Jaclyn Jose became the first Southeast Asian to win Cannes Film Festival Best Actress not out of luck. Aside from having the right people around her and years of acting experience, she also has the knack, the versatility and an in-depth understanding of her audience.
Currently, Jose is one of the most active TV actors in the Philippines. After winning Best Actress at the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival for portraying the title role in Brillante Mendoza's "Ma' Rosa," she starred in GMA 7 shows "A1 Ko Sa 'Yo" and "Alyas Robin Hood," which also starred Andrea Torres, Dingdong Dantes and Miss World 2013 Megan Young.
Almost two months after "Alyas Robin Hood," Jose is returning to the small screen playing an almost stereotypical housewife named Josie Magpayo in "D' Originals." During the blog conference for the drama-comedy series on April 5, Wednesday, at GMA Network Center in Quezon City, Metro Manila, I asked the veteran actress about the adjustment in terms of acting for the small screen and for the big screen.
Jose acknowledged that there is such an adjustment considering that films and TV have different types of audiences. She said that the storytelling on TV should be explicit enough to be easily understood by the home viewers, who have divided attention as they are typically doing something else.
As Jose implied, it is different on the big screen, particularly in indie films, in which the filmmaker has the freedom to challenge the viewers' thinking. If there is one thing she does that her fellow actors should emulate aside from her acting prowess, it is her willingness to give her full trust to any director she works with.
I asked the same question to Jose's "D' Originals" co-stars LJ Reyes and Archie Alemania, who also have much experience in acting in internationally acclaimed indie films. Reyes said while actors have to do some adjustments on TV, on stage and in films, it is the truth in acting that does not change.
Alemania pointed out that actors are given more time when acting for indie films. However, they do not have this luxury of time when acting for TV, where everything is fast-paced, the actor said.
Reyes starred in Jun Lana's film "Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan" while Alemania starred in Jerrold Tarog's "General Luna" and in Lav Diaz's "Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan." For the Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category, the Philippines submitted "General Luna" in 2015 and "Ma' Rosa" in 2016.
Jose, Reyes and Alemania's "D' Originals" co-stars include Jestoni Alarcon, Kim Domingo, Meg Imperial, Katrina Halili, Mark Herras, Lovely Abella, Mikoy Morales, Chlaui Malayao, Arny Ross and Elyson de Dios. Directed by Adolf Alix Jr., whose films "Manila" and "Death March" were also screened at Cannes Film Festival, the show will premiere on GMA 7 on April 17.
Watch the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress talk about acting here: