Jane the Virgin star a big fan of Pacman

MANILA, Philippines - During the star-studded week that was (which saw tennis greats like Maria Sharapova and music idol Jason Mraz visiting the country), TV star Gina Rodriguez also came over to promote her hit US series Jane the Virgin.

The actress is actually in the middle of an Asian vacation, but has happily accommodated promo duties while she’s in the region. She also just came from Macau to watch boxing hero Manny Pacquiao triumphed over Chris Algieri.

“I actually went to Macau to watch the Pacquiao fight because my father is a (boxing) referee and he was the referee of the Pacquiao fight. So, we went there to be with my dad, and I love my dad, he’s my bestfriend and he’s gonna retire. It was his last fight. So, I asked my awesome boyfriend to come with me and watch the fight,” the vivacious Latina beauty told The STAR in an interview last Thursday, at the Fairmont Hotel, arranged by Sony Channel (the rebranded beTV cable channel), which airs Jane the Virgin in the Philippines Sunday nights at 9:05, in the same week as the US telecast.  

Gina also gushed about meeting Pacman for the first time after the bout.

“My father has been on a few of his fights before, but it was my first time to talk to Manny in Macau. He was very sweet. I told him, ‘Oh, I’m going to your country,’ and he’s like ‘Oh, why?’ ‘I’m going to promote my TV show, Jane the Virgin,’ and he goes, huh? Because Jane the Virgin (the title) can throw people off. And then I’m like, ‘I play a good Christian girl,’ and he goes wow, giving me two thumbs-up. And he says, ‘Good luck, good luck!’ He’s so fantastic because he’s so warm and kind but also loving of his fans and supporters, and I’m a big fan of him.”

It was Gina’s first time in the Philippines although she’s not exactly a stranger to the culture because one of her childhood bestfriends is a Filipino and she has a cousin, who’s half-Filipino and half-Puerto Rican. “The moment we set off the plane, everybody’s been incredible and lovely, so I really like that.”

Gina added, “To be honest, I have so much vocal Filipino fans on Twitter, Instagram and I love it! You guys are making my dreams come true. To come here and be part of this, it’s an honor!”

In Jane the Virgin, Gina plays yes, a good Christian girl named Jane Villanueva who finds herself in a nightmarish situation when she gets pregnant after a routine-gynecologist-check-up-gone-wrong: Her doctor artificially inseminates her by mistake. The fresh and peculiar premise of the comedy/drama is making critics sit up and notice. The A.V. Club noted: “More people should be watching Jane the Virgin. Seven episodes in, it has established itself as the season’s best new network show, maintaining a high level of quality and building storytelling momentum every single week.”

“I thank God every day that it is (doing well),” Gina said of her series, which is loosely adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela. “It’s interesting because you get your head so wrapped around things you can’t control like ratings, and I’m always reminded that you just have to continue to do good work. I’m really happy that, you know, working hard, I see that people are enjoying the experience, and that can’t compare to any rating — to have people relate to Jane, have people laugh and cry (with her), that’s what I was meant to do.”

For Gina, to even try to picture herself in Jane’s shoes is a scary thought. “It’s one of my biggest fears right now… It can happen totally,” Gina said, jokingly adding, “when I visit my OB/Gyn, I’m going to say, ‘Don’t you do anything funny (laughs)!’”

Kidding aside, she added, “It’s scary because, I think the gift of life is such a blessing. The fact that women get to procreate, that means they are superheroes, and God willing, I’m going to be a superhero one day. But until then, Jane is my baby, and if I get pregnant, if I were in her situation, I would have to become a mom, and I don’t want that scary choice of choosing. I want to be able to choose to become a mom. And I think that women who got pregnant in situations that weren’t ideal, I commend them because that is so hard, and they are so strong, and to be a mother is already so difficult.”

Describing Jane the Virgin as the best thing that has ever happened to her, the title role fortuitously landed on her lap after her career encountered a drawback.

Gina recalled, “It was pilot season in L.A. and last year, I booked a pilot for a show called Wild Blue for Fox. It was put on hold, got extended, we never got to shoot anything. It was put on hold for seven months, and then Christmas Eve, it got cancelled and I was like ‘Merry Christmas!’ Ouch!”

