MERCEDES CABRAL started her acting career doing acclaimed independent and arthouse films.
She appeared in several films of Cannes best director Brillante Mendoza, like “Serbis” (where she had a controversial love scene with Coco Martin), “Kinatay”, “Thy Womb”, “Hapag” and “Captive”.
She even got the chance to work in a Korean film, “Thirst”, that won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Filmfest. She is currently a regular in Coco’s “Batang Quiapo”, but she also gets to appear in Vivamax projects.
She shone in an episode of the recent series “Erotica Manila” by Director Law Fajardo where she played the role of an aging sexpot who has a short lived affair with the production assistant of the show she is taping.
She also did well in the movie “La Querida” where she played a career woman obsessed with Jay Manalo even if she knew that he is already married to someone else.
Now, she also shines in the new movie, “Kahalili”, a mystery-thriller where she plays the older sister of lead actress Stephanie Raz.
She constantly reprimands Stephanie for leading a wayward life as a drug addict who is controlled by her exploitative good-for-nothing boyfriend, Victor Relosa.
But Stephanie won’t listen and something violent eventually happens between them.
There will be a big twist in the character that Mercedes plays and this will be revealed later in the movie to shock the viewers. How does she feel working with mostly newcomers in the projects she does with Vivamax?
“It’s just fine with me to work with newcomers kasi I used to be one before,” she says. “I’m just happy that I’m still active up to now and continue to get good projects like ‘Kahalili’, which is about a surrogate mom.”
What can she say about the newcomers in Vivamax who are definitely more brazen in taking their clothes off before the camera when they are doing sexy love scenes?
“Well, the actors now are definitely much more comfortable in showing skin in Vivamax movies and series,” she says.
“And It’s good that the directors I’ve worked with, they really make sure muna na comfortable ang actors sa kung ano ang ipapagawa nila.
"They make it clear kung hanggang saan ang kaya mong gawin at kaya mong ipakita, which is very important para hindi ka mukhang napipilitan lang.”
She says that in “Kahalili”, their director, Bobby Bonifaciio Jr. is very considerate of his actors.
“Si Direk Bobby, he is willing to make compromises with his actors and I’m very grateful for that.
"I’m proud of this movie kasi punong-puno ang pelikulang ito with so many shocking scenes and I’m sure people will enjoy this from start to end.
"I think Direk Bobby made a masterpiece in ‘Kahalili’ which starts streaming on Vivamax this Friday, August 18, so don’t miss it.”
