YSABEL ORTEGA with ALECK BOVICK & SOLIMAN CRUZ as her parents, VINCE CRISOSTOMO as he brother and leading men MIGUEL TANFELIX & YASSER MARTA
YSABEL ORTEGA is so lucky that GMA & Quantum Films gave her a great supporting cast to help her in her launching show, “What We Could Be” that starts airing on August 29: Joyce Ann Burton, Celeste Legaspi, Aleck Bovick and Soliman Cruz.
Joyce Ann Burton, Bb. Pilipinas Universe 1985, plays the mother of Miguel Tanfelix who is very mean to Ysabel’s character, Cynthia. So how is it working with them?
“Working with Miguel and Ysabel is truly a gift,” says Joyce. “Miguel shared his dreams with me and I saw how passionate he is about his craft as an actor.
"He showed me videos of his past works and I really appreciate those moments with him.
"Si Ysabel naman, I’m supposed to be nasty with her. In one scene, binuhusan ko pa siya ng tubig. But after the scene, she’s really so sweet.
"They’re both good and very professional so they’ll both go far. One magical moment for me was when I was singing a worship song, then both Miguel and Ysabel joined my singing.
"I was not yet close to them then, kasi day one pa lang yun ng taping. It was not planned at all, but it made me realize that we’re all on the same page and it helped us become more comfortable with each other.”
How about Yasser Marta? “I had a conversation with Yasser about his t-shirt na Black Sabbath. Sabi ko, hindi mo era yan, a. Era ko yan, and we had a good talk about his shirt. Na-appreciate ko silang lahat, working with them. And it’s a dream come true for me working with Celeste Legaspi. I’m so glad nakasama ko siya sa work.”
Celeste plays the role of Lola Aunor, a grouchy old woman who’s initially mean to Ysabel as her nurse but later on becomes close to her after Ysabel saves her life.
“It was great working with the whole cast", she says. “What I really like about the young actors here is that they’re really serious with their craft.
"They work hard. When they get to the set, they know their characters, they’ve memorized all their lines and that makes it easy for all of us.
"I also enjoyed working with Direk Jeffrey Jeturian. When he noticed na sunod-sunod ang mahihirap kong eksena, he was very comforting. He approached me and told me, sandali na lang, makakapagpahinga ka na.”
Aleck Bovick plays the supportive mother of Ysabel.
“First day pa lang namin, I already noticed that the young actors working with us, puro mababait,” she says. “They’re all well behaved, walang pasaway.
"And they have a very good work ethics. We became close and up to now, we have a group chat everyday, nagkukumustuhan kami. We were a good team.
"Sa pagkain, kwentuhan kami, sharing our thoughts about life. Masaya lang lahat sa set. And si Direk Jeff, madaling katrabaho at mabilis ang taping.”
Soliman Cruz, who just won the Cinemalaya best supporting actor award for “Blue Room”, plays the dad of Ysabel, a baker.
“We taped the show in Taal, Batangas and I enjoyed yung aming mga kuwentuhan sa tent. They all really prepare well, para pagdating sa eksena, maganda na ang paghabi namin sa aming characters.
"It’s an ensemble at lahat ng kasama namin are okay. Si Aleck is a big help to me as my wife.
"Si Miguel naman, I won’t forget na niyaya niya akong kumain sa isang Korean restaurant.”
“What We Could Be” will replace “Bolera” on GMA Telebabad starting Monday, August 29.