January 28 ------ Actresses Sunshine Cruz and Snooky Serna form part of a new GMA Afternoon Prime drama series. They bring to the table their own brand of acting and time-tested work ethics, plus years of experience, that young stars must discern and learn from.
For working thespians like them, it’s a blessing to hop into another acting project and practice the craft. “I was very excited when I was considered to play Lena Serrano, from Mano Po (Legacy: The Family Fortune where) I played a CEO,” said Sunshine in a recent virtual press conference that also featured Snooky. “My role here I find it medyo very challenging because my character’s family is going through a lot.”
As the viewers have seen so far, Lena single-handedly raises her three daughters, Celine, Carrie and Chynna, played by Lexi Gonzales, Hailey Mendes and Elijah Alejo, respectively, who are dealing with the repercussions of a video that went viral. As for Snooky, who portrays Velda, a character who comes from a well-off and political family, shared, “I thank God for the blessing of being part of the series. You know what my feeling initially was when the role was offered to me, nagkaroon ako ng takot, actually parang kaba kasi sabi ko, ‘Will I be able to live up to the role?’ yung pagka-kontrabida ni Tita Bella Flores nung araw. But at the same time, I had mixed emotions. I was also happy and sentimental siyempre yun yung kauna-unahan kong pelikula nung aking kabataan. I have very good memories about the film and now they translated it into a drama on television,” added Snooky, “of course, it was a big honor also for me to have been chosen by my bosses at GMA 7 for this project.”
On the set of their latest show, Sunshine and Snooky had fun time collaborating with everyone. “Ang babait lahat ng mga kasamang artista dito kaya para kaming isang pamilya, nag-ti-TikTok kami, kain and everybody’s just super nice,” recalled Sunshine. “That’s why I’m so grateful to them that I have become part of this teleserye. It was my first time to do TikTok with my fellow stars,” said Snooky, “Medyo mahiyain din ako, na at ease na ako sa set, napakabait lahat ng aking mga kasamahan. They made me feel like I belong, I did enjoy the taping.”
As the viewers can relate to some characters as well as to the situations they are in at some point of the narrative, Sunshine and Snooky, in some way, see themselves in Lena and Velda as mothers, who care for and only want the best for their children. The family-and-coming-of-age drama will also show a mother’s protective side, especially when the child becomes a subject of an intriguing video circulating on a social media platform. “I always tell my kids, ‘Choose your battles, and at the same time, just don’t get affected,’” said Sunshine. “Nandito ang mommy ninyo if I need to say something. Let your mom do it for you, forever naman akong nag-de-defend sa mga anak ko, especially, of course, as a single mom, nakasanayan nila na ako lagi yung, pinaglalaban ko talaga sila. But I’m 45, parang yun nga ang motto ko in life now to choose your battles, hindi sa lahat ng pagkakataon kailangan mong sagutin ang mga bagay, bagay na lumalabas sa social media kasi eventually lalabas din naman ang katotohanan.”
For Snooky, one of the takeaways viewers can get from the show’s theme is to know how to use the social media platform properly. “Siguro the moral of the story here is not let it overcome you or overtake you, overtake our lives, but let’s use the social media to our advantage.” The latter means that the platform should be an avenue to help connect people and promote camaraderie. Snooky added, “You have to be so responsible when using social media and we all really have to have the moral responsibility, a sense of moral responsibility, yan ang kailangan nating attitude about social media, but we can use it to our advantage definitely.”
Aside from the behind-the-scene creatives, what makes a family drama work is also the collective talent that established and new actors provide. “Sobrang parang mga gripo,” Sunshine praised the show’s lead stars Lexi, Elijah and Hailey, “‘pag iyakan talaga, grabeng umiyak, ang gagaling. What I can see in them is, silang tatlo parang magkakapatid talaga, they would help and support each other. There was a moment that required the production to change lights and cameras, nandyan yung nagyayakapan sila para hindi mawala yung moment nila,” Sunshine said and added that the young stars were also very good at portraying their characters and delivering their lines.
Snooky, for her part, said, “It was really such a joy, for me, to work with these three beautiful young ladies kasi lahat sila ay mga mature, very level-headed and it’s so refreshing to be able to work with young people, who are so humble… they were so kind to me, very understanding, very professional, I tip my hat to them.”
Source: philstar.com