Giselle pursues her own ‘American Dream’

If you happen to be in L.A. and you wander into a Thai restaurant somewhere in Beverly Hills and you place your order with a waitress who looks exactly like Giselle Tongi (now minus the "e"), you don’t have to second-guess.

"That’s me, all right," smiles Giselle who’s back for the third time since she left in September 2000 to pursue her own "American Dream." Nothing wrong with that because in Hollywood, thousands of starry-eyed "aspirants" have to make do with "lowly" but nevertheless well-paying jobs while waiting for the oftentimes elusive big break. Most of today’s Hollywood superstars went through the same route (Harrison Ford was a carpenter before he hit it big as an actor, remember?)

"In New York where I stayed for more than two years before I resettled in L.A. in November last year," Giselle continues, "I held two part-time jobs, one as a bartender in West Village and the other as waitress at a Mexican restaurant called Chango. That was my way of keeping body and soul together. In America, there’s dignity of labor."

In L.A., Giselle has her own car and her own apartment.

It was in The Big Apple where, according to Giselle, "I prepared myself" by taking master classes at the Lee Strasberg Acting School, immersing herself 22 hours every week for more than two years in such courses as Musical Theater, Ballet, Auditioning Techniques, Acting for Film and Television, and General Acting.

On the side, while not busy with school and/or waiting on tables and mixing drinks (she took up a course in bartending for that), Giselle auditioned for soaps and Broadway plays (she’s not a member of SAG, or Screen Actors Guild, but her agency is, so she doesn’t have any problem with it).

"I had a few close calls," she happily reports. "I got to the final cut of Flower Drum Song (topbilled by Lea Salonga and Jose Llana who’s here for a series of shows and to cut an album for Viva Records). I sang I Enjoy Being a Girl. I also did three or four independent movies, including Danny Boy for an NYU graduate and Child Star for Quark Henares (whose directorial debut was the Maui Taylor starrer Gamitan) who studied at the New York Film Academy."

Did Giselle experience the much-touted prejudice against "colored" people (Asians included) in that competition-infested land (not always of milk and honey)?

"Hardly," says Giselle. "Asian artists are getting more and more recognized. I don’t audition as a Filipino; I audition for roles that are ‘open ethnicity,’ which means you could be Afro-American, Latino or Asian."

When Giselle left in 2000, she didn’t really turn her back on her career here.

"Just because I’m based in the States doesn’t mean that I’ve left showbiz. I’m surprised when people say, ‘Oy, umalis na siya sa showbiz.’ I’ve never left showbiz. How can I leave something that I love so much? Once an actress, always an actress. It doesn’t matter where you live. Look, even if I’m there, I still get offers here."

When she first came home in December 2000, Giselle stayed until March 2001 because of several offers, one of them was to topbill the four-episode GMA 7 drama special Larawan. She came back two more times, until three weeks ago when Freeway, a line of stylish clothing started in 1997, flew her in as its newest image model. ("We chose her because she is attractive to both the AB and CD crowds," says Niña Montelibano, the fashion marketing officer of Freeway. "Giselle is perfect for the Freeway market. She travels a lot and goes out a lot in stylish clothes.")

Giselle flew back to L.A. last Sunday to resume for pursuit of her "American Dream" and she’s not about to give up even if, one time, she almost got discouraged, packed her things and came home to take up where she had left off.

"I’m not in a rush," says Giselle. "It takes time. I’ve been there for only more than two years. When I got there, wala akong kaalam-alam sa industriya nila; I didn’t know anybody. Now, I’m learning a lot and, kahit paano, I’m making some headway. I’m starting to establish myself there. It’s a long-term goal, I know, and I’m willing to go on."

It’s not all about money anymore, she swears, unlike when she was here when she did a lot of projects purely for financial reasons.

"I’ve invested so much of my time and money and I don’t want to compromise myself," she stresses. "After going to school in New York, I established new goals for myself. I really hope that something good happens. Otherwise," she breaks into a weak smile, "babalik na naman ako sa bartending at pagwi-waitress."

Yes, Giselle is giving so much of herself and sacrificing a lot for her, uh, "American Dream," including her love life.

"I broke up with my last boyfriend in July last year. Until then, I always had a man in my life. It’s the first time that I’m single again since I was 16," reveals Giselle who counts Jeffrey Quizon as one of her exes. "Do I miss having a man? No! I feel empowered being single and independent. It’s a great feeling. I go out with whoever I please to date. I’m meeting a lot of interesting people out there."

Asked what she has learned from her American Experience so far, Giselle is stumped. Then, she says, "Yes, hard work pays off. I can’t be impatient anymore because good things come to those who wait. I truly believe that."

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