JOHN Lloyd Cruz explained his hiatus from showbiz: “Hindi ako umalis sa harap ng camera. Kasi kahit naman tumigil ako noon with my usual work in showbiz, or in films and TV, nagtuloy pa rin naman ako but much, much smaller production.”
In the midst of his relationship with sexy actress Ellen Adarna, JL temporarily bid goodbye to his showbiz career. Now that he's back, what can he say for those people who are excited and happy for his comeback?
“Merong isa na nagsabi na, dinagdagan niya ng 'Bumalik na sa showbiz.’ Yun medyo... oo nga naman. Bumalik ako sa showbiz pero hindi ako umalis sa paggawa ng sine. Hindi ako umalis sa harap ng camera. Kasi kahit naman tumigil ako noon with my usual work in showbiz, or in films and TV, nagtuloy pa rin naman ako, but much, much smaller production,” says John Lloyd in an interview with ABS-CBN News broadcaster Karen Davila.
“Medyo crowded doon sa isang daan, e. That’s really true, parang when it gets crowded... magiging crowded, di ba? And it’s vital. Sa trabaho namin, napaka-vital nung, 'Teka lang, are you making the right decisions? Are you making the right choices? Are you behaving the way you want to?' Kasi talagang binabago tayo nung [industriya], in many ways na puwede mong ma-imagine. Akala mo parang, yeah, you had it all figured out. Pero biglang may mangyayari sa 'yo and then you realize na, ‘Hindi na ako iyon, a.’ And then you take a step back. Yung pag-step back ko, medyo lumayo lang.”
At that time, what made him decide to leave showbiz?
“I guess, I got tired fighting the content that I want to see on a more commercial platform, di ba? Kasi, I felt na we owe it, e, we owe it to them, we owe it to our audiences. Yung, we make sure na hindi namin kayo pauulit-ulitin. As much as nagma-mature kami or we are growing as performers, syempre you want to take your audience with you, di ba?”
One of the reasons for his leave of absence from showbiz is because he was burned out.
“Puwedeng andoon din siya nakapaloob. But ang totoo is I was evolving, I guess, and it was too complex for me to understand or comprehend. And calling it burnout would somehow... I would feel, somehow, parang nare-reduce into that. Kasi it was a combination of so many issues, e. Yung pagka-burnout about it probably is one indication, pero maraming-maraming unresolved questions, maraming mga discontinued dialogue with certain creators, with yung mga nakaupo sa company. So, I guess, hindi lang yun napag-uusapan. Hindi lang siya nakikita as an angle, kasi, I don’t know...But, yeah, being burned out was I guess one of the indications.”
JL is now under the tutelage of Maja Salvador's Crown Artist Management.