Rica Peralejo: The Best & The Worst

By this time, if she hasn’t flown yet, Rica Peralejo must be packing her things for a well-deserved bakasyon grande in the US. But no, contrary to speculations, she is coming back and not (yet) staying there for good, although she does have such a plan (no wonder she’s reported to be selling her properties?).

"I must say that I’m 70 percent sure that I will live in the US but that’s years from now, maybe seven or 10," Rica told Conversations. "Most of our relatives are there. Life is better there, isn’t it?"

Until then, Rica is focused on her career, especially now that she claims to be loveless (but not, you guessed it, lonely) after she broke up with Bernard Palanca (whom she fondly calls BJ... as in Buko Juice) early this year for reasons that Rica said she’d rather keep to herself.

Since she has been figuring prominently in the annual Metro Manila Film Festival, Rica has been called The Horror Queen because her Metrofest starrers (produced by Orly Ilacad’s Canary Films) are done with a touch of subtle horror and a creepiness that stays with you long after you leave the moviehouse. The films have something to do with restless spirits. Like the two previous ones (Spirit of the Glass where she played a girl haunted by a lonely spirit and Malikmata, as a clairvoyant), the latest, Kutob, is again written and directed by Jose Javier Reyes, with Rica cast as a girl warned by a fortune-teller about a danger lurking her way even as she copes with her problematic love life, torn as she is between two guys (Ryan Agoncillo and Marvin Agustin).

"My films are not really horror ones but more of suspense-thrillers," Rica protested in jest, "so di ba dapat Suspense-Thriller Queen ang ‘title’ ko?"

Okay, add to that the title of "Metro Filmfest Queen."

By the way, doesn’t she miss having a man?

"Of course, I do. I want somebody to hug, somebody to call ‘baby,’ somebody to take care of me. But the need is not urgent; I’m not that desperate yet. Makapagtitiis pa. Honestly, I continue to discover so many things na hindi ko kayang gawin if I have a partner."

She’s 24 and, so far, self-contained.

Departing from the usual Q&A format, Conversations tries to probe dig deeper into Rica Peralejo by putting her to the "The Best/The Worst" test.

• PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE (Her Own)

"My best was on TV, in the teleserye Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. I was able to create my character, the eldest of three siblings who grew up not knowing that their father was a syndicate head, until she ended up as breadwinner of the family. It wasn’t a one-dimensional character; maraming facets, growing up from 18 to 27. Malawak. With that character, I experienced all sorts of emotions – ‘yung iyak ng bata, ‘yung iyak ng nag-mature.

"My worst? A lot, most of them those I did when I was new in showbiz."

• PERFORMANCE IN A CONCERT (Her Own)

"My best was in Sanlinggo nAPO Sila. I was only 14 then. We stars of Ang TV were asked to sing. Mataas ang boses ko, parang key ng lalaki, but my voice was fresh and raw at wala pang style. Na-shocked sila!

"My worst was my first ever mall show at Ali Mall. I was so nervous kaya ayaw lumabas ang boses ko. I remember it was a Debbie Gibson song. How did I remedy the situation? Hindi ko na-remedyuhan!"

• PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE (By Another Actress)

"The best that I’ve seen so far was Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted.

"The worst was Renee Zellweger in Cinderella Man. I think her acting was pa-cute, her voice was distracting, compared to Russell Crowe who’s very good in the title role."

• ABOUT STARTING IN SHOWBIZ YOUNG

"I was 12 when I joined showbiz, so that was the best years of my life kasi when you’re young, you easily absorb things. Everything that I learned about the business dala-dala ko hanggang ngayon.

"The worst, I guess, is that you miss your childhood, somehow. You miss out on school, you miss playing on the streets. Your childhood isn’t normal."

• ROMANCE SHE EVER HAD

"The best was, of course, with BJ. He was very romantic; he could create romantic scenes straight out of a romance movie. One time, he went with me to Cebu. When I came back at night, he had transformed the balcony into a romantic place. He covered the floor with a mattress and he covered it with petals. At the center of the table was a single candle. He called room service and we had a romantic dinner in that balcony.

"Siya. No name, please! ‘Yung taong ‘yon, walang ka-romansa-romansa sa katawan. Mabait naman; nagreregalo, okay. Like binibigyan niya ako ng Walkman na hindi ko alam kung bakit."

