VANESS DEL MORAL: This TV villain is no real-life diva

CEBU, Philippines -  Among a posse of talents, there is always at least one character actress that stands out from the rest. The charming Vaness del Moral ranks among the very few who have chalked up quite an extensive acting portfolio.

 Through the years, she has effortlessly tackled roles that range from sexy to shabby, or from protagonist to villain. Aside from her mainstream projects, she has appeared in a few indie films, and is also active in the theater scene.

After charting on good girl territory in her past recent shows, Vaness had to summon back her bag of kontravida tricks, as this time around she plays the thorn to Sarah Lahbati’s “froggy” adventure in GMA 7’s newest afternoon offering Kokak.

“After Basahang Ginto, I took a break from bad girl roles. I was a good sidekick in Dwarfina and in Futbolilits. Now, I have to adjust again since my character in Kokak might appear similar to my villain role in Basahang Ginto. They have almost the same description. The guy is my boy toy, and then I realize I’ve fallen for him when he falls for someone else. I’m afraid my portrayal might come out the same as before. That’s what I’m trying to learn now, kung paano ko iibahin,” the 23-year-old product of StarStruck’s third season said backstage in a recent Cebu show at the Robinson’s Mall.

Kokak, which premiered last Monday after Eat Bulaga!, took the timeslot left by the just-concluded Pahiram ng Isang Ina. Directed by actor-director Ricky Davao, the series is a TV remake of the 1989 Seiko Films movie that launched to stardom former commercial model Rachel Lobangco. Also in the cast are TJ Trinidad (portraying the guy Sarah and Vaness will have a conflict over), JC Tiuseco, Jessa Zaragoza, Gary Estrada, Frencheska Farr, Deborah Sun, Caridad Sanchez and Ervic Vijandre.

Vaness expressed contentment with the steady stream of projects that GMA Artist Center has been assigning to her. While she’s not exempt from dreaming of one day seeing her name and face on the main billing, she feels that “I’m still not ready to tackle roles na inaapi. Gusto ko muna ma-experience mang-api bago ako yung apihin.”

She considers the Diamond Star Maricel Soriano and primera kontravida Cherie Gil as her acting role models. “They’re very flexible. They can take on both protagonist and antagonist roles. I want to follow their same career path.”

The Baguio City-born actress might have been eliminated early during her stint in the reality star search Starstruck, but while some of her batchmates have come and gone or the rest given starring breaks but laid low later on, Vaness has rarely gone without work since. She might be constantly relegated to support cast, but the regularity of her on-screen work is more than enough for her to feel thankful and luckier than some.

This she credits to three things: Her flexibility, professionalism and a pleasant disposition towards her co-workers; something that other talents who aspire for longevity would do well to take note of.

“What I do is, if they tell me I have work, and if I have something else important to do, I tell them I’m not available. I don’t want to refuse or cancel on the day itself kasi nakakahiya naman doon sa naghihintay. I tell them beforehand if I’m going home to Baguio para hindi na sila gagawa ng schedule during the time that I’m gone. But if it’s really important, I postpone my plans.”

She added, “I’m also always on time. Ang pangit nung nale-late. Mas maganda yung ikaw yung naghihintay kaysa ikaw yung hinihintay. Hindi naman kasi ako masyadong nagrereklamo din during tapings. I enjoy the company of the staff and marunong ako makihalubilo. I reach out, kasi I believe hindi lang kaming mga artista ang dapat magka-usap palagi.”

Amid plenty horror stories of talents who allow the trappings of celebrity to swiftly bloat their heads, one can’t help but admire this young woman as she enumerated her self-made rules on how to become an actress anyone would love to work with.

Where did she learn her refreshing maturity and professionalism? Vaness thinks it had a lot to do with having to fend for herself early on and her penchant for befriending people who are wiser in years. “Maybe it’s because I started being independent when I was in high school. Then there’s the fact that most of my friends are five to ten years older than me. I don’t have that much friends who are younger than me or close to my age. When I was still in school, my friends were those who were already employed. I guess their wisdom rubbed off on me.”

A certified homebody, Vaness can be found simply watching television, surfing the net or reading books during her free time.

Next year, if plans don’t miscarry, she hopes to enroll in college and take up Psychology. She explains of the course choice: “Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I don’t know why I’m fascinated with it. But I find myself very weird and moody. I want to know why some people are so moody that even something so small could trigger a huge fight. I want to understand why.” (FREEMAN)