NOT many know that looker Paul Salas started out as a child actor. When he was around six or seven years old, he joined GMA’s kiddie version of StarStruck and even had a short stint in the fantasy drama series Mulawin.
We first met Salas when he was around 10 years old at a time when the promising kid was pitting talents with the likes of Sid Lucero in the ABS-CBN action drama series Kung Fu Kids. That early, we immediately saw his potential to stay long in the business because of his arresting presence and his natural flair for getting into character.
We still remember his character’s name in that series—Uragon, which is a Bicolano word that means lustful, or a man with a high sexual drive. But as years passed, the adjective has acquired a positive ring to now describe a man to be gallant, brave, strong.
Salas’s physical transformation over the years is something that his followers, including our Bicolano friends, would surely appreciate and aspire to—standing erect at 5’10”, with muscles in the right places. In fact, when the giant lifestyle retail brand Bench saw him early last year, it immediately signed Salas up to be one of their celebrity endorsers.
As a teenager, Salas honed his acting at ABS-CBN, in shows, like Mula sa Puso, Aryana, You’re My Home and The Good Son. He made the big move back to GMA three years ago and got good roles in shows, like Kara Mia and Descendants of the Sun.
The lockdown months of the pandemic gave many of our actors unnecessary worry and anxiety because the entertainment industry was hit hard by the stringent health and safety protocols. “Oh, yes, there were a lot of questions going on inside my head, and both fear and worry would set in unannounced because this is the career path I have chosen and this is the profession I would like to grow old in, and suddenly this early point in my life, the world stood still.”
Salas kept his faith, believing that things will improve, and work will eventually resume. “Life gives us so many opportunities, chances and surprises, and I am just grateful that when the cameras started to grind again, a new show was approved and I was cast as one of the principal actors.”
The 23-year-old Salas is referring to the new prime-time show The Lost Recipe, a romantic fantasy series that revolves around the lives of young lovers in the colorful world of culinary movers and kitchen shakers. Directed by Monti Parungao, the very first locally produced daily series of GMA News TV also stars Mikee Quintos, Kelvin Miranda and Thea Tolentino.
Salas has been acting most of his life, and he is happy to be finally getting noticed. “Every new project is a blessing. This new show is a reassurance that I have my little corner in this crazy industry. It is also a personal reminder that when one perseveres, works hard, and remains patient, prayers are heard.”
Indeed, The Lost Recipe is an answered prayer for Paul Salas.