“No, okay lang,” she says with a shrug. “Nangyayari naman talaga yun. And when Kris cannot do it kasi nga may bold scenes, tapos ibinalik sa akin, then tinanggap ko agad. It means para sa akin talaga siya.”
She agreed to do a sexy bed scene with Dominic Roco since it’s vital to the story. “Also, I play the title role of Twinkle, kaya I just trusted Direk Gil.”
The opening scene shows her, Dominic and their friends holding a contest in snorting cocaine. How did she prepare for her role as a drug addict?
“Wala, experience lang. Hindi ko sinasabing naging addict ako, ha. I never became one. But I’d be lying if I’d say I didn’t experience it. I just experimented on it. Like Twinkle, rebelde rin ako sa family ko in Cebu. I first ran away from home when I was 13. I was gone for 3 days. Then the next time I left, for 3 months. Now, independent na ako.”
Isn’t she living in with her boyfriend who joined “Survivor Philippines” with her, Filo Cucueco? “Wala na kami. Three weeks ago pa.” What happened? “We just drifted away. We’ve fallen out of love after three years of being together.” Is there a chance of reconciliation? “Ay, no more balikan. I felt free na.”
Her last soap with GMA was “Indio”, where she played a diwata. Right now, she’s seen only in ‘Bubble Gang’. Doesn’t she feel neglected somehow? “Siempre, may ganung feeling, napapabayaan ka. I want to be given more challenging roles.”
Hopefully, when GMA execs see how good she is in ‘Tag-araw ni Twinkle’, they might assign her meatier roles? “I’m hoping. This is my most challenging role so far. Nahirapan ako, lalo roon sa mahahabang monologue in Tagalog. Bisaya ako, e. But Direk Gil is pleased naman. The first time we worked together was in ‘Bayang Magiliw’, where I played Wendell Ramos’ eldest daughter. Napagalitan niya ako roon kasi he’s giving instructions, my attention was on my Ipad. But after that, okay na kami.”
Will she take her parents in Cebu to watch her movie? “Ay, no. They can watch it, but by themselves na lang, not with me. I’d feel awkward watching with them tapos may bedscene ako doon, nagda-drugs. Actually, I’m both scared and excited about the movie. I know maganda siya and I’m proud of it. Sana, pasukin ng mga tao when it opens in SM Cinemas nationwide in September. We’ll have our premiere night at SM Megamall on September 6, 8 PM then for 7 days straight, it’ll be shown at SM Cinemas along with the other Sineng Pambansa entries.”
Also in the movie are Cris Villanueva and Rina Reyes as Ellen’s adoptive parents, Arnold Reyes as her biological dad who’s a former rebel and Marc Acueza as her first boyfriend who she dumped in favour of Dominic Roco who introduced her into drugs. Both Cris and Arnold give great performances as two men who come from totally different worlds (Cris being a general and Arnold being an NPA) and we won’t be surprised if they’d get acting nominations, especially Arnold who has the more demanding role as an old man dying of cancer.
