The blossoming of Jasmine

CEBU, Philippines - “Oh no! I did not want this to begin with,” exclaims a luminous Jasmine Curtis-Smith on whether she always knew from the get-go that her path was to follow her elder sister’s showbiz footsteps.

What changed her mind? We asked. The young rising star doesn’t get into specifics, only going as far as sharing that she wanted to help her mother Carmen financially. Along the way, Jasmine says she learned to appreciate the world she initially resisted.

“My love for it just started to grow. I was already excited to go to tapings and converse with directors,” says the Melbourne-born actress, younger sibling of popular star, Anne Curtis. Hailed a prime Kapatid Princess in the TV5 stable of female talents, Jasmine’s first TV lead role was a remake of the 1991 action-romance flick “Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum” opposite JC de Vera. That time, she shuttled between Melbourne and Manila to finish high school and comply with her showbiz duties in the Philippines. Even then, her priorities were clear: school first before she throws herself full-time into acting.

Soon after she returned here for good after graduation, Jasmine was given a string of TV projects by TV5, and later on, movies and endorsements followed suit with seeming ease. The eager student in her became amazed at discovering how the industry worked, and loved absorbing instructions like a sponge.

“I like being told directions and following it. It’s nice to hear a sort of sequence guide to your life. It’s exciting to become more creative in the way I think. I used to be very systematic and all about academics before. When I got introduced to acting, I was still in Year 11 in high school. After that, my creative sides were triggered. I enrolled in Studio Arts and I did drama. Now, I can say my love for acting has grown even deeper,” says Jasmine, who’s celebrating her 20th birthday today. 

Last year, her home network had announced a solo series for Jasmine, a weekly thriller that was to be titled “Jasmine: The Series.” Asked what happened to that project, Jasmine explains that an impossible schedule got everything complicated , as she was also enrolled as a college freshman.

“Nagkulang sa oras. Instead, I did ‘Undercover’ with Derek Ramsay. After that, there was another shift in schedule. I thought I was going to enroll for the second semester, so we didn’t plan for the timeline of the ‘Jasmine: The Series’ show. I just did events for TV5, brainstorming for this year’s shows and discussing the renewal of my contract. Hopefully, it’s going to happen this year, although it was launched a year ago.”

The series, she reveals, will tackle the life of an actress whose life will be in danger. “You know how they do it in some movies or  TV shows? It’s all fictional characters, but a real-life actor comes in as a guest playing him/herself. Like in the Adam Sandler movie ‘Jack ‘n Jill,’ Al Pacino is in the cast playing Al Pacino. So for example, my character will do a workshop with say, Joel Torre. We want to try to level  up and be at par with how Hollywood does it so that we engage the Filipino audience, and for them to have a wider sense of entertainment.”

Speaking of Hollywood, the Fil-Aussie expressed disappointment that she was not cast in the TV5 adaptation of the hit American series “Pretty Little Liars,” (PLL) saying it’s one of her favorite shows. Still, Jasmine is excited to see how TV5 will bring it to life.

 Despite her non-inclusion in the “Tagalized” PLL, Jasmine had much to smile about in the past few months. The sweet-looking star is turning to be an indie darling or sorts, nabbing meaty indie roles in her brief career.

There was her role in last year’s much talked-about “Transit,” which  earned her the best supporting actress trophy in the New Breed division of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. More so, the Hannah Espia-helmed film was selected by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the country’s entry for the Foreign Film category of the Oscar’s. Though failed to make the shortlist, Jasmine was nonetheless overwhelmed then at all the possibilities the citation meant.

“Transit” was a tale of the Filipino diaspora in Israel, and had Jasmine playing a Fil-Israeli whose family members have an expired working visa.

Jasmine felt the acting award – her first after three years in the industry – convinced people to give her a second look. She’s not just Anne Curtis’ kid sister, after all. “I feel that after that, I earned some credibility in the industry. People turned their heads a second time and said, ‘Ah, okay pala siya.’ People who are credible in the industry – filmmakers, actors – gave me an award. And not every category in Cinemalaya may nananalo, which meant that it was really a special recognition. I feel that because of it, people look forward to my projects more, their perspective towards me changed, and it gave more credibility for me as an actress. Parang, sige nga, panoorin nga natin. Tingnan nga natin kung kasing galing dun sa ‘Transit.’”

