jodi for looking after him on set and his own network, ABS-CBN, for giving him such a significant part.

“I’m so grateful to Mama Jodi because she allowed me to become Gio to her Mama Jill on-cam. She really let me express myself that I also found a mother in Mama Jill. Off-cam, she was Mama Jodi to me, so patient and caring,” Zaijian continued.

“Mama Jodi also taught by example. On the set, I never heard her complain or get angry. She’s really a professional. Observing her work had a huge impact on me. If a senior artist like her behaved that way on the set, then who am I to complain about my situation? She has taught me humility as well,” He emphasized.

Zaijian also expressed gratitude to the Kapamilya network, which has supported his career since he was six years old, when he played the orphan Santino in “May Bukas Pa.” I learned all I know about acting and performance at ABS-CBN. I admit that I was worried about myself when the network lost its franchise [to be carried on free TV] since acting had become a pastime that I thoroughly loved. It has already been a source of great interest to me. “What will I do next?” I wondered. “