Judy Ann Santos: 'Isusugal Kong Buhay Ko For Direk Joey Reyes'

JUDY ANN SANTOS didn’t have any second thoughts accepting her unconventional role in “Mga Mumunting Lihim”. “When Direk Joey Reyes told me contravida ako at kahit patay na ako, ako pa rin ang pag-uusapan sa movie, call agad ako,” she says. “The material is risky, something you can’t just do in mainstream commercial cinema, but I want to take the risk, for a change, di ba? Biro mo, scheming yung character ko rito, sinulot ko pa yung boyfriend ni Iza Calzado. Isa pa, I respect Direk Joey so much after we did ‘Kasal Kasali Kasalo’ and ‘Sakal Sakali Saklolo’. Naka-best actress ako doon. Bilib rin ako sa bilis niyang magtrabaho. Kahit may misunderstanding kami ni Ryan while doing our movies with him, hindi siya nakikialam. Unlike others na pilit kaming pagbabatiin bago mag-shoot. He just lets us be. He’s not just our director but also our friend. I’m very thankful na nakasama ko sa cast ng pelikulang ito.”

What did she do when she learned that she and Iza, Janice de Belen and Agot Isidro were all named as both best actress and best supporting actress at the Cinemalaya Awards Night? “Aba, e di nagtatalon ako sa tuwa. Ang ganda kayang ilagay sa resume mo na nanalo ka ng two acting awards in different categories, but for the same movie. First time in history yun, di ba? So talagang nakaka-proud. Isa pa, we all really had fun while shooting this film. Ang saya-saya namin sa set, tawanan ng tawanan, pero pag sinabi ni Direk Joey na take na tayo, biglang seryoso kaming lahat. Kung hindi ako nakasama sa movie, siguro luluhod ako sa harap ng bahay ni Direk at iaalok ko sarili ko sa kanya. If there’s one director na isusugal kong buhay ko, si Direk Joey ’yun.”

“Mga Mumunting Lihim” opens in theatres nationwide on Wednesday, August 22. By all means, don’t miss it as it’s certainly one of the best local films we’ve seen this year.