Last seen in the iWant digital film Sunday Night Fever last year, Diether Ocampo makes his teleserye comeback in Dreamscape Entertainment’s newest drama series Huwag Kang Mangamba which premieres on March 22.

“Itong project na ito, when it was offered to me, I really took time to study it and see what more I can offer because sa mga katulad namin, hindi puwede na magpabaya. I always have to give something new, contribute to the industry in my own capacity at least para lalong makapagbigay ng kasiyahan sa ating mga manunuod,” he said during the Huwag Ka Mangamba mediacon last March 15.

READ: Diether Ocampo na-‘carried away’ sa mga intense scenes kasama si Nathalie Hart

It’s been a while since he did regular teleserye work, but Diether said he was busy pursuing his other passions and focusing on his self-improvement.

“Bago mag-pandemic, in fact I was busy just painting, doing a lot of art. Recently I joined an art exhibit in Pinto gallery. That’s the one in Antipolo. Also, I was quite busy finishing my flight school kaya lang naantala because nagkaroon nga ng pandemya. I was supposed to be getting my full license as a pilot but because of these challenging times everyone has to adjust and we’ve been doing everything online.

“To be honest, hindi naman nangangamba kasi hindi naman ako nawala. Naging busy lang doing my own thing and learning new things. Kasi sa mga katulad namin, we’re always busy trying to improve ourselves. In my case, I’ve been doing some training and conditioning mentally and physically most importantly in these challenging times di ba pandemic. I was more excited to come back in the sense na babalik sa harap ng camera dahil matagal nga tayong nag-ensayo,” he explained.

The 46-year old actor, who was first launched as part of the second batch of Star Circle in 1996, denied that the reason he hasn’t been as active in showbiz is because he has become pickier with projects.

“No, to be honest, maliit lang naman ang industriya natin eh. Walang masamang tinapay sa ating industriya. Minsan lang hindi nagtutugma, minsan dahil sa schedule or minsan naman hindi talaga akma yung character na binibigay sa atin. In my case, I’ve been very, very thankful and blessed to be offered this kind of project kasi siyempre ang dami rin nag-aabang ng mga proyekto. Pero to be part of this very timely project, I guess everything just fell into place and I’m very thankful for that.

“Madami akong ginagawa to be honest. I was busy doing some conditioning physically and mentally and when this project was offered to me it was also parang a reminder for me because when the story was revealed to me, dun ko na-realize na meron pa palang isang aspeto ng buhay ko na hindi ko na-te-train which is my faith. So that’s why spiritually I also need to renew my faith. I also need to do some training for that. Kaya naging abala ako dun during the whole time,” he explained.

As part of the cast of Huwag Ka Mangamba, Diether said he is thankful to the people behind the show as well as his co-actors.

“I would like to acknowledge yung mga magagaling natin na mga directors, direk Manny Palo, direk Darnel Villaflor, and direk Jerry Sineneng. They’re being very supportive as well yung mga bagong cast namin na ngayon ko lang nakatrabaho, they’re being very professional. I really loved working with them. It’s quite a big surprise for me to be working with the new ones, yung mga ngayon ko lang nakilala, yung Gold Squad, and I’m very impressed. It reminds me so much our early days in the industry, kung paano kami nagsimula and it’s a good reminder of how far we have gone. But of course, marami pa rin kaming dapat na gawin. Kaya to be part of this very momentous project, I’m very thankful to Dreamscape Entertainment and ABS-CBN for giving us this opportunity. it was a really a very timely project for all of us so thank you again,” he added.