Sweet but fierce

Janine Gutierrez believes there is truth to the phrase “looks can be deceiving,” especially with people who often misconstrue her as a weakling and a cry baby for her sweet, angelic look.

No wonder, she is thankful to GMA for allowing her to display in front of the cameras her fierce and fearless persona that not many people do not know about in Dragon Lady as the titular role. The newest afternoon prime series will see Janine in a character who is born with dragon-like features.

“When I was told that Dragon Lady is for me, I got nervous because I thought about dragon lady as in literally, and definitely there’s a need for heavy prosthetics,” began Janine. “It turned out, she’s a dragon lady because she has a bossy side. Honestly, when it comes to heavy prosthetics nervousness attacks due to the long hours the process takes but when I saw the final product, I felt excited because it’s something different.”

The Kapuso actress added that she shares similarities with her character. “If you ask my family, they will tell that I am a dragon lady because I’m the eldest, I’m the ate, ako ‘yung masungit sa pamilya at medyo strict so definitely they will agree that I fit into the role. But for everyone else, I don’t think I get to show my strong side. So through the show, I will get to channel that side of me.”

Although it remains a challenge for her to really break the notion that she is just another sweet girl who cannot fight for her rights. According to her, a lot of people are clamoring to see her portray as a strong woman. “The viewers wish to see me as a fighter or independent which happened in the end of Victor Magtanggol but now it’s on a whole other level na maipapakita ko talaga ‘yung woman empowerment.”

However, Janine also thinks that everyone possesses a fierce character that turns visible whenever things go awry. In her case, heavy traffic and trash irritate her. “I guess we can all be a little guilty of that sometimes, even if in little things that we are not in control of. But what’s good with Celestina (her character) is she is truly fighting for her family. Her love for her mom is what really drives her to stand up for her family, stand up for herself and also her love for Michael (played by Tom Rodriguez).”

She further shared that her latest TV assignment comes close to her dream role as dragon queen Khaleesi of Game of Thrones. “The difference is I don’t have a pet dragon but I am the dragon, masyadong mabait si Lord, ginalingan N’ya masyado (laughs).”

(Dragon Lady, also starring Joyce Ching, Edgar Allan Guzman, Diana Zubiri, James Blanco, Maricar de Mesa, Lovely Abella, Julie Lee, DJ Durano, Dexter Doria and Odette Khan, will air sometime in March.)