Monsour Del Rosario shares how the late Comedy King Dolphy convinced him to enter showbiz

Before joining showbiz, Monsour Del Rosario was a taekwondo national athlete who represented the Philippines 1988 Olympics, but thanks to the late Comedy King Dolphy, he was able to carve his name in the entertainment industry.

On Monday's episode of Fast Talk With Boy Abunda, the former taekwondo jin looked back on his humble beginnings as an actor and how Dolphy convinced him to enter showbiz. 

"After ng [1988] Olympics, kinuha ako ni Tito Dolphy. Siya ang nagsabi sa akin na 'Monsour, gusto ko mag-artista ka.'" Monsour recalled. 

"Sabi ko, 'Tito Dolphy, hindi ako marunong mag-Tagalog. Bisaya ako, Ilonggo ako.' Sabi niya, 'you'll learn Tagalog. Sabi ko 'I don't know how to act.' 'You take an acting workshop' [sabi niya]," he added.

Monsour finally gave in and accepted his offer to act in Dolphy's 1988 movie "Enteng, the Dragon" a spoof of Bruce Lee's movie "Enter the Dragon."

"I did one movie. Nagkaroon ng magandang impact. Dumami ang nag-enroll sa taekwondo gyms na kakaunti pa lang 'yong gyms noon," the action star said. 

After his first movie became successful, Monsour's taekwondo coaches encouraged him to enter the showbiz industry full-time to promote martial arts among Filipino viewers. 

Aside from being an athlete and an actor, he was also a politician. He served as the Representative of the 1st District of Makati from 2016 to 2019. He ran for senator in 2022 but lost.

Monsour has two children with his wife Joy Zapanta: Matthew and Isabella. The latter is also a Taekwondo athlete.

—Jade Veronique Yap/MGP, GMA Integrated News