Jillian Ward is all grown up; Sanya is cast as 'Agimat's' leading lady
TIME flies so fast indeed. Wasn’t it just yesterday when Jillian Ward was the favorite child star of so many televiewers? At age five, she became TV’s darling in 2010’s “Trudis Liit.” The following year, she endeared herself more to the public as the cute “Daldalita.”
Then, it wasn’t long before she captured the hearts of moviegoers appearing in such box office hits like “Si Agimat At Si Enteng Kabisote” and “My Valentine Girls.”
But look at Jillian now. She’s already a young lady as she turns 15 in two weeks. Like a flower in bloom, she possesses that captivating beauty and charm. In fact, a lot of people say she shares a few similarities with Marian Rivera.
“Siyempre po I feel so flattered hearing that pero nahihiya rin po ako kay Ate Marian,” Jillian humbly smiles.
Showbuzz has actually witnessed Jillian’s journey from child star to becoming a tween. As a little girl, she was so loveable — a cute hyper-active child who’d run to all corners of a room and talk to everyone, including those she didn’t know.
She was also very inquisitive asking questions about anything and everything.
“I still remember those days,” she chuckled after Showbuzz reminded her of her antics. “And that time, I would sing without much prodding. Pag sinabi saakin na kumanta, kakanta talaga ko !”
Today, however, Jillian has blossomed into a fine young lady, more reserved but still as observant as ever.
“I was always told before that it would be hard for to transition from child star to grown-up star. Mahirap na raw akong i-cast kasi alanganin ang age ko. Actually, hindi ko na man mas ya dong naramdaman yung transition. But when I did ‘Prima Donnas’, the soap I’m currently in, I realized na iba na nga, may pagbabago na and nag- mature na nga po ako,” she related.
With her maturity came changes in her ways and her attitude towards many things. Jillian is now quieter and refrains from asking too many questions, especially people she just met.
“Pin a pa kira md am anko na po yung place kung nasaan ako, si no ‘yung mga tao. I’ve become more — how do I put it — proper. I’ve also become more understanding of others and more open-minded. But I think I’ve gotten more curious than when I was younger.”
But unlike before, her curiosity is focused on more serious matters.
“Hi na han a pk opo‘ yung lalim ng mga bagay bagay sa buhay. I want to know the meaning of things if you can put it that way. Sa dami ng nangyayari sa mundo, we really need to understand different situations so that we’ll know what steps we should take if they suddenly concern us.”
As a pensive young lady, Jillian impressively acknowledges her weaknesses today as much as her strengths.
“When it comes to my weakness as a person, I think it has something to do with the present stage of my life. Si ye mp rep on gay on pa lang ako na gig in gd ala ga, so I still don’t know what to do. I’m in a stage na hindi na bata pero hindi pa rin dalagang-dalaga. I’ve been used to life as a child star pero ang liit-liit ko pa po noon. Tap o sn gay on, e to nako and bigla ring nagkaroon ng pagbabago sa physicality ko, so there’s bound to be confusion for me at this crossroads,” Jillian explained.
In the series "Prima Donnas," Jillian portrays the role of Mayi, a teener who is so timid that she can never voice out her opinions. She can neither fight for what she thinks is right, but she will sacrifice anything for the love of her family.
“I’m similar to Mayi when it comes to that—her love for family. Ganun din ako, sob rang mahal parents ko at ang mga kapatid ko. I’ll do everything I can to give them a comfortable life. Pero when it comes to being timid, hindi po ako ga no’n. I speak my mind kung kailangan.”
Another thing she is certain of is that she’s where she’s meant to be. From childhood, Jillian made the decision to be an actress all through her life.
“Acting is my first love and I want to keep acting for the rest of my life. G us tok om aging pa rang si Lola Gloria Romero po na hanggang pagtanda ko, nag-a- acting pa rin po ako,” Said Jillian.
Just like any teenager, Jillian has started to become more conscious of her appearance. She now watches her figure closely, explaining ,“Siyempre po artista ako so I have to look good all the time. I go on diets but it’s not only for my figure but more for my health.
“I eat mostly fruits and vegetables. Less sweets narin and when I’m at home, I don’t eat rice. But on the set, I eat one half cup kasi kailangan pong energy.”
As to the reality of attracting boys at her age, Jillian said this: “Pag na ram dam anko po nam ayi bang balak, friend zone agad. Magaling poakongmang- friend zone. Mas mabuti naman po kasi na hindi minamadali. If they have feelings for me, friends na lang kami. Saka bawal pa po kasi. Baka atakihin sa puso ang papa ko ,” Jillian ended with a laugh.
From a blossoming young lady to a woman in full bloom, Sanya Lopez says she isn’t on the look out for love but believes love will find her.
Not that the beautiful actress is wanting for admirers. In fact, there’s one actor from the other network who was avidly pursuing her. But sadly for the guy, the courtship led to nothing.
Admitting it’s her fault he stopped wooing her, Sanya chuck led ,“An gt a gal kora wk a si si yang sagu tin. Nags a wan a sig uro .”
She didn’t intend to make him wait though, as Sanya explained, “I’m nice naman to guys na nag paparamdam or nanliligaw but I can’t really be rushed pag-oo. Kasi dapat sure na sure na ako sa feelings ko bagok os a gut inang manliligaw. I haven’t experienced being in a relationship so I want to be ready and gusto ko talagang sure ako na mahal ko ‘yung magiging boyfriend ko. Ayoko naman na sasagutin ko para lang masabing, ‘Uy, may boyfriend na si Sanya, but I know that one day, the right guy will come for me.”
In the meantime, Sanya is very busy with her career with two projects in the pipeline. The first is “Agimat Ng Agila” where she’s been cast as Senator Bong Revilla’s leading lady, while the other will pair her with Ruru Madrid later this year. At the story conference for Agimat Ng Agila this week, Sanya admitted she couldn’t hide her excitement. “Excited ako na kinakabahan. Siyempre Sen. Bong Revilla ang kasama ko. Alam naman natin that he’s a big star. Intimidated nga ako kasi senador siya, pero sa totoo lang, mabait siya sa personal. He is very nice and he’s such a gentleman,” she shared.