ANGELU DE LEON is enjoying her villain role to the hilt in the hit afternoon soap, “The Stepdaughters”, that now airs after “Ika-6 na Utos”. She plays Brenda, the wife of Gary Estrada and mom of Katrina Halili who is very mean to Glydel Mercado and Megan Young. “Lately, puro mabait ang roles ko sa ‘Buena Familia’ and ‘Mulawin’, so I welcome playing this role na hindi ako kawawa at umiiyak,” she says. “Na-miss ko rin yung ako ang nagtataray, nang-aapi at nakikipag-away. My last villain role was in ‘Hindi Ka na Mag-iisa’ with Jennylyn Mercado six years ago pa. May lalim naman yung character ni Brenda rito kasi may pinanggagalingan yung kasamaan niya. Maaaring morally, questionable siya, but she’s actually just thinking of her family at gusto niyang makaahon sila sa hirap sa squatter area na tinitirhan nila.”
We saw the pilot episode of “The Stepdaughters” and there are scenes where she is maltreating the child actress who plays the young Megan Young. Didn’t she have any qualms doing this? “Siempre, I felt reluctant at the start. Pero siya pa ang nagsabi sa’kin na okay lang pong saktan nyo ako. So sabi ko naman, naku, anak, sigurado ka ba dyan? Okay raw, gusto raw niya maramdaman ang eksena. So di sige, ginawa namin, pero alalay pa rin ako sa kanya. I don’t want to really hurt her.”
How about her hair-pulling scene with Glydel Mercado as the child’s mother? “Ay, doon, all out na kami. Masaya yung sabunutan namin. Una noong makita niyang sinasaktan ko ang anak niya at pinalayas ko siya dahil nakikitira sila sa bahay. Next, noong nakaburol na ang asawa niyang si Allan Paule at nag-abot kami sa punerarya at binato pa niya ako ng korona. Okay rin naman kasi si Glydel. Ang galing niya. Nakakadala kapag siya kaeksena mo at nanggigigil talaga ako sa kanya.”
It’s good she can still act even if the effects of Bell’s Palsy have not totally been healed on her face. “Yes, may part ng bibig ko at ng isang mata ko na hindi gumagalaw pero okay lang naman. Hindi halata. Buti nga kahit may ganito ako, nakuha pa akong endorser ng isang slimming salon, e. Hindi naman ako pinababayaan ng Panginoong Hesus. I’m totally at peace with Him so I was never bitter dahil sa naging sakit ko. Hayan nga’t tuloy-tuloy lang ang projects ko.”
