"I have never seen such dedication and meticulousness with details from a director that I can hardly wait to go back to the set after doing my telenovela commitments," Tanya said.
She entered showbiz when she was hardly 16, became a Star Circle wannabe and had brief roles in romance and comedy films. She moved on to Viva Films where she got bit parts in telenovelas (Anna Karenina, Sana Ikaw Na Nga, Twin Hearts).
"This is actually my first big break," she confides. "Before, it was just doing routine assignments and having fun. But now I feel I have to make the best out of this job."
At 22, Tanya got her first adult role where she figures in a violent rape scene and having a repeat of the same when her avenging husband (played by Robin Padilla) gets possessed by the spirit of the dead rapists.
When she first read the script, her first concern was the rape scene. How are they gonna do this? She wondered. To her relief, the actors playing rapists didn’t look like regular villains. She just had to rule out the breast exposure and gamely accepted the part.
Before the shooting, Tanya talked to her director and asked for one thing: that if she was amiss and not doing good, she would appreciate it very much if her attention is called in private, not in public.
"If I get shouted at in public, I tend to build a wall between me and that person and I couldn’t give my best," she says. "I am thankful that even with the pressure and the deadline the director has to meet, ni minsan hindi ako nasigawan."
Direk Maryo J. explains how he gets the best from his actors: "With any actor, it is good if you have their trust and confidence. And trust them back in return. It is a symbiotic relationship. Let them know that you care for them and their career. And if the director becomes too meticulous, it is because he wants to have a good product with good actors who gave their best. The approach varies. There are times when you have to psychologically shock them, some you have to test to a certain point and sometimes you get good results by just being relaxed with them."
It also pays to be open.
Maryo J. had a heart-to-heart talk with Tanya before the shoot and told her straight what he hears from other people about the quality of her acting. Confronting the negative side, Maryo simply told Tanya to take it as a challenge.
To the director’s surprise, Tanya delivered very well in Kulimlim.
In the rape scene, the director made it clear that this was going to be a bit violent. Before Tanya realized it, she was acting like a real rape victim and fighting back. She tripped on the camera, her back hit something and it was painful but she didn’t complain. Grappling with Robin Padilla, she actually kicked so hard she hit Robin’s face and damaged the cap of his teeth.
Tanya admits Robin was totally different in Kulimlim.
She narrates: "He was so focused on the part of the possessed rapist that sometimes you see him in a corner absorbed in his part and I couldn’t approach him or talk to him because he looks so scary. But on the first shooting day, he welcomed me with open arms. He is a perfect gentleman and if you are not using your head, it’s easy to fall in love with him."
Robin himself has equally good things to say about Tanya. "It was a bit shocking doing the rape scene. Nakakabighani ang ganda niya and she is not the kind you’d rape and hurt. But she was very professional and I did not hear her complain about the way she was treated. We were actually like one big happy family during the shoot. Kapag nagkakaantukan na, Tanya makes it a point to entertain the entire staff."
As it is, Tanya has reason to feel good about her part. "I’ve waited so long to work with a good project and an equally good director and I found everything in Kulimlim," she says.