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| andrea torres with derek ramsay |
ANDREA TORRES says she was surprised when the first scene she was asked to do with Derek Ramsay when they started taping their new soap, “The Better Woman”, was an intimate sexy scene. “Nagulat ako kasi first scene pa lang namin together, sexy scene agad,” she says. “But I was told by Director Mark Sicat de la Cruz that it’s the best ice breaker for the two us. Derek naman is such a gentleman, super alalay siya sa’kin, so I felt comfortable with him right away. He’s very approachable, makuwento, so magaan kasama, masaya.”
Didn’t she feel any pressure being paired with him? “Actually, na-pressure ako. Kasi kilala na siya. Ang dami niyang hit movies, so when I was told siyang makakapareha ko, sabi ko, wait lang. Dream kong makapareha siya pero dapat, paghandaan ko munang mabuti. He’s so fit, such a hunk, so para maging fit din ako, I spent more time sa gym at nag-aral pa ako ng pole dancing kasi there’s a scene na magpo-pole dancing ako at aakitin ko siya. Three days akong nag-training at masakit sa legs ha.”
How come she agreed to do bed scenes and sexy scenes here when she used to avoid them? “Nabasa ko pa lang ang script, na-in love na ako sa two characters na gagampanan ko,” she says. “It’s not my first time to play dual roles kasi dalawa rin ako in ‘Sana ay Ikaw na Nga’, na afternoon soap in 2012 pa. Kaya nga siguro binigay nila ito sa’kin kasi alam nilang magagawa ko as I did it before. Pero dito, twins talaga ko na nagkahiwalay noong babies pa kami. Si Jasmine, naging asawa ni Derek as Andrew. Si Juliet, lumaking napariwara. Nagulat si Andrew nang ma-meet niya si Juliet sa Manila kasi hindi niya alam na may twin si Jasmine. Later on, magiging magkaribal kaming magkapatid for the love of Derek.”
She made sure her interpretation of each character is totally different from each other. “Si Jasmine kasi, mabait, refined, edukada. Si Juliet yung lumaki sa hirap, mas aggressive, babaeng bakla, palaban. Magkaiba ayos nila, pati sa buhok, sa kilos. I made sure iba ang nuances nila from each other. Mahirap lang gawin kasi paulit-ulit ang takes. Pinakamahirap yung kumakain kasi ayaw ni Direk Mark na pekein. So parehong kumakain yung twins at kain din ako ng kain kaya busog na busog ako. E, nagda-diet pa naman ako.”
How did she feel when she was implicated in the breakup of Derek from GF Joanne Villablanca? “I guess hindi maiiwasan kasi nga lagi kaming magkasama dito sa show. But in fairness to him, pinagtanggol niya ako na it’s unfair na mapagbintangan ako.”
What if Derek really falls for her in the course of the show? “Ay, hindi ko pinangungunahan ang mga bagay-bagay. Basta sa ngayon, focused lang ako sa trabaho ko. As of now, we’re friends at ang goal namin is mapaganda nang husto ang ‘The Better Woman’ para panoorin kami ng tao gabi-gabi on primetime simula sa Monday, July 1.”
Supporting them in the show are Jaclyn Jose as Andrea’s mother, Ina Feleo as Derek’s younger sister who’s a single mom, Marco Alcaraz as Derek’s business partner, Ashley Rivera as Juliet’s friend, Paolo Paraiso as Derek’s surfer friend and Francis Makil as Jaclyn’s cousin who knows her secret about the twins. “Kara Mia” has ended so GMA is reshuffling their primetime shows. “Sahaya” with Bianca Umali will now be shown right after “24 Oras”, to be followed by “The Better Woman” and then, “Love You Two”.