• THING SAID AND/OR WRITTEN ABOUT HER

"It was direk Lauren Dyogi who said it. He was surprised to discover that I was not a college graduate and yet I sounded mature daw; my views about life and love daw were mature for my age.

"The worst naman was when a movie reporter wrote that I was smoking marijuana in a dressing room. Ako? Ako pa! What am I to smoke marijuana in a dressing room, stupid?"

• DECISION SHE EVER MADE

"The best? Being free. I won’t elaborate.

"The worst? Not pursuing my studies. I never finished college (at the College of the Holy Spirit)."

• CHARACTER SHE HAS MET

"I can name two best characters/persons. One is direk Lauren and the other is Lee Aniasco-Garcia, mom of my friend. Direk Lauren and I are alike in many ways; he’s like a dad to me, the way he teaches me about life... he just doesn’t know how much he touches my heart. Si Tita Lee naman, she’s the woman I want to be. She’s the one who taught me that it’s not scary to be alone or being single and loveless and not be married.

"The worst? I can think of only one. No name, please! That person can’t talk any other thing but green stuff."

• EXPERIENCE/VACATION SHE EVER HAD

"The best was when we went to London a few months ago (with Aga Muhlach and the cast of Ok Fine ’Tong Gusto Ko). It was my first time to travel alone, without my mom. I took care of everything.

"The worst was when I got stuck in Atlanta on the way to Alabama for a show. The plane arrived very late. We almost missed the flight. The guys there didn’t help us with our luggage, maybe because we were Asians, so I carried my things weighing more than 70 pounds."

• PART OF HER BODY

"The best part? I guess, my face.

"The worst? Ay naku, my lips! Siguro because they’re so big."

• BOOK SHE EVER READ

"Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha is the best. Also, Mario Puzo’s The Family.

"The worst naman is Warrior of Life by Paulo Coelho. Kasi, I feel that once you read his other book, The Alchemist, parang di mo na kailangan basahin ‘yong isa."

• MOOD

"The best is after I have my coffee in the morning.

"The worst is when I lack sleep. That’s when I feel sluggish, walang energy."

• PET SHE EVER HAD

"My two dogs, Sam and Tyra (named after Tyra Banks)

"Since I love pets, I find all animals nice, except the Siberian husky I once had na destructive kapag nabo-bored."

• SIDE/ANGLE (Of Her Face)

"My best angle is my left side. That’s where my dimples are.

"It follows that my worse angle is my right."

• KISS SHE EVER HAD

"The best is still with BJ.

"The worst were those I did when I was doing sexy roles because they were done oftentimes against my will, with men whom I didn’t love."

• LESSON SHE LEARNED

"I guess the best is that we should be balanced – you know, you should have the right amount of fear, the right amount of confidence, the right amount of everything. Otherwise, you’ll get crazy.

"The worst lesson that I’ve learned is that if you are ‘unbalanced,’ you tend to hurt people and yourself."

• CITY SHE HAS EVER BEEN TO

"It’s not a city but the best place for me is Boracay. It’s still Boracay.

"The worst? No offense meant but it’s Manila. You know when you’re too familiar with the place, when you know everybody in the place, parang ayaw mo na."

• TIME OF DAY

"I’m a working girl so I’m not a morning person. The best is dinner time.

"The worst? Mornings when I lack sleep and I have to wake up early to go to work."

• TIME OF YEAR

"Christmas is the best time of the year.

"The worst is the transition between the cold season and summer, when it’s humid."

• ADVICE SHE EVER RECEIVED

"The best came from my mom (Alice) – Stop looking at other people’s faults.

"The worst came from somebody who said na dapat matuto na akong mag-flirt, matuto nang mag-kiss even without commitment. Sorry but I can’t do it."

• ABOUT BEING RICA PERALEJO

"The best is that I’m blessed. Nobody’s perfect but I’m lucky. I’m happy with the kind of family that I have, the set of friends that I have, my kind of job. That’s why I’m happy.

"The worst? In most cases I can’t stand up for myself, I can’t speak for myself."

• ONE WORD THAT DESCRIBES RICA PERALEJO

"The best? Balanced.

"The worst? Perfectionist. It’s hard to be one."

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