She continued, “Next pilot season, last January, I was a little down, you know, I’m human, and I was scared because last year, I got a show, which is what I’ve been wanting to do, then it got cancelled. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, something’s got to give, and I can’t wait to see the rainbow because it’s quite the downpour right now.’ Then my agents called, there’s another audition, for Jane the Virgin, and I said, that’s an interesting title, and they’re like yeah, and you’re going in for Jane, I was like wow!”

When she was informed of the synopsis, it left her a little stumped, but “I would like to believe that you don’t judge a book by its cover, and so I asked for the script, read it and fell in love with it! Its writer (Jennie Urman) is brilliant. She has created this amazing world of redemption and morality, and fighting for integrity, she opens up conversations on sexuality, and even when characters fall, she redeems them, like with this idea that nobody’s perfect and there’s no one way in life.”

Acting-wise, the show has given Gina “a place to fly.” “I’ve been able to exercise my craft every day to such an extreme extent — comedy and drama in each episode. It’s like a workout, a hardcore master-class. And I’ve always dreamed of being able to live through a character for a long time and grow with them, and see where their lives go and not know where their lives go, like we live our own lives.”

Asked how she connects to her character, Gina said, “Jane is different from who I am for sure, but I see this fight in her, this fearlessness, she’s not afraid to stand up for herself, she’s not afraid to say no, she’s not afraid of people who don’t like her because of her beliefs, she’s not afraid — well, at times she is — to go after her dreams…”

Gina showed her fearlessness — standing firm for what she believes in — by opting out of a starring role in Devious Maids, a series about Latinas who are maids to the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. In interviews, she was quoted as saying that she declined it as a matter of integrity; with the role seemingly stereotypical of TV roles handed to Latin actors and “limiting” of what Latin actors are capable of doing.

Gina told The STAR, “I feel like I’ve gone through a crazy rollercoaster in life, and it’s continuing up to now, though it’s more crazy now. I fought so hard to get to this place, and I didn’t let people tell me no. When people tell me no, I say thank you but I’m going to find my yes. You know, I feel like I’ve lived that with Jane. Jane is not afraid and when she is, she’s not afraid to say that she is and to seek help.”

According to her bio, Gina, who is born in Chicago to Puerto Rican parents, had her first taste of the creative arts at the age of 7 when she joined a salsa dance group. As a teenager, she got accepted to Columbia University’s Theatrical Collaboration program and then attended the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Gina, who has been hailed the Next Big Thing and listed in the Top 35 Latinos Under 35 by The Hollywood Reporter, has been hankering for a break like Jane the Virgin for as along as she can remember.

While we were conducting this interview, a teaser of the show played on the TV behind us. Pausing momentarily from the Q&A to watch it, Gina reflected, “This is wild! It’s such a blessing! I’m going to cry!”

She sure does get emotional whenever she thinks of the show and her journey so far. “A hundred percent, (yes)!” admitted Gina, who in real life is 30 but looks as youthful as her 23-year-old character. “That I’m here in the Philippines, that this is going on, that this is my reality, this is something I’ve been dreaming of since I was 15 years old. It’s crazy and awesome.”

And Gina has the women in her life, as well her father, to thank for — for the tenacity and purposefulness in pursuing her dreams.

“I have strong women in my life. I have my mom, my grandma and my two older sisters (one is a doctor and one is a banker). We grew up in humble beginnings, the lower-class side. We didn’t grow with too much money at all, and I saw my sisters make gold out of dirt, saw them fight for what they wanted to do, and even if people told them that it wasn’t possible to do, they said it was possible. So I had women do that before me.

“And then I have a father, who was like, ‘You better go out and go for it, don’t ever let someone tell you no.’ This man would just breathe motivation (always telling me) when one door closes, another one’s going to open. You can and you will.

“They are the reasons why I never gave up and why I keep trying, keep soaring God willing, and hopefully, I’m going to take care of all of them one day,” she ended. 

(Sony Channel is seen on SkyCable Channel 35, Cignal Digital TV Channel 60, Destiny Cable 62 and Cable Link Channel 39.)