The New Breed of Baddies

Angelika dela Cruz keeps getting cast as the kontrabida—but you know what? She no longer sees them as just simple antagonists. Angelika is ready and willing to embrace the new breed of television baddies! Text by Jason John S. Lim. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. When Angelika dela Cruz first returned to GMA-7, she was cast in a role that wasn't just a critically acclaimed character—her character also defined a new kind of antagonist that isn't purely evil. Angelika calls this new aspect of being an antagonist a challenge; "mas maganda 'yung may background, makikita mo 'yung twitch ng mata pag iba 'yung reaction—hindi 'yung straight ka lang, galit ka lang buong show; 'yung parang galit ka lang sa mundo." The actress finishes that she no longer wants to play just straight bad guys. And lucky for her, the trend nowadays no longer paints bad guys as just bad. For her new role as Vanessa in Una Kang Naging Akin, Angelika plays another character that antagonizes the female lead, and she doesn’t mind if people hate her character. "Okay lang." She explains that every person has an inner evil, something no one can deny. It's just that her character's evil is more upfront—"meron siyang kasamaan, pero there's a reason for it." "Mas maganda 'yung ganun, kesa 'yung all out masama ka lang." Angelika shares, saying it’s more realistic if the antagonists dwell more in the gray area: not good, but not completely evil either. "Kasi walang taong galit lang eh; there’s always a reason why a certain person is like that." "[And] I'm happy that the characters now on TV are more realistic." Angelika adds, "kasi mas makakarelate 'yung mga tao sa ganoon." With her latest character, it won"t be that hard for viewers to relate to her. According to Angelika, Vanessa becomes who she is because of one thing: she doesn’t feel whole. "Hindi buo ang pagkatao niya, kasi she cannot give the person she loves the one thing that can fix them." Vanessa has her insecurities, and it doesn"t help that her rival can give her man what she can't. Angelika says she doesn"t know if she can call her character in Una Kang Naging Akin more mature than the ones she has done before, "kaya lang, there's a big difference in character. So iba 'yung emotions na lalabas doon sa character." On her first turn in GMA-7"s Dramarama sa Hapon, Angelika also expresses excitement in performing for a different kind of audience. "It’s another change, kasi iba yata 'yung viewers ng hapon sa gabi, 'di ba? At least 'yung mga tao na sa panghapon nanunuod, they will get to see me again—which I like.” But she does admit to feeling some pressure to do well, after all, the previous drama series that occupied their timeslot all did well. And then, there’s also the fact that she's working with award-winning director Joel Lamangan again as well. With that alone, she says, "alam mong hindi basta-basta; alam mong quality [programming] ito. "Kailangan, kung anong pinaghuhusay natin sa primetime, bigay na bigay din tayo dito." To finish, Angelika invites viewers to watch the latest afternoon offering of GMA: "the story is really great, the cast is superb, and of course we have one of the best directors; so sigurado po akong meron kayong aabangan magandang bagong serye." Una Kang Naging Akin airs every weekday afternoon after Daisy Siete, part of GMA's Dramarama sa Hapon. Talk about the show at the iGMA Forums! Or learn more about the show from Angelika through Fanatxt! Here’s how: just text ANGELIKA to 4627! Each Fanatxt message costs PhP2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, and TALK 'N TEXT, and PhP2.00 for Sun subscribers. (This service is exclusive to the Philippines.)