It has also given her added motivation to do well in her next projects, lest people think that initial recognition was a fluke. Jasmine adds, “Because I was given that recognition, you have to prove in your  next projects that you are worthy to be noticed and watched. If you do a project just for the sake of doing it, you also won’t be able to give your best.”

“That’s why it worked so well with ‘Transit,’ because I was able to enjoy the filming process especially being in a country that is so different from ours, and have that mindset so different from my own,” she continued. “I had to learn Hebrew in a short span of time. All in all, I just had three hours of accent training. Before filming my scenes, nagpagala-gala din ako sa Israel to see what it’s like and listen to how they speak. I had to get their natural accent, otherwise, I would appear fake. My uncle in Los Angeles brought his friends to a ‘Transit’ screening and they all thought I was actually Israeli. So I was so happy to have acted it credibly and convince the moviegoers.”

Aside from constantly attending workshops to sharpen her skills, Jasmine says it pays to keenly observe her veteran co-actors. “I have been more observant to the actors around me. When I worked on ‘Undercover,’ we had Tito Ipe [Philip Salvador] as one of the guests. Alice Dixson was also part of the cast. Even from Derek. We have different acting styles, so I try to see what techniques they use that I can apply for myself. Watching more films, both local and international, is also part of my constant learning.”

Meanwhile, the indie film “Puti” that Jasmine worked on before “Transit” had just been invited to be part of the official selection for the 32nd Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film in Belgium, scheduled from April 8 to 20. Here, she’s an art student helping an art forger in his schemes in exchange for an extensive experience in the world of arts.

 Adding further credence to her indie résumé is the upcoming psychological-thriller “Dementia.”  Her co-star? No less than screen icon Nora Aunor!

 Of her impressions of the Superstar, Jasmine shares, “She’s very reserved, quiet and humble. You won’t feel that she’s a superstar. When she’s there, mahihiya ka rin and I can’t believe I’m actually working with her. Pero sobrang bait niya.”

 Her  Ate Anne, her number one supporter, is herself astounded at the rate things are going for her “baby sister.”

 â€œShe is very happy and proud of me. The pacing of my career now is different compared to how it was for her when she was my age,” recounts Jasmine. “It has been so fast for me, she was actually very surprised at how well it’s going. She just really wants me to be aware that I have to nourish and take care of my career. She says it’s like a baby; if you don’t take care of it, it will go to waste and won’t grow into something successful. She has been very supportive. Although she’s with a different network, she promotes my shows on her Twitter. Our support system is very strong.”

 We comment how her wisdom appears wiser beyond her years, and how her mature outlook of things is atypical of a young showbiz darling. The maturity, she believes is something she imbibed through constant exposure to a mature set. “As a kid, I would always go with Ate and my mom to their work. So I would always converse with adults. I would pick up and imbibe the things they say. In our previous subdivision in Mandaluyong, all of my friends were a few years older than me. I think it’s my exposure to a more mature crowd. I’m also fond of talking with people who are better and older than me. In that way,  through their wisdom, I can determine what path I need to take and how to solve problems I might encounter. I hate having to figure it out on my own  – in terms of career and life in general – because sometimes I feel I’m not doing the right thing. I like being mature. I don’t like being seen as someone na walang alam sa buhay.”

Jasmine took Communication Arts at the Ateneo de Manila University, but has put that on hold while the work opportunities are aplenty. She says the mentality of showbiz folk not needing a diploma has been slowly changing, as evidenced by some her of friends in the business. As an advocate of education, it’s a development that she encourages among her circle of pals.

“I’ve heard of many artists yearning to go back to school…we have Lauren Young who’s studying Film in La Salle. Hopefully, I want to major in Advertising. It’s interesting to see how it actually works behind the scenes, rather than be the one modeling.”

“I see the need to pursue my education, not only to get a degree, but to nourish my brain. To have another world other than showbiz. It’s very different to have another life apart from acting, which I experienced during my first semester of college here. It’s so overwhelming to have people look at you  na parang naninibago na, ‘Talaga, ganyan lang suot mo pagpasok sa school? Wala kang makeup?’ People find the need to always see you dressed up, with your hair and makeup done. It’s refreshing for them to see that we are normal.” (FREEMAN)