BELA WITH MARCO GUMABAO IN 'SPELLBOUND'
BELA'S PHOTOS IN LONDON
BELA WITH SWISS ITALIAN BOYFRIEND NORMAN BAY
BELA PADILLA is now based in London but she’s currently in town to help promote her movie, “Spellbound”, that is still now showing in theaters nationwide.
We were entertained by her performance in the film as a young woman who can see dead people and seriously bothered by their continuous presence in her life.
A lof of writers present at its premiere night at Megamall believe it’s even more scary than “Deleter” and Bela gives an even more effective performance than Nadine Lustre.
We know it’s not fair to compare, but we are inclined to believe in what they say.
The movie is a combination of romcom and horror and Bela is so effective even in the comic scenes, specially her drunken scene in a bar that not just any actress can do that convincingly on screen.
So until when will she be staying here in Manila?
“I will be here for one month,” she says. “I miss our country but I now have two homes.”
And which one does she prefer?
“I love them both. Hindi puedeng pagkumparahin kasi sobrang magkaiba sila, like apples and oranges, but our country will be always be home for me.
"Iba pa rin yung pakiramdam kapag umuuwi ako rito sa Pilipinas, e. My dad is British and my real family name is Sullivan, so I’m half Filipina, half British.
"I’ve lived my whole in my mom’s home, the Philippines, so I felt it’s about time I find out how it is to live in my dad’s home.”
Was it easy for her to decide living in London?
“For years, I’ve been telling my friends I think it’s time for me to move and try new challenges. The move is actually a leap of faith for me.
"I left Manila in 2019 and I’m enjoying my independent life in London, where I have two sisters and a brother, but they live two hours away from my place.
"Of course, I still do projects in Manila and I’m glad that Viva continues to give me good assignments, not only to act like in ‘Spellbound’, but also to write and direct, like I did in ‘366’ which got good reviews.”
Bela is doing a new movie, “If”, which was filmed on location in South Korea. She herself wrote and directed it, co-starring Korean actor Yoo Min Gon.
Also starring in it is seasoned actress Lorna Tolentino in a very important role.
She says shooting it in Korea is very difficult because of the language barrier.
But aside from this, she has also shot another Korean movie entitled “Oppa” where she co-stars with Korean actors, Jasper Cho and Kim Gun Woo.
While promoting “Spellbound” here, she got the chance to go to ABS-CBN again to plug it in “Showtime” and she says she felt teary-eyed.
“Nakakaiyak kasi ngayon lang ako nakabalik uli sa ABS-CBN.
"Naging part din ako ng ‘Showtime’ as a semi-regular co-host, so na-miss ko ring makasama ang mga dati kong co-hosts doon and I’m so happy kasi they were so warm in welcoming me again in the show.”
Bela wants to make it clear that she’s not living in with her Swiss-Italian boyfriend, Norman Bay.
“I’m on my own in my one-bedroom apartment,” she stresses. “He is based in Zurich, Switzerland and he just visits every so often.
"It helps a lot that he’s not from showbiz but a very private person who is very understanding.”