Barbie Forteza didn’t expect GMA’s Meant to Be, her latest foray into prime-time, would be a hit. “It was a pleasant surprise,” Forteza shared. A very light fare, many cynics thought Meant to Be would appeal more to the younger viewing market and would not do very well on the third slot of GMA’s prime-time block, when most young people presumably are preparing to go to sleep or have already gone to bed. “We realized that young people have changed their sleeping habits over the years. Most are cramming to finish their schoolwork, while others, baka nagpupuyat na rin sila talaga,” she added.
Moreover, the so-called millennials also rarely go offline. They actively post their reactions on their social-media accounts and love to share their opinions about anything they take fancy on. The exchange, thus, becomes instantaneous. “It’s very encouraging and interesting, at the same time. While the negative comments are always part of the equation, there are those who readily come to our defense,” Forteza pointed out.
Prior to this lighthearted series, the winsome GMA star has gained ground in the indie-film community, with acclaimed performances in Milo Sogueco’s Mariquina and Derick Cabrido’s Tuos, where she pitted dramatic chops against superstar Nora Aunor.
Forteza won the Cinemalaya Best Supporting Actress plum and an Urian Best Supporting Actress nomination for her sensitive portrayal of the rebellious daughter in Mariquina, while her work in Tuos garnered a nomination in the Best Performance category of the Young Critics Circle Film Desk. “I want to watch Tuos again and see what I did there, kung bakit nila ako napansin.”
Although she’s still quite young, Forteza doesn’t exactly fit into the mold of the more “mainstream” young female stars, like Kathryn Bernardo, Nadine Lustre and Liza Soberano. “May mga ibang tao na ang pakiramdam nila napag-iiwanan na ako, especially given that some of my contemporaries started way later than I did,” she observed, adding, “but, I think, the path I have chosen to pursue has taken a different turn, which I’m most happy about.”
Forteza realizes that everything is a decision, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Given a choice, I still would want to be where I am now. I want to be truthful to the point of being blatantly honest that I may not be the type who’d be on the cover of fashion and lifestyle magazines, pero dun ako napapasama kung saan pakiramdam ko mas may naa-achieve ako as an actress. But I really don’t want to be compared with anyone, because they might just be happy also with how it’s turning out for them. People always go to where they are most inclined to be satisfied, fulfilled and happy.”
She looks forward to going to auditions, as she did for Mariquina. “I was told that the team behind that movie wanted to meet with me but that it was an audition, so no assurances. And I was okay with it, because if ever I got in, which I eventually did, I wanted to be able to say that I got the role because I earned it. I guess that’s part of the fulfillment of landing a role you wanted, something you know you got not because of any politics but because they believed you deserved it.”
Forteza is thankfully aware that more important than a multitude of followers or the price tag associated with an actor, what really matters in the end is the body of work that an artist accumulates. This month’s cover girl, after all, can be all but forgotten come next season.
On personal matters, Forteza may have recently gone through her first heartbreak, but she is grateful for the people who stood by her through the entire painful ordeal. The lessons learned would no doubt help her become a wiser person and a more interesting performer. “I’ve realized that you always have to keep your eyes open. If you see something wrong that keeps on repeating, then it’s a negative pattern. That’s why the tell-tale signs are called red flags, so we can see these even from a distance. It always helps that we are honest with ourselves and see the situation as it is, no matter how much we think we have invested in terms of time, emotions and effort. Sometimes, we have to snap out of a bad or decaying relationship, because it is the right thing to do, and we just have to be fair to ourselves. ”
Indeed, all is now well in Barbie Forteza’s world.
ACTING AND HEALING
ANOTHER tough personality that many look up to is the brilliant theater, TV and movie actress Shamaine Buencamino, whose moving, spot-on performance in Jerrold Tarog’s Bliss was highly praised following the recent special screening of the film at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Cine Adarna. The film was rated X by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board on its first review, but has since been reclassified to R-18 (without cuts).
In the film that plays like a puzzle with razor-sharp edges, Buencamino takes on the scheming stage-mom role of lead actress Iza Calzado’s character. You have to see the scene where these two actresses engage in a very quiet but intense exchange inside the car, where the mom tells her daughter, “May binabayaran pa akong rest house sa Tagaytay, so you can’t afford to burn out.”
The seasoned performer that Buencamino is, she imbues her potentially villainess role with a semblance of humanity just peeking through the tough exterior.
Buencamino is also a staple in the widely followed ABS-CBN prime-time action-drama Ang Probinsyano. “As actors, we are always inspired when we are cast alongside truly competent coactors who take their craft seriously. That by itself already makes the workload easier. Especially on television, where the norm and the grind is different from film or theater.” The esteemed actress works with the likes of Joel Torre, Art Acuña and Coco Martin at least three times a week for this long-running series.
Having weathered a recent tragedy in the family, Shamaine Buencamino is proof that acting—the pure and almost sacred kind—has a healing power. Just like love.