Khalil Ramos reveals he was supposed to move to the US but then he got showbiz offers

Had it not been for his love for music, we might have missed out on Khalil Ramos’ awesome voice and acting skills.

Khalil opened up about how his family was supposed to follow their American dream in an interview on the showbiz podcast “Updated with Nelson Canlas.”

The “Love You Stranger” star said that his family was preparing for the move around the same time when he auditioned for “Pilipinas Got Talent.” His dad hd already been in the US, getting ready to work there.

“Merong office sa US 'yung company na 'yun and he was planning to, you know, get transferred there so that he could bring the entire family there," Khail said. "And then my mom at that time also, [her] brand that she was working on isn't doing well as it is doing now, like in present day."

“So, we were a middle-class family but we had struggles along the way and the best option for us at that time na was to just move to the US for better opportunities, and just a better, I guess, life for us,” he added.

However, Khalil decided to audition for the talent show, which his mom “was slightly against.”

“But she just really let me be. Naalala ko sabi pa niya noon, ‘Paano 'yung school mo? You have school on that day.’ Pero eventually, hindi niya kinontra. She was even there during my audition. So todo support naman siya.”

Their family’s lives took a turn when Khalil made it to the show’s finals, and was offered showbiz jobs.

“To be honest, akala ko after the PGT thing, that's pretty much it. I had no idea what showbiz was like eh,” he said.

“Nagulat kami na, okay, they are offering me work and they are offering me work that I've never dipped my toes in — acting. All of a sudden, they gave me an acting role that for me, grabe nun, it was a huge, huge thing that intimidated me, to be honest,” he added. “And I was supposed to decline but my then-handler told me that it's a bad idea [because] you have to strike while the iron is hot. And that was the first time I heard that phrase."

Khalil said that he had no prior acting experience except for VTRs and acting classes during summer vacations, “but then [he] didn't do anything with it 'cause [he] didn't go to any other VTR after.”

In one of his first acting projects, Khalil said that he was not able to deliver his lines well.

“Nakikita ko sa peripheral ko na 'yung iba natatawa kasi di ba parang hindi ko alam kung ano ang ginagawa ko,” he said. “And they gave me a big role when, you know, a lot of other young artists who were much better than me could have easily gotten that role.”

But Khalil has definitely come so far. His first project with GMA Network, “Love You Stranger,” was one of the top series of the year and he recently launched a food business with girlfriend Gabbi Garcia.

Listen to Khalil’s full interview on “Updated with Nelson Canlas” on Spotify. —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA News