Jean and Joan: Not mean offscreen!

Thank God Jean Garcia and Joan Quintas aren’t the heartless kontrabidas they play onscreen! In real life, these two beauties are the exact opposite, save for their undeniable chemistry. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. Interviews with Jessa Ericka C. Bien. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Seize the day! Both actresses refuse to reveal Impostora’s ending, but both agree that there’s definitely a lesson to be learned from the story. “Secret e! Basta may moral lesson! At magandang-magandang moral lesson. ‘Yan ang dapat niyong abangan sa aming dalawa!” says Joan, who goes by the nickname “Josa” from her real name, which is Joan Santos. Josa explains that she’s not really a kontrabida in the series, because she is actually more of a victim of Betty’s schemes. She’s the stereotypical yet much-needed onscreen sidekick who gives comic relief when the drama gets too draining. “Hindi nga 'yung mga tao naiinis, e. Nakakatawa! Kaming dalawa (ni Jean), 'yung chemistry namin, flawless!” She even shares that most of the time, the two of them do adlib with their lines. So what was it like to be paired with Jean? “Looooove it! E kasi ba naman, she’s been to hell back and forth! Ju-moin din ako sa kanya!” This carefree and outspoken beauty queen and actress is also a professional makeup artist for Shu Uemura and a business owner of Warehouse 135, a club in Makati. This 30-year old mother of three says that managing all her activities can get a bit complicated, but her rule is most definitely “Seize the Day!” She gives herself a score on her “performance” as a mom: “150 over 100! Lately kasi, dito, nagte-taping, kaya sometimes, hindi ko na masyadong nakakasama (mga anak ko). Pag may konting time na mayroon ako, nandoon (talaga) sa bata. Saka na ako matutulog pag pasok nila sa school.” After Impostora, she’ll be focusing once again on doing makeup while thinking of what project to do next. But Josa is sure of one thing: “(I want) more shows with Jean! Kahit ano, kaya namin! Basta magkasama pa rin kami, kaya namin ‘yan!” Staying true to her kontrabida role, Josa “threatens” everyone to watch Impostora: “Wag nilang kakalimutan ‘yun, dahil pag kinalimutan nila, ingatan nila buhay nila! Hahaha!” The doting mom Jean spent most of the time talking about her daughter, Jennica, who co-stars with her in Impostora. The proud mom reports that her daughter, who is a showbiz newcomer, is adjusting quite well, and she has even heard raves about her unica hija’s performances! “Sinasabi nila, ‘Ay, mini-Jean!’ Mayroon siyang scene dito sa Impostora na sobrang naapi siya, sobrang drama. Pinalakpakan daw siya afterwards, sabi ni direk. Tapos si direk sinabihan din ako, ‘Uy, galing ni Jennica.’ Hindi daw niya ine-expect for a first timer na maha-handle 'yung ganoong eksena. So syempre, sobrang happy ako, syempre, 'yung ngiti ko hanggang tenga! Proud mother!” Does Jean have any expectations when it comes to Jennica’s performance in showbiz? “No, wala. Ang sabi ko lang sa kanya, kung gusto mong i-try, i-try mo. Anyway, nakatapos ka na ng high school. Kasi ‘yun naman ang promise ko, kasi mga 12 years old pa lang siya, gusto na niyang pumasok. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko, pero gusto ko siyang patapusin ng high school. Kasi college, pwedeng pakonti-konti ng units, kahit hindi ka naman mag full load e. At least tapos siya ng high school, kasi very important ang education. Maski ngayon, sinasabi ko sa kanya, ‘O, kahit may trabaho ka na, ha, 'yung college mo!’ Sabi niya, oo naman daw. So ngayong natapos 'yung high school, gusto pa rin niya, sabi ko ‘O sige, why don’t you try it?’ Sabi ko lang sa kanya, basta 'yung sa akin, kung nag-enjoy ka, that’s good. Kung hindi, kung ano gusto mong gawin, susuportahan kita. She’s doing very well naman. Wala akong expectations sa kanya na dapat maging sikat siya. Destiny nga, di ba?” Now that Jennica’s being paired with Mart Escudero who is reportedly also a suitor, is Jean ready for Jennica to have a boyfriend? “I like Mart, maganda 'yung aura niya sa akin, e. Nakikita ko sa kanya na he’s a good person; a kind person. Maganda pagpapalaki sa kanya ng mga magulang niya, I guess. Mabait na bata, he’s conservative, hindi mayabang, very humble, marespecto. At nakikita ko sa kanya 'yung respecto niya kay Jennica. Hindi 'yung love team tayo, ‘yun na. No, nakikita ko, inaalagaan niya si Jennica. And sinasabi rin sa akin ni Jennica 'yung support sa kanya ni Mart. Si Jennica kasi, hindi siya trained, e. Si Mart kasi, di ba, StarStruck 4? So may training. Si Jennica kasi, sinabak na lang siya nang ganoon lang. O sige, game!” Jean continues, “She’s 17 years old, e. Hindi ko na siya pwedeng pakialamanan. Pwede ko lang siya i-guide. Pero hindi ako pwedeng mag-decide for her pag dating sa mga emotional decisions niya in life.” After Impostora, Jean will be taping a Halloween movie tentatively titled Hide and Seek with Jennica (who will play her daughter) under Regal Films. “It’s a horror-thriller-suspense tapos parang medyo family-themed at may konting drama.” Joining them will be Eric Quizon (who will play her husband), Ryan Eigenmann, and Alessandra De Rossi, among others. Hide and Seek will be directed by Rahyan Carlos who also directed Shake, Rattle & Roll’s (2006) “13th Floor,” as well as Pamahiin (2006). At present, Jean is quite happy with the turnout of Imposora, and says that she plans to tape the finale week because the script was really superb. Like Josa, she invites everyone to stay tuned every weeknight: “Para naman pag nag-rate kami nang mataas, happy naman kami! Kasi sad na nga kami na magtatapos na, di ba? So bawi na lang kami na sana maging successful 'yung last week namin! Maganda 'yung script, maganda 'yung ending!” Text JEAN to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! (Each Fanatxt message costs P2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers) Talk about these two onscreen kontrabidas in the iGMA Forum!