Dingdong Dantes, Mae Cruz-Alviar exchanges praises as collaborators anew

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October 16, 2026 | 2:50pm

MANILA, Philippines — Actor Dingdong Dantes and director Mae Cruz-Alviar are cherishing the opportunity to work with each other for a third time, noting how professional a creative the other is.

The filmmaker directed Dingdong in 2013's "She's the One" then a decade later for "Rewind" which was opposite the actor's real-life wife Marian Rivera.

The celebrity couple return to the big screen again under Direk Mae's helm in drama movie "Remember" coming out November 11.

Philstar.com spoke to Dingdong and Direk Mae in an exclusive interview asking about the each individual's qualities that make them an ideal collaborator.

Setting aside his acting skills, Direk Mae pointed to Dingdong's humility and ability to listen, even claiming the actor could make it as a director and just manage himself.

"When he comes to the set, he is my actor. He respects and trusts me with his role and the scenes," the filmmaker continued, admitted she could go on and on listing Dingdong's positive qualities. "He has a genuine interest in people, 'yung curiousity niya about everyone helps him create his character."

In terms of creative input, Direk Mae shared how a story or characterization is simmering in the actor's mind because of their conversations early on in production.

RELATED: Dingdong Dantes welcomes 'any opportunity' to work with Marian Rivera

"He's not a robot, he's a thinking actor. He uses his heart when he acts, hindi lahat mechanical," the director added.

Dingdong admitted to Philstar.com being flattered by Direk Mae's response and did well to return the favor, calling experiences with the filmmaker as collaborations rather than mere work.

For "Rewind" and now in "Remember," he shared that the director gave space to hear inputs from her actors in approaching a character.

"Ang sarap sa pakiramdam na pinaparamdam niya sa amin na mahalaga yung aming opinyon," Dingdong said, adding that it extended to camera placements and shooting locations.

That kind of culture is always present on Direk Mae's sets, which allows everyone to be more open, the actor reiterating how comforting it is to be directed by her.

"Imagine, meron na naman kami pero ibang mga characters, ibang klaseng kuwento, ibang pakiramdam ang gusto namin mabigay sa mga manonood," Dingdong ended.

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