Judy Ann realizes it can’t be work all the time
For more than half her life, Judy Ann Santos had worked on many TV series that entailed long hours. These days, the actress has slowed down, realizing she is not getting any younger.
“I find it hard to segue from doing one character to another,” she admitted in an interview. “Also, it’s hard for me now to recover sa puyat.”
More importantly, there’s family. Judy Ann is married to Ryan Agoncillo and they have kids.
“Nalulungkot ako kapag hindi ko sila nakikita,” she said. “’Yun ang realization ko nitong mga nakaraang taon. I work hard but I don’t see them often
— it’s useless. Parang walang sense ang ginagawa ko kasi hindi ako happy, na hindi ko nakikita ang mga anak ko growing up.
“Though ’yung mga importanteng ganap sa school naka kalendaryo na ’yun. Pero sa mga biglaang ganap na may trabaho ka, wala ka na ring magagawa kasi naka-oo ka na.”
Judy Ann articulated her wish to have some pacing at work.
“’Yung teleserye, ang hiling ko lang naman sa ABS-CBN is to at least give me six months na lead time to prepare. Kasi sa panahon ngayon, siyempre gusto ko sa bawat project na gagawin ko ay mabibigay ko nang buong-buo ’yung performance.”
She has decided on this as “I just want to keep my work with the producers and the clients I said yes to already, and really do my job one hundred percent.”
She recalled having done this before.
“I did ‘Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes,’ ’yun lang ang ginawa ko, then I did ‘Mindanao.’ Nakakapag-focus ako. Nagagawa ko kung ano ang hinihiling ng director sa akin. Tatanggap ako ng project that would interest me and that I could give my best performance.”
Single season
Judy Ann’s current soap, “Starla,” ends today.
“When they presented ‘Starla’ to me, originally talagang one season lang siya kasi parang napapagod din ang mga tao sa sobrang mahahabang teleserye. ’Di ba kapag humalight na tapos in-extend, bababa, bababa (ang rating) tapos mahirap na siyang iakyat ulit which nangyari sa akin a lot of times.
“When they presented ‘Starla’ to me, aaminin ko na sinabi ko ‘One season lang ba talaga ’to?’ Kasi kapag bumaba ang rating ng teleserye, ang bagsak naman (ng sisi) noon (ay) sa artista, eh.”
Although the story could flow to this or that direction, Judy Ann also thinks it’s better to end it now.
“Ang ganda na kasi ng latag, eh. Noong pag-present sa akin, buo na ang istorya, may ending na siya. Hindi siya cliffhanger na bahala na titingnan natin kung ano ang gusto ng mga tao.”
Judy Ann credits her “Starla” director Onat Diaz for learning the intricacies of her character more. “Si Direk Onat talaga ’yung guiding light ko dito. For the first few taping days, hirap na hirap ako kasi bumibitaw ako sa character. So he (Direk Onat) had to remind me kung ano ang pinaghuhugutan ng character ko,” she said.
She cited one scene she had difficulty perfecting.
“May mga eksena kami ni Tatay Joel (Torre) na kailangan iba ang tingin ko sa kanya. Hindi galit, may pain pero ang daming levels. Ang lumabas sa akin, galit. So iyon ang kailangan kong aralin. I had to restrain myself from too much anger. Kailangan kong maglabas ng konting emosyon. ’Yun ang natutunan ko.
“Kailangan kong matutong maghimay ng emosyon according to the character given to me. Kaya naging challenging ang role. Na-enjoy ko talaga nang husto kasi it is something I’ve never done.”
The actress already has work lined up after “Starla.”
“Hindi naman ako magpapahinga sa paggawa ng teleserye. Nakakasa na kasi ang 2020 ko with two movies. Um-oo na ako doon. So, as it is medyo papuno na ’yung calendar ko ng February and March.”