Albert Martinez reveals he was his brother William’s assistant before he was discovered

Albert Martinez, who has been in showbiz for over 40 years, has revealed that he used to be his brother William’s assistant before he was discovered by a talent agency.

In a “Tunay Na Buhay” episode on Wednesday, the veteran actor said his brother William Martinez started ahead of him in 1978.

In 1979, he was William’s driver, “’pag may shooting siya … ako ’yung maglalamay, nag-iintay, nag-aasikaso ng damit niya (if he had a shooting, I waited for him, prepared his clothes).”

He said he was later discovered by a talent agency and did a shampoo commercial.

After being cast as an extra in a film, Albert got his big break when he was invited to star in “Blue Jeans” in 1980.

Since then, he has portrayed several roles, both hero and villain.

Albert said one of his favorite moments was the “turnaround” of his career “from matinee idol” to villain roles when he was cast in “Pangako ng Kahapon” under director Joel Lamangan.

“And then isa pang milestone in my life is ‘Rizal sa Dapitan,’ which I played a national hero, si Rizal. Sa  akin din hinding-hindi ko makakalimutan ’yung blessing na nakuha ko.”

[And the other milestone in my life is “Rizal sa Dapitan,” where I played the national hero Jose Rizal. I’ll never forget that blessing.]

It was also mentioned that Albert appeared in some sexy films.

“I started experimenting on different characters ... but blessing [too] because [all the films I did] on the sexy side [are] from the very good directors,” he said.

“Sexy siya pero meron siyang substance, hindi lang ’yung for just the heck of, you know, being sexy.”

[It’s sexy but it has substance, it’s not for just the heck of being sexy).

After starring in numerous roles, Albert transitioned to directing with “Rosario,” which won for him the best director award at the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival.

“It’s a very challenging profession [because] you’re in control of everything and ’yung mga artista nagpapahinga (while actors rested), [the] director [is] continuously working ’til morning. And the preparation for the project … it’s a very toxic job but very fulfilling,” he said.

Now that he’s semi-retired, Albert said he wanted to focus on being producer rather than a director.  

The secrets to a long-lasting career, he said, were focus, professionalism, and reinvention.

“The only secret I believe is … you have to focus and be professional on what you do and learn to reinvent yourself every so often because [of course people will get bored with you] after a while,” said Albert. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News