When Denise Laurel was first asked to portray the role of the lead star's mother in the remake of the classic soap opera Annaliza, she was initially hesitant to give it a go.
She had never played a character of a mother on screen before and she wondered if her real-life experience of being a mom to a two-year-old son was anywhere near that.
“It’s my first time to play a full-on mommy role and although I am a mommy in real life, yung character ko dito, medyo mas advanced yung pagiging mommy niya.
“I mean, I’ve never lost a child before,” Denise admits.
The moment she heard the story of how her character would have her child taken away from her, Denise knew she had to do it and step up to the role.
“Yung anak ko, kaka-two pa lang. Si Andrea Brilliantes, [who plays] Annaliza in the show, is eight [years old].
“Ang dami ko talagang finast-track [fast-track] para matutunan and it would help me in real life as well,” said the actress.
PRAYER AND PREPARATIONS. A fresh-faced Denise, looking dainty and sweet in a floral dress, shared her preparations for the role at a thanksgiving dinner held last night, May 30, at the Oasis event place in New Manila.
“I had to pray to God! Sabi ko nga, 'Lord! Bigay mo sa akin ang puso ng isang inay na nawalan ng anak!'” she said, rather jokingly.
Along with the other cast members such as Kaye Abad, Zanjoe Marudo, and Andrea Brillantes, Denise felt happy that halfway through their show’s pilot week, ratings reflected that they were doing good.
The 24-year-old actress continued, “You know, I’ve never, and hopefully, I never feel that ever in my life time.
“Tapos sabi ko, I can only imagine kung ano mangyayari sa akin kung nangyari yung sa totoong buhay.
“So, to put myself in that shoes, I think for a few days sobrang maga ng mata ko. It took me four days to get the swelling out…
“Siguro everyday lahat ng sequences ko, umiiyak ako. So, I really want to give my heart into it.”
Of course, Denise has had her share of ill-fated characters. One of her previous soaps, Pintada, put her through scenes wherein she sobbed each time.
“Ang dami nangyari sa akin do'n na na-heartbroken ako, nasira yung mukha ko, namatay yung Mommy ko, napunta ako sa jail… Ang dami nangyari sa akin do'n!”
“But this is something else,” the actress told about her current on-screen persona.
“It’s a different kind of cry. This is the cry of a loss of a child and the yearning to give your love to someone.”
To tap into emotions she was unfamiliar with, Denise did research about mothers who lost their kids and even saw some documentaries about parents adopting kids.
What the actress didn't do was to have her own child in mind while internalizing and studying her character.
Denise believes that using personal experiences is an unhealthy practice.
She reasoned out, “I think if I use personal experiences I will go crazy.
“Gusto ko hiwalayan yung totoong buhay ko, yung totoong ako sa minamahal ko na craft.
“You know, to tap into emotions so quickly every day, this is very difficult and the science of emotions and all that psychology stuff.
“So, I like to keep it safe. I really put myself in the position of the character.
“I really make a new entire personality for yung character na yun.”
DRIVE. It's been two years since Denise resurfaced on television after she took off in the middle of a soaring career in 2010.
In 2011, the actress admitted to giving birth to a baby boy. Shortly after, Denise wowed the public with her radical weight loss and consistently stellar performances in the ABS-CBN soaps Dahil sa Pag-ibig, Pintada, and most recently in Paraiso.
Asked how she managed to make a comeback, Denise meaningfully replied, “One of the reasons why I did come back was because I wanted to show women that having a child is the beginning of your life.
“It’s not the end. It’s like the most beautiful thing that can happen to you.”
The actress said that she looks down on people who have a notion that when a woman becomes a mother, she loses her luster and her opportunity for a career— “Pag mommy ka na, laspag ka na or sayang ka na, or hindi ka puwede…”
Denise intends to debunk that notion.
“The main reason why I came back is to show women that you can be even more beautiful.
“I mean, that’s your main purpose in life as a woman— to bring children into the world. That itself is so powerful and so beautiful!
“Why would you let it stop you? It should help you and motivate you to go further, to get on that treadmill, to get on that job, to get on doing something for your son, to keep doing something for yourself, taking care of your health because you want to live long with your child.”
VERSATILITY. Now that she has started accepting mother roles, does this mean the actress is willing to do more mommy characters in her future projects?
Denise smiled and expressed, “I think what I was really going for was versatility because this whole entire year, from Dahil sa Pag-ibig, I was playing a sassy lawyer to Pintada where I played a loving, suffering teacher to Paraiso where I was this villain, and then now that I’m a mom [in Annaliza]… who knows what’s to come next?”
The actress said she was open to any kind of role and would appreciate it if she could play someone her age for once.
“Or somebody that sings, or somebody that does action because I do martial arts and I do my own stunts and it would be nice, you know?,” she added.
“I’m just excited for what’s to come because they always seem to throw something that I can grow from.
“It’s always different every time and so sobrang exciting din.”