Faith keeps Jean Garcia going

The simplest thing happens for a reason. Jean Garcia must have known this deep, deep within her, but didn’t realize it until fate stepped in. Then, it struck her like a lightning bolt when fire gutted not only her house but all her belongings as well.

Lorna Tolentino, a co-star on ABS-CBN’s Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, surprised Jean when she showed up with a bagful of old but usable clothes. Friends Jean had never heard of for ages suddenly showed up after watching her tearful account of that fateful night she just woke up to see her house in flames.

"Even before that accident happened," recalls Jean, "I was feeling so low (she and partner Koji, a Japanese businessman, were then on a cool-off period). I thought no one cared for or loved me at all." The fire, caused by faulty electrical wiring, dragged her to the pits. "I felt so sorry for myself," she admits.

Then came the unexpected deluge of help from friends far and near.

Gone were all the remorse and self-pity. Jean learned to get up on her feet and move on. Best of all, her smile these days is wide; her eyes brimming with happiness and excitement.

Jean and Koji are not only back in each other’s arms. The long-time sweethearts are even seriously considering a civil wedding (the guy has been prodding her to take the plunge since last year).

And Jean’s star has never shone brighter. After playing the hateful Madame Claudia for years, Jean reminded televiewers she can also be meek and mild in It Might Be You. ABS-CBN gambled on her versatility and won.

Now, she’s back in a role that has become second skin to her by turning mean again, this time in the movies. Jean is the vengeful Celphora, queen of cellphones, in Volta, Star Cinema’s entry to the Manila Filmfest and its 11th anniversary offering.

Unlike her other villain roles though, this one was not born championing all things evil. In fact, she’s a good daughter whose only wish was to continue her father’s legacy by building Telstra, a state-of-the-art communications technology firm that can make everybody’s lives convenient. The plan was as ambitious as it was well-meaning: to use the cellphone to operate any machine – from ATMs to brewing coffee, to garage doors that open at the push of a button.

But Telstra rexecutives rejected the plan. Now, Celphora is furious. So she goes after the heroine, Volta (Ai Ai de las Alas), with only one aim in mind: rob her (Volta) of her power to generate heat and electricity. A classic battle between good and evil ensues, as Volta fights Celphora and her minions (among them a gay robot played by Bobby Andrews and a murderous invention called Oh-Blah-Blah, portrayed by Onemig Bondoc).

In stark contrast to the brightly-clad Volta (she wears a red-and-white superhero attire, complete with matching cape), Jean’s unsmiling Celphora comes dressed in classic villainess garb.

"My black, body-hugging, black leatherette jumpsuit made me perspire a lot," Jean recounts. On top of that, Jean had to take it off completely to answer the call of nature. Her white, waist-long hair didn’t help any.

But Jean knew better than to complain. Ai Ai went through her own version of Gethsemane as she endured thick facial makeup, donned her caped attire and put on those knee-length boots edged with lightning bolt designs.

"Ai Ai turned out to be my role model. If she, the star of the movie, didn’t complain, what right have I to do so?" says Jean.

Besides, she can take her young son, Kotaro with her to see the movie when it opens on June 23.

But she can’t take the boy to her next movie Magsaysay Films’ Anak Ka ng Tatay Mo. This time, Jean plays the quintessential prostitute – foul of mouth, provocative in attire, come-hither in her body language.

Her leading man, the teenaged Ram Revilla, is even younger than she is. That, says Jean, is another challenge she wouldn’t miss for anything in the world.

From good to bad, and now downright flirtatious – Jean Garcia juggles different roles with ease. That she can do this without sacrificing any of them shows how far she has gone in her craft.