Jennylyn bounces back

MANILA, Philippines - They say one cure for bouncing back from a bad breakup is looking fabulous — and a glowing Jennylyn Mercado seemed to have gotten that memo loud and clear. Not only was she prettier this second encounter we’ve had with her, the singer-actress also had her impenetrable walls down, or some of it. Gone were her caginess, the   guarded one-word replies or the temperamental aura she used to give off. Her child-like laughter was contagious, her smiles sweet.

“I’m always misinterpreted for being suplada and masungit. But people don’t know I can be very, very makulit and maligalig,” the original female “Starstruck” champ said.

Interestingly, her off-cam bubbly persona came to full bloom at a time when she’s tackling a dark character on the small screen. In her new GMA-7 drama “Rhodora X,” Jen is a woman with a severely traumatic childhood, which results to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID),  a condition commonly referred to as split personality. Jen’s Rhodora develops an alter ego named Roxanne — a scheming, manipulative personality who wreaks havoc on Rhodora’s loved ones.

Jen said she finds the role difficult, but thankfully, there’s a resident psychiatrist on set who guides her so that the transformation from Rhodora to Roxanne is clear-cut.

“When I snap into my alter, it has to be a totally different person. I need to study the nuances of the two personalities. The viewers may think, baka baliw lang siya; but there is really something deeper going on inside that person. It’s very challenging for me, because it’s my first time to portray a dark role. Usually, I play someone poor, subservient and oppressed,” said Jen, who made it her homework to watch ‘Sybil’ and ‘United States of Tara,’ — American TV programs that also had DID-afflicted central characters.

While the 26-year-old star believes everyone has a dark side they can tap into if they want, her uneasiness at playing someone “malandi at salbahe” manifested during pre-taping workshops.

Shared Jen, “They noticed I wasn’t comfortable with the Roxanne character. Kahit hindi siya nagsasalita, dapat yung mata salbahe na. Kahit sino yung makasalubong niya, ang nasa isip niya, mas maganda, matalino at magaling ako sa inyo. Pag stupid ka, papatayin kita.”

She finds common ground with Rhodora though, who, like her, always yearns for a happy and complete family, said Jen.

Interviewers have so far been polite and sensitive enough not to point out the parallelisms between Jen’s real-life traumatic childhood that were once stuff of headlines, to that of Rhodora X’s plot. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, it goes without saying that those scars resulted to Jen’s tough and guarded persona.

“I have to be,” Jen says of her tough image, letting out another loud laugh. “I’m a single mom, so I have to be strong. Ang hirap physically and emotionally. Ikaw na nga lang mag-isa, tapos hindi mo pa kayang ipaglaban yung family mo.”

Starstruck reunion

“Rhodora X” reunites Jen with fellow “StarStruck” alumni, Mark Herras and Yasmien Kurdi, something she was very excited about. Ten years since they phenomenally broke into showbiz, Jen notes how much she and her batchmates have changed from their immature years.

“We’re more mature now. We were playful and so hard-headed before. Ang kukulit namin!,” recalled Jen. “But now, we’re behaved and we no longer yell when we’re talking. Mark and I used to fight a lot, too. We were like cats and dogs. A taping day wouldn’t be complete without us getting into an argument.”

These days, she and Mark share a real friendship that has surpassed the awkwardness of  being ex-lovers. “Mark and I have a good relationship. We catch up on each other, and we know what’s going on in each other’s lives. Pero hindi na lumagpas pa doon.”

On what she learned from her turbulent period with Mark, Jennylyn said, “I’ve realized the importance of being professional. Back when we were younger, our taping would be put to a halt if we were fighting. We had to be locked in a room just so we would be forced to talk to each other. Or else, we couldn’t do our romantic scenes, because we refuse to act sweet towards each other. Now, we’ve changed a lot. We can already handle situations like that without compromising work. Back then, understandably, we were also not yet used to the showbiz grind, so we would easily get tired. Now, however exhausted we are, or no matter if we had problems to think about, work and life must go on.”

With Valentines just around the corner, trust Jen not to wallow on the fact that she’s once again single. In fact, she’s not looking into dating again anytime soon. Still, we’re curious. What could a guy do to win her over? “I have to see that he truly loves my son [four-year-old Alex Jazz]. Being a single mom, it’s no longer just me. My son and I are a package.” – (FREEMAN)