“Yes, trabaho po agad,” she tells us when we visited her on the set of “Onanay” which has just been extended once again. “Abangan nyo ang bagong episodes namin this week kasi napipikon na si Maila at malapit na siyang lumaban sa mga nang-aapi sa kanya, led by her own sister, Natalie, played by Kate Valdez, na kahit na-reveal na ang katotohanan, hindi pa rin matanggap na magkapatid talaga kami.”
She has had several cat fight scenes with Kate in the course of the show. Don’t they somehow get hurt with all the violent physicality of their confrontations? “It cannot be helped naman po, nagkakasakitan talaga. Lalo na yung first sampalan scene namin na sa sobrang lakas ng sampal niya, talagang namula ang mukha ko at sorry siya nang sorry sa’kin. I can’t just blame her naman kasi ganun siya ka-invested sa role niya at sa eksena. So nag-usap kami na when we do such scenes, we should be aware that trabaho lang ang lahat at kahit, magkasakitan kami, it’s just part of our being professional.
"Actually, ako talaga, hirap na hirap sa ganung mga eksena kasi in real life, hindi ako nagagalit, e. Pag may sitwasyong nakakagalit, pinalalampas ko na lang. Hindi ako marunong mag-express ng anger in real life. So it’s really a struggle for me na saktan siya kasi I can feel myself holding back.”
The show is now on its sixth month of telecast. What did she learn the most from doing it?“I learned a lot from this show, especially working with acting greats like Nora Aunor and Cherie Gil as our co-stars and Gina Alajar as our director. But ang natutuhan ko talaga is the importance of nuances. Kasi you can follow the instructions of your director, but yung nuances na ginagawa mo in front of the camera, sa’yo manggagaling yun. Nagugulat ako when people tell me about the nuances I do sa isang eksena. Ang laki pala ng impact noon sa viewers.”
Because she’s so engrossed with work, she has no time for love. “One year nang wala, kasi I really want to focus on my work. Also, tuloy rin ang studies ko as I’m taking up architecture. Isa pa lang naman ang naging boyfriend ko, non-showbiz. At this point, masaya naman ako. I want to prove that you can find your own happiness nang hindi ka nagre-rely sa lovelife. I also want to be more serious in being a singer kasi I’m part of ‘Studio 7’ every Sunday and I really enjoy doing the musical numbers that we present there.”
