Ruby Ruiz may yet become another Dolly de Leon who, from being a character actor in dozens of indie films, now enjoys international stature and has starred in a lead role in a blockbuster mainstream film in the Philippines, A Very Good Girl.

Ruiz is cast in Linlang, ABS-CBN's series on Prime Video, which is topbilled by Paulo Avelino, Kim Chiu and JM de Guzman. Seemingly for the first time in her 40-year-old acting career, Ruiz was asked to join the media conference and preview for the series, where she portrays surrogate mother to Chiu's character as the two-timing wife of the boxer-turned seaman portrayed by Avelino.

Ruiz, 62, sat with the main stars along with  the Maricel Soriano, young actor Kayla Estrada and the series' co-director, transwoman Jojo Saguin. The event was held at Cinema 76, a stone's throw from ABS-CBN studios in Quezon City.

Ruiz is actually basking in international fame these days for her appearance in one of the nine episodes of the Amazon series Expats, produced by and starring Nicole Kidman.

That episode is billed as "Central" and runs for 96 minutes. Ruiz has many scenes with Kidman, who reportedly chose Ruiz from among dozens who auditioned for the nanny role via Zoom. The episode was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

Ruiz is one of only two Pinoys in the cast that features several Asian actors, since the TV series is set in 2014 Hong Kong. The other Pinoy is the Hong Kong-based singer Amelia Pardenilla, a newcomer in acting.