MANILA, Philippines – They may have grown up in the United States, but for Filipino-American actors Tia Carrere and Mark Dacascos, returning to the Philippines is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with family and friends and reconnect with the culture.  

“It’s been so great. I’ve been spending so much time with my cousins and tasting all the food of my childhood that my grandma used to make,” Tia said during the press conference for the movie Showdown in Manila, Sunday, March 22 in Makati.

“But also coming back, this is my third time here but I plan to come back more often because it’s been too long. it’s great to be here,” Tia added.

“I love the Philippines. I think there is so much beauty. The land, and the people and so much talent. It’s a joy to be able to show that in this film and I am so very excited and honored,” Mark said. 

Known for her roles in Wayne’s World and Relic Hunter, Tia, who was born in Hawaii to Filipino parents, said she was happy about the opportunity to work with Mark again, whom she met while doing the show General Hospital.  

“I love Mark Dacascos and we’ve known each other for 30 years and he’s such a positive, kind and enthusiastic playmaker in Hollywood. We’ve worked together on General Hospital. We’ve been friends for a very, very long time and when he called me and said, ‘Tia, I’m doing this movie, my first full movie. Will you be there?’ I said absolutely.”

“He’s Filipino, I’m Filipino, I have family here. I came here half to visit my family and half to do the movie and eat the food. Sarap! (Yummy!)”

“I’m so happy hanging out with Iza and making new friends from Russia, from all over the world. Alexander (Nevsky) is putting this big crew together and that’s something you don’t see every day. It’s great to be here. It’s wonderful to do collaboration with these people,” she said. 

“And when we see, like Iza said, ‘when we see you’re a Filipino, we rally behind you.’ And I think there’s really that community of Filipinos around the world, even if we’re part, even if we’re one half, one quarter, it’s Pinoy pride,” Tia added.

Mark, known to many as “The Chairman” in Iron Chef America and for roles in Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Hawaii Five-0 makes his debut as director of the film. Mark said that he wanted to showcase the beauty of the Philippines to the world, thus the reason for choosing Manila.

“This is my 5th project in the Philippines. And the previous 4, I always felt it did not show enough of the natural beauty and culture that your country has to offer. So when Alex (Nevsky) and I were discussing the possibility of doing it here, we wanted to highlight like I said the jungle and the mountains and the people. So first and foremost it was that. 

“Another thing is its so unique to many, most of the world does not know about the Philippines unfortunately. And I think this would be a good time for us to show that. And story wise you have the incredible locations. Just recently the Huffington Post wrote that one of the number one tropical destinations in the world to discover is Palawan and we’re going to highlight that in our movie as well. Also, the abundance of local talent and alot of production value for the dollar so these are the good reasons on why we should come to the Philippines,” he said. 

Mark’s father Al is a Filipino raised in Hawaii. A martial arts instructor, the elder Dacascos shared that it was his first time to be in the Philippines.

Showdown in Manila already started its principal photography last March 9. Although the cast did not discuss the plot in detail, it will revolve around Russian actor Alexander Nevsky, who plays a cop in the movie.

Aside from Alexander, Tia and Mark, other members of the cast include Casper Van Dien (Tarzan and Starship Troopers), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Matthias Hues, Don Wilson, Oliver Gruner, Cynthia Rothrock and a Filipino ensemble cast led by Iza Calzado, Jake Macapagal and Mon Confiado. –Rappler.com