Queen of Cannes

MANILA, Philippines - The funny thing about Jaclyn Jose is this: Although she is, by far, one of the strongest and most entertaining character creators to grace local screens, she never actually wanted to become an actress.

It was her sister, known to many as Veronica Jones, who first pursued acting in the ’70s as the breadwinner of their family. Jones had glitz, glamour, and a permanent seat next to legendary action stars like Fernando Poe Jr. and Rudy Fernandez. Jose saw it all and wasn’t the least bit attracted to that sort of life. “I didn’t like it. I’m a creative person — I paint and I work with charcoal, I do still life. I studied interior design in [the Philippine School of Interior Design]. That’s really what I wanted to do.”

In fact, it was her mother who asked her to give acting a try, especially after Jones had settled down with a family of her own. “At first, I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to stay that long. I just wanted to let my mom have her thing. Inisip ko, baka hindi rin naman magtagal ’to because it’s not my thing. Pinagbigyan ko lang siya.” So Jose began what she had no idea would become a lifelong career as she earned small roles with the help of her mother, who kept close ties with Jones’ earlier producers.

Her first audition

In 1983, the film Chicas was looking for its female cast, and Jose’s mother encouraged her to audition for it. She was hesitant, still unsure that this was a path she wanted to pursue, but figuring that she would fall through the ranks anyway, she tried. She auditioned in front of the likes of Bing Lao, Ed Estrella, Brillante Mendoza, William Pascual, and Ricky Lee. “The more that I wanted to get out of it, I couldn’t. I didn’t dramatize my workshop. I mostly did nuances, and I’m very argumentative. If I didn’t want to do things, I’d say I didn’t want to do that. I thought to myself, ‘I’ll just throw the line. I’ll just throw it as naturally as how people say it, not like… acting acting.’ Yun naman pala mas lalo yung gusto!”

It was here that, amid all the resistance to a life of acting, something funny happened. “So I got involved with this group, and they shared their passion. It was continuous learning about their talents and social awareness. I didn’t see this during my sister’s time, which was all about glamour, portraying things dramatically. And sa akin, okay, if this is showbiz, if this is the industry, I love it. I want to get involved in making real films and creating characters and showing society these kinds of people, rather than showing the industry me, the actor.” And when that clicked, when Jose finally fell in love with the industry that wanted her, magical things occurred.

Her career has been storied, although vastly underrated, having worked with legends that include the likes of Lino Brocka. She has for 32 years graced TV screens as well as the silver screen, giving us drama and comedy, quietly slipping into characters without much fuss. “Kahit small scene lang, gusto ko may pak. When people tune in to teleseryes, they want to see the large movements and wonder what happened to this character yesterday, and maybe they should watch tomorrow to see what happens. Pag indie naman, very subtle ka lang. Ikaw lang dapat yung may alam kung anong nangyayari sayo, to the point na yung audience sumasakit yung ulo kung ano bang iniisip nito. Pag mainstream, you have to be beautiful and adjust to what the audience usually looks for. I always work with people as a team, but I will also work on what I know is right in my heart and in my mind.”

Ma’ Rosa

It’s this attitude that’s led her to one of her most significant roles yet. In Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa, she plays the title character of Rosa, a crystal meth dealer from the slums who is eventually detained together with her husband and whose children are forced to find a way to set them free. Being friends with Mendoza, she was invited casually and she accepted as he prepared in pre-production. She was asked to lose weight, which she says, “Oo lang ako ng oo pero hindi ko ginawa. Nung nagkita kami ng first shooting day, sabi niya, ‘Antaba mo parin, nakakaloka ka.’ Sabi ko, ‘Eh hindi naman ako gumagamit, nag-bebenta lang!’”

Humor aside, however, every inch of the film was made in a manner befitting an artist like Jose. “[Mendoza] just told me the story. There were no scripts. That’s how he works. He let us go through an immersion in the slums in Guadalupe, and he lets you pick a character from who you see there. He’d ask us to lock in our schedules, meaning we couldn’t shoot anything else or do segues [between jobs]. He wants us focused on who we’re supposed to be for the entire time that we’re shooting.” She smiles and says, “Actually, that’s the way I like to work. I’m comfortable with improvisation, and honestly, once you know your character, if your heart and mind and soul are into it, you’ll know what to do, how to react, how to connect in any situation. And when we’re shooting a scene, [Mendoza] tells me what is happening to me but not what’s happening to anyone else. So when something happens, our interaction is raw and I don’t anticipate anything.”

This then gives so much more weight to what transpired in Ma Rosa, to a performance both created and nurtured so freely by the one portraying the role. It’s no wonder then, that the jury at Cannes saw what they saw in Jose’s performance, landing her the Palme d’Or. Some questioned her win, saying that it was more of a supporting role, but members of the jury quickly and confidently rebutted the claim at a press conference. Hollywood actor Donald Sutherland said, flat out, “The critics were wrong.” To which French director Arnaud Desplechin added, “She is the film. Have you seen the performance she gave? She broke my heart.”

Never about awards

But for Jose, it was never about the awards; rather, it was about family. She constantly talks about how taking the role was really for her daughter, Andie Eigenmann, so that she could have a shot at having what Jose had experienced earlier in her career. “I keep telling her, ‘If you don’t have it, you can quit. If you have the passion, go ahead. If you only want fame and fortune, you’ll only get hurt.’ But naririnig ko siyang bumulong sakin na, ‘I want to achieve what you’ve achieved,’ so I thought okay, maybe this will help. It felt like my journey was to help her career.”

And so going to Cannes, for Jose, was an experience simply to share with family, with a daughter who aspired to the breadth of her own mother’s talent. “Hindi ako umasa. Si Marion Cotillard? She’s one of the top of my list of favorite actresses! Hindi ko malilimutan yung La Vie En Rose. So yung sa akin, wala, attend na lang. Kahit yung suot ko parang ‘Ay, may awards night nga pala! Buti may jacket ako,” Jose says with a laugh. But what she also got to share with her daughter was a win that not only recognizes her ability and performance, but puts her among the ranks of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, and Helen Mirren. What she also got to share with her daughter was the reach of talent, backed by hard work and a passion for delivering excellence even in the smallest of spaces.

So what’s in store now for the first Southeast Asian woman to ever bag a Best Actress award at Cannes? Jose says she’s only inclined to entertain foreign offers if it has some connection with the Philippines or being Filipino, as it is what she knows and it is what she brings to the table. Otherwise, she says, “I have to behave like I have a Palme D’or. Like if I’m going to the grocery na naka tsinelas tsaka shorts, siguro ngayon sandals naman tsaka shorts.” She laughs a hearty laugh, and with a shrug, says, “Basta work, basta work.”

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