Roxanne Barcelo is back where she belongs

Marahil para sa iba, panibagong mukha ang aktres na gumaganap ng Aleli, sa prime time hit na ‘Darna’. And one look naman kasi kay Roxanne Barcelo, hindi naman maipagkakaila na isa siya sa mga fresh na faces sa 'Darna'. Text by Erick Mataverde. Photo by Mitch S. Mauricio. Ngunit, to those in the know, ating matatandaan si Roxanne Barcelo bilang contestant sa Metropop Star Search in 1998. And afterwards, in 1999, naging involved siya sa hugely successful youth-oriented show, Click!. Naalala pa ni Roxanne ang huling project niya with the Kapuso Network, kung saan nakatrabaho din niya ang kasalukuyang director ng Darna na si Dominic Zapata. "With Direk Dom, I've worked with him with the last project that I did, Kahit Kailan. He directed that soap, it was 2002-2003. So yeah, it has been quite a while, even with singing," she recalled. " I did corporate events but there was still this desire to act, I don't know it was always just there, so parang when I stopped wanting to get into acting – that was the time naman that it (offers) came." At ano naman ang pakiramdam niya sa kanyang pagbabalik sa acting? "Good, grabe, it's been a while since I've acted, so Aleli is a good character to come back to," replied Roxanne. "She's actually very close to me kasi I'm playing the role of Ate Anne in Batang Bibbo, she loves kids and she also has a love for music." Banggit din ni Roxanne that this role chosen for her is very much close to her character in real-life. "Very, very alike at different levels din. It's a good role kasi pinapakita din 'yung versatility in acting and mapagmahal siya sa kaibigan niya," explains this Virginia, USA born beauty. "Mahal na mahal niya si Narda. To her, I think I'm exploring ‘yung pagiging close nila ni Narda, ‘yung parang shes the only family [that Narda] knows." Dugtong pa ni Roxanne, si Marian Rivera and the rest of the cast were a revelation to work with: "There's so much joy working with them (the cast). Marian on our first taping day, I really won't forget how supportive she was. I haven't acted for around six years. Matagal na. I did a lot of indie stuff, pero ‘yung soap operas it is really different. "So parang she was like, 'No don’t worry about it!', she told me to ride with it at huwag ako magalala. She is actually the Queen of Prime Time, to play her best friend is something for me, it’s a good thing for me." Inamin pa niya that, though her career in showbiz may have been stalled a bit, ang mga kasalukuyang projects niya with GMA are just the things she knows would jumpstart her acting career. "I've graduated from college (Communication Arts) three years ago, and there's so many opportunities to get out of the business, so many chances to try something else. But then every time I tried something else – for some reason na this kind of work calls me back," Roxanne concludes. "We have our calling naman eh, and it gives me joy eh. I'm happy that things are slowly getting better and better." Pag-usapan si Roxanne sa mas pinagandang iGMAForums! Not yet a member? Register here!