Interview with the real Angel

There’s no longer a trace of that tomboyish stance used to be seen in "Click." What we now see is a young lady who can soar seemingly with no effort, but with her feet still firmly on the ground and her heart on her sleeve. She arrived at the set of Asian Treasures in her silver GMC mini trailer and went down in a rush, apologetic for being so late. Everyone else’s call time was at 8a.m., but she arrived nine hours later. Her reason? She had an all-night shoot for The Promise, GMA Films’ V-Day flick. “Pasensiya na, natapos ‘yung shooting namin ng 10 a.m. kanina," Angel explains with genuine concern. She had to travel all the way to Subic in Olongapo right after her previous shoot for a sequence with Robin Padilla, her latest primetime leading man. “Pabalik-balik kami sa Tagaytay at Cavite para sa The Promise! A Real Angel These days, Angel is balancing her time between The Promise and Asian Treasures, her newest adventure teleserye which premiered on January 15 to glowing reviews. The Promise, on the other hand, is Angel’s much-awaited reunion with her Mulawin (2004) co-star Richard Gutierrez. Due to their undeniable onscreen chemistry, Mulawin was soon followed by their first big screen team-up I Will Always Love You (2006), a certified hit. After the movie, they were given different partners in their respective primetime teleseryes, but their team-up remained strong enough for two more movies, the recently concluded Mano Po 5: Gua Ay Di, and the soon to be released The Promise. More Than Just Kissing This year’s Valentine’s Day offering is certain to have many moments that will make Richard-Angel fans kilig. But one scene that many are watching out for is an intimate encounter between the two young stars. “Hindi pa namin ginagawa! Thank you, hindi pa!" Angel answers with a laugh when asked if she already shot her love scene with Richard, a first in her acting career. “Actually, kapag tinatanong nga ako ni Direk (Mike Tuviera), ‘Are you ready?’ Sinasabi ko, ‘I don’t know!’ Ganoon lang ako, hindi ko na siya iniisip. Kunwari, kukunan na natin ‘yan ngayon, gagawin ko. Ayoko lang siyang isipin para mas fresh kapag gagawin ko na." When we asked her two weeks later, however, the scene was already shot. Angel already officially taped her first love scene with Richard Gutierrez! And so we asked her everyone’s number one question: How was it like? “Medyo nakakakaba, syempre, hindi naming ginagawa dati ‘yun. Dait, pa-Click Click lang kami!" Click (2001-2005) was GMA’s youth-oriented show that served as a springboard for many stars and love teams. Angel portrayed the role of Charley while Richard was Enzo. Although they had separate love teams during those days, it was when they started becoming close pals. “Sabi ko nga, ‘Chard, dati nagki-Click lang tao, bakit tayo napunta dito?’ Angel shares with a laugh. “Basta nakakakaba lang, kasi ito ‘yung first time na gagawin naming ‘yung love scene…Basta, ang weird nung feeling! Pero kami ni Chard, naging professional kami, ginawa naming kung ano ‘yung pinapagawa ni Direk, at maganda naman ‘yung kinalabasan nung scene; hindi malaswa tignan. Maganda ‘yung pagkakagawa ni Direk talaga." Angel may be ready to more than just kiss her co-star on screen, but she stresses that she would never attempt anything that she would be uncomfortable with. “Wala naman akong ipapakita, konting skin, pero walang iba!" This 21-year old seems to be leveling up her dare meter each year, starting from her FHM shoot to revealing character costumes and love scenes. Sleep was still evident in Angel’s eyes as she greeted the Asian Treasures staff upon arriving. But despite having tousled hair and no makeup, she still looked stunning in her hooded jacket, jogging pants, and brown Havaianas. Looks like some people really are blessed with beauty so effortless. Angel immediately proceeded to do her own makeup. This is a pleasant surprise, because you’d expect stars like her to bring a personal makeup artist to the set. Instead, an ever-humble Angel opened her makeup kit and busied herself with her liquid blush, obviously in a hurry to accommodate three things: a scene with Robin, her interview with iGMA.tv, and the shoot of QTV’s Bongga Ka Star, which was doing a “Day in a Life" feature on her. In