Jennylyn: Vengeance is not mine

Ask Jennylyn Mercado about Mark Herras and Patrick Garcia, the two men in her life — past and present, respectively —  and she has ready answers.

 “Everyone on the set was kinikilig,” Jennylyn says of her and Mark’s first taping day for La Vendetta, a suspense-drama soap for GMA 7 which premiered last Oct. 29, bringing StarStruck 1’s grand female winner back to the Kapuso network’s good graces. La Vendetta also marks the return teamup of Jennylyn and Mark, who have sent audiences a-swooning in movies like Let the Love Begin, Say that You Love Me and Blue Moon and soaps like I Luv New York.

Jennylyn whose last full-length primetime show was Super Twins, embraces the challenge of playing a character who will go to great lengths for love. “Super Twins is so different from La Vendetta. The former is more on fight scenes and physical routines. In La Vendetta, I play a mature role which is emotionally draining. I also like the character I play, that of Almira who will fight for love no matter the odds.

One of Jennylyn’s La Vendetta co-stars Sunshine Dizon, with whom the former has worked in Encantadia assures us that Jennylyn is up to the job at hand. “She’s grown a lot as an actress.”

Like her La Vendetta character, the private Jennylyn can be very passionate, even defiant. But unlike Almira, youngest of the three sisters caught in a web of deceit, lust and betrayal, Jennylyn is never one to seek vengeance. “I don’t harbor hatred for a long time.”This probably explains why she opted to have a heart-to-heart talk with former manager Becky Aguila before the issues between them got out of hand.

“We talked last night,” Jennylyn revealed during the press con for La Vendetta. “We’ve threshed things out. I hope the problem gets resolved soon.” Asked to elaborate, Jennylyn lets out a wan smile.

Her eyes, however, light up again at the mention of boyfriend Patrick’s name. He has recently announced his plans of taking a crash course on filmmaking in the US. “I will support him all the way,” says Jennylyn. “We’ll still celebrate Christmas together but come February, I’ll visit him there. Of course, I’ll get sad if his plans push through.”

Meantime, there is work to focus on. Aside from La Vendetta, Jennylyn has just finished shooting the independent film Nars and will be working next on a movie opposite Chinese-Japanese Jacky Woo titled Manila-West Side.