MANILA, Philippines - After Jillian Ward greeted everyone with “Hello po!” and a sweet smile at the recent pocket interview arranged by GMA, she headed straight to the buffet table, checked the food, stopped in front of a platter of assorted greens and guess what she picked? Her fork landed straight into the okra (lady’s finger) and she munched on it with much gusto.
Knowing that it’s a tough call for children to eat veggies, one can’t help but be amazed that at six years old, Jillian already knows the benefits of eating it.
“Vegetables can make you live longer,” she said in the vernacular. “They make your skin smooth and your hair beautiful. They prevent you from getting sick.”
Ampalaya (bitter gourd), she added, is her favorite. She also likes eating fruits and chicken but not too much on pork. According to her stepdad Elson, Jillian wants to lose some pounds because she doesn’t like seeing herself too fat on TV. It sounded strange that a kid like her is already conscious about how she looks on screen but the GMA Artist Center’s child wonder validated it by telling, “So I won’t look so fat and it is in preparation for my next TV show.”
Jillian is pertaining to GMA 7’s latest primetime show offering Daldakina, to be directed by Don Michael Perez. The show topbills her with Ogie Alcasid, Manilyn Reynes, Elmo Magalona and Julie Ann San Jose.
“I’m also doing Aswang (for Regal) where the shooting is in Tarlac. Our location shoot is far that’s why, I can’t take my dog Coco Gutierrez with me because he might get tired.”
Asked if she can stand those dreadful, long hours on the set, dad Elson replies, “We requested that Jillian be allowed to stay only for six hours like for example, from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight because beyond that it would be hard for her to wake up early the next day.”
Director Jerrold Tarog, on the other hand, is considerate enough to allow Jillian to finish only four or five sequences a day so she can still have more time for rest and play.
She, too, is set to do another Regal Entertainment horror-comedy flick titled Ded na Ded Sa’yo with Pokwang, Ruffa Gutierrez and James Yap.
Aside from tapings, Jillian is also serious with her studies. She is now in Grade 1 at ODB Montessori which allows her to study her lessons at home with a tutor and then go to school to take her exams. Elson shared Jillian got perfect scores in her recent tests.
During the interview, Jillian displayed her skills in drawing, counting and adding numbers.
She, too, loves playing with her toys and watching kiddie films on CD. “I have a Barbie but my favorite is the CD (collection),” she said.
How much money does Jillian have in the bank?
“I don’t know. Mama puts it in the bank. I know you have more money, give me five thousand million,” Jillian replied innocently, putting everyone in stitches.