between dressing up and doing her hair and makeup, Angel stole bites from her fast food spaghetti takeout – something which she seems to be doing a lot lately, due to her impossibly hectic schedule. The interview was about to start when somebody interrupted because Angel was about to do her scene. “Babalik ako, promise!" Angel says. After one last forkful of spaghetti, she rushed to the waiting cameras. A few minutes later, we were interviewing Angel about her latest and most challenging television role. She is, after all, kicking ass as Gabriela, Asian Treasures’ fearless femme fatale. A Real Angel, Sugod Gabriela “Dati kasi, si Alwina (Mulawin, 2004), mahinhin, (tapos) naging warrior. Si Darna (Darna, 2005), siyempre, superhero. Si Sabina (Majika, 2006) naman, magician. Pero dito, ngayon niyo lang makikita na mayabang, maingay, barumbado, at palaban ako! Basta napakapalaban!" Gabriela loves history and is an expert at martial arts – something she uses to her advantage, especially because for some reason, a lot of people want her dead. “May mga laging humahabol sa akin na hindi ko alam kung bakit, kasi ‘yung past ko, puro tanong. Itinatago ko rin identity ko, pero hindi ko alam kung bakit." Because of persistent threats on her life, Gabriela is given a male bodyguard – a reality she had to deal with, despite her utmost hate for men. “Siyempre ako, mayabang, ayoko talaga! Ayokong may tumutulong sa akin, lalo na pag lalaki! Galit ako sa lalaki kasi nasaktan na ako before. ‘Yung bodyguard na binigay sa akin, ‘yun si Elias (Robin Padilla). Lagi kaming nag-aaway, para kaming aso’t pusa!" Although Angel isn’t new to fight scenes as most of her previous primetime series had them, she was quick to admit that this is her most challenging role to date. Experts from the RP Team trained her in Muay Thai, and together with stunt director Val Iglesias and Robin (whom she fondly calls “Kuya Binoe"), Angel received the best training anyone could ever have. So what exactly did Angel mean when she said that her stunts were “challenging?" “Madugo! Ang hirap talaga! ‘Yung tipong pagkatapos ng araw namin, parang ‘Hay, parang kukunin na ako ni Lord!’ Pero okay lang, kasi noong napanood namin, sobrang sulit talaga. Hindi naman sa nagbubuhat ako ng sariling bangko, proud lang talaga ako sa mga napaghirapan namin." Angel shares that she prefers to do the stunts herself, but she assures us that she hasn’t suffered any major injuries to date. “Wala naman, mga pasa lang, kasi sina Kuya Binoe naman sobrang maalaga. Nilalagyan nila ako ng padding, tapos hindi nila ako sinasaktan. Sobrang maalaga talaga. Kung masasaktan man ako, ako may kasalanan!" Aside from studying martial arts, Angel and Binoe also had diving lesons – something that Angel was already familiar with, because she was a swimmer before in her school. As usual, Binoe was all praises for the actress, saying, “Si Angel, sirena ‘yan eh. Kasi si Angel, Magaling na siya; konti na lang ituturo sa kanya." What’s admirable about Angel is her willingness to try new things even though I may mean exerting extra effort on her part. Ever the gutsy girl that she is, she adds “Sobrang kung ano (ang) mas mahirap, mas masaya ako!" Wrapping Up After the interview ended, the team packed up and said their goodbyes to the accommodating Asian Treasures production crew. The same team that handled Majika which also starred Angel Locsin and direk Eric Quizon. In retrospect, the girl we saw during our Majika set visits was far different from the woman we witnessed on the set of Asian Treasures. This time around, Angel shone with a confidence that only experience could provide. For although she still had the same trademark half-smile and the same endearing habits, her straightforward answers and her grace in managing the hectic day proved that she has really become more mature, more put-together, more grown-up. We may have waited longer than expected, but our entire team agreed that we’d definitely be willing to wait if it’s for someone as hardworking, humble, and accommodating as this primetime princess. Because despite her lack of sleep, on the fly meals, nonstop tapings, and public showbiz breakup, she was still, least to say, a perfect angel. Feel the fun with this leading lady! Text ANGEL and send to 4627. - iGMA.tv