Theatre Actress Cris Villonco Branches Out Into TV In 'Lihim Ni Annasandra' And In Films In Regal's 'Chinoy'

CRIS VILLONCO is well known in the theatre world. She got great reviews for doing challenging roles in “Ghost, The Musical”, “Mga Ama, Mga Anak” and PETA’s “Wonder Twins ng Boac”. She’s now excited to do her first teleserye, “Mga Lihim ni Annasandra”.

“I’ve really been wanting to try TV work as I’ve never done a teleserye in my whole life,” she says. “I want to thank Tita Redgie Magno for giving me this chance to work with them sa GMA. She saw me playing the role of a pokpok in Direk Joel Lamangan’s play, ‘Mga Ama, Mga Anak’. Then she asked my manager, Tita Girlie Rodis, if I’d want to act on TV. Siempre, yes agad kami. I play Lorraine Armada in ‘Annasandra’, susyal na model for the company of Joyce Ann Burton. I’m contravida to Andrea Torres who’s Annasandra. Siya ang gusto ni Mikael Daez. But I will do everything to get him and destroy his relationship with Andrea.”

How does she find her role? “Honestly, hindi ako sanay. Kasi sa teatro, kahit salbahe man ako, may heart of gold pa rin. But as Lorraine, true blue kontrabida. So after each scene, nagso-sorry na ako sa mga taong inaapi ko onscreen. I have to adjust my acting. Kasi sa theatre, it has to be big para mapanood by even the people in the last row. Dito, you have to make it smaller.”

So is she ready to be hated by the public? “Iniisip ko na ngang I’m sure I will have haters at baka may sumampal sa akin one of these days. Kasi I’m really transformed as contravida. Pero super makapal ang make up ko, kaya baka hindi rin naman nila ako makilala in public kapag naglalakad ako ng walang makeup.”

Cris won the Cinemalaya best supporting actress award as the “sosyalerong apo” of Robert Arevalo in “Hari ng Tondo”, still showing in theatres. The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and Cris represented it there. “Very well received ang screenings from an audience of both Pinoys and foreigners. Sa Q&A, maraming nagtanong. Interested talaga sila. There are about 300 films being shown and I was able to watch 12 films. Nakasama kami ni Tito Robert sa pictorial with international cele­brities like Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, Dax Shepard, Sandra Ohgand Tina Fey. Kundi lang nakakahiya, makiki-selfie sana ako with them.”

Cris has also been cast by Mother Lily in Regal’s new movie, “Chinoys”, about Chinese-Filipinos.