Napanood ko some of the past episodes of Thalia’s and Marian Rivera’s versions at iba talaga ang take namin ngayon dito. To begin with, pearl diver si Marimar dito, which is the reason why I had to learn how to dive into the deep waters kasi may underwater shots kami. Muntik pa nga akong malunod noong tinuturuan ako kasi it’s no joke how to dive.”
So she’ll be seen in plenty of wet scenes? “Marami. Alangan namang you dive, tapos hindi ka mababasa. So maraming basaan talaga. And you’ll learn how to respect pearl divers kasi mahirap talaga yung livelihood nila.”
One of the aspects questioned by her detractors is whether she has chemistry with her leading man, Tom Rodriguez. “Well, everyone who has seen our scenes together say we have undeniable chemistry. Bago naman kami isinalang ni Tom, we did a lot of workshops together. Not just acting workshop but familiarity workshop, sensuality workshop, just to make sure na okay yung magiging tambalan namin. And you’d see na kakaiba talaga yung sensuality. It shows even in our body movements.”
No doubt she’s sexy, what with her beauty queen figure, but how does she find Tom? “Tinatanong pa ba yun? Ang lakas ng sex appeal niya. Tiyak na he’ll gain more fans kapag napanood siya sa shirtless scenes niya rito sa beach.”
How is it working with her sister, Lauren Young, as one of the contravidas? “Lauren and I are very close kasi we grew up na playmates. We play rough as kids, but it’s all part of growing up. It’s nice to work with her kasi kabisado na namin ang isa’t isa. In one scene where she’s supposed to pull my hair, I quickly warned hanggang sa kung saan lang niya ako puedeng sabunutan dahil baka masira ang hair extensions ko. And since maganda ang relationship namin as sisters, hindi kami naghe-hesitate na magkasakitan basta sa ikagaganda ng eksena. We agreed na gawin yung fight scene namin as more intense and I told her kahit sampalin niya ako nang totohanan, hindi ako magagalit. And I think we both succeeded in making ourselves believable in our respective roles and in making the scene work effectively.”
How important is “Marimar” for her? “It’s the biggest project ever given to me. Ibang level siya, e. The pressure is similar to what I felt when I joined Miss World. And since acting is my passion, my life, it’s very important to me. I don’t want this to come out half-baked so I’m giving this not just my 100 percent but my 1,000 percent. And I’m so thankful sa support ng GMA for giving me great co-stars like Jaclyn Jose, Alice Dixson, Zoren Legaspi, Nova Villa, Tommy Abuel, Carmi Martin, Ina Raymundo, Jaya, Cris Villanueva, Ricardo Cepeda, Dion Ignacio and all our co-stars. We all pledged to cooperate fully para magawa naming maganda talaga at naiiba ang version namin ng ‘Marimar’ for today’s generation of viewers.”
