WHY THE DIAMOND STAR KEEPS SHINING BRIGHTER
EVEN diamonds need polishing too. No less than Philippine Entertainment’s Diamond Star Maricel Soriano knows this to be true, for in a very parallel way, she told The Manila Times Entertainment she will never pretend to know everything about her craft despite her celebrated career.
Extolled as an extremely precious gem in the industry, Soriano explains she won’t allow the numerous awards she has to stunt her desire to keep on wanting to be better. In fact, she even says she has so much to learn whenever she accepts a new project. Time after all, will always bring change on anything.
“Meron pa akong mga bagong natututunan. Lagi naman akong hindi natatapos matuto,” Soriano affirmed as her co-stars from the highly successful ABS-CBN prime time series, “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin,” admired the seasoned actress’ attitude from their own screens.
She qualified all the same that she has to make choices nowadays in order to find that learning opportunity.
“Pero hindi kung ano ang gusto
kong gawin pa na roles in the future ang question, kundi kung ano yung ma-offer nila at kung magugustuhan ko dahil ma-cha-challenge at matutuo ulit ako,” she added.
Rising to fame and critical acclaim, Soriano started very early in the business as a promising child actress. Looking back at her development, she is nevertheless proud to say that the many lessons and skills she learned on her way to Diamond stardom remain both valuable and effective today.
Very open to impart them, especially to new talents, she said, “Minsan merong magtatanong, ‘Ma, anong gagawin ko dito?’ Ayan, nandiyan ako para ituro kung ano ang gagawin. Kailangan mo kasing ibigay kapag hinihingi pero kapag hindi hinihingi, tumatahimik ako kasi syempre baka may sarili siyang idea kung paano i-interpret ang isang eksena. Pero kapag kailangan ako, hindi ko sila papapabayaan. Nandiyan lang ako at ganun palagi,” Soriano enthused.
Meanwhile, with March recognized around the world as International Women’s Month, the Diamond Star also fittingly acknowledged her good fortune to be working with fellow females whose talents she admires in return.
According to Soriano, not only do they feed off each other to deliver their best for the show, but Iza Calzado, Jodi Sta. Maria, Rita Avila and Kira Balinger have also become special to her.
“On screen nag- babangayan. Pero alam mo sa totoong buhay, hindi kami nagbabangayan, nagmamahalan kami. Nakakalaki ng puso, naka- kataba ng puso dahil ganun na lang ang respeto nila sa akin. Ganun ang nakita kong pagmamahal nila,” she said, clearly touched by the show’s empowered women. “Katulad niyan, I consider myself blessed dahil yung mga nakakatrabaho ay mga professional and very punctual. So nakikita ko sa kanila yung dedication sa trabaho nila. At alam mo proud na proud ako kasi walang mga pa-star effect. Minsan kasi matagal ang set-up, pero masaya pa rin kami. Wala sa bokabularyo namin ang naiinip kasi wala kaming ginawa kundi mag-chikahan ng mag-chikahan. Kapag nagkamali kami, tumatawa pa kami, kaya iyon ang isa sa mga bagay na nakakatuwa sa aming samahan.”
To be sure, besides polishing her diamond acting chops all the more in yet another challenging role for Maricel Soriano, it is this girly and genuine bond she has forged on
“Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin” which she will treasure as the series sees its last two weeks.
With a promise to be more gripping than ever, “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin,” premiered on August 17, 2020 as ABS-CBN’s first full digital series, now spanning two seasons. Gaining immediate success online, it has since expanded across multiple platforms due to public demand. Now, the show’s final two weeks will air prime time on TV5 in addition to A2Z Channel 11, cable (Kapamilya Channel), on-demand streaming (iWant TFC), and free live streaming (Kapamilya Online Live).