The many faces of Katrina Halili

The loser is a winner.

When Katrina Halili joined the GMA talent search StarStruck in 2003 (won by Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras), her “third eye” told her that she would be eliminated before she could reach the finals (only the Top Four).

But like what usually happens in showbiz, the losers often end up the big winners, the second choices always prove to be the better choices. Katrina’s “third eye” didn’t see that coming.

In record time, Katrina’s star started to shine.

“Before I knew it,” she said, as if surprised by what she described as her “unexpected” progress, “heto na ako.”

That is, proving her worth as an actress by switching between bida and kontrabida roles with fluid facility.

Her stock rose even higher when she was named Sexiest Woman by FHM magazine, first in 2006 and then this year (ending up among the Top Three in 2007) and in the process edging out such worthies as Angel Locsin and many others.

In this December’s (2008) Metro Filmfest, Katrina topbills OctoArts’ One Night Only, written and directed by Joey Javier Reyes, in which she is pitted with Alessandra de Rossi, Jennylyn Mercado, Valerie Concepcion and Diana Zubiri, all of whom were her also-rans in the FHM sexy race. Next in line is the title role in Miss X, the remake of the landmark ’70s Vilma Santos starrer, with Katrina cast as a Filipina sexy dancer displayed in an eskaparate in the Red District of Amsterdam.

Through it all, Katrina has remained level-headed, her feet firm on the ground.

Have you ever imagined that you would be where you are now?

“We were 14 finalists and I was eliminated halfway through the search. I was No. 8 and even if I lost, 8 is my lucky number. Never kong naisip na mararating ko ang kinalalagyan ko ngayon. Up to now, I still ask myself, ‘Andito na ba ako?’ Kasi naman, parang hindi ako masyadong nag-e-effort.”

As a kid, who were the sexy stars whom you looked up to — you know, that someday you would be like them?

“No, not sexy stars. My childhood idol was Donna Cruz. She’s a good actress, a good singer and she’s sweet. Claudine (Barretto) was also my favorite.”

Your first sexy (very!!!) pictorial was for the 2005 FHM calendar. How did you feel during your “first” time?

“Nakaka-nerbiyos! It was really very sexy...pinaka! All I wore were yards of cloth, pinagpatung-patong na lang and taped to my body, blown by the wind. Kunwari nililipad -lipad ‘yung tela kaya para akong nahuhubaran. The result was beautiful. Very natural ‘yung paglipad-lipad kunwari ng tela. But I felt secure because I trusted the people doing the pictorial. The photographer was protective, talagang inalagaan nila ako.”

People usually look at sexy stars, whether male or female, as, you know, pieces of meat. Di ka ba affected n’un?

“I was affected, of course. After I posed for the cover of FHM magazine, parang naiilang ako because when people, especially men, looked at me, ang feeling ko hinuhubaran nila ako. I was a bit paranoid. I heard some people saying, ‘Why did she agree to do it (the FHM cover)? Maybe she needed money very badly; maybe she did it para magkaroon ng show.’ That was never my motive. It was offered to me, I was flattered, kaya ko ang ipinagagawa nila kaya ginawa ko.”

It was worth it. You were named Sexiest Woman (among 100) in 2006 and 2008 by FHM magazine.

“It was some kind of a vindication for me.”

And now, here you are on the Internet, seated fully nude beside Dr. Hayden Kho (Dr. Vicki Belo’s beloved) also au naturel. Didn’t Vicki get jealous?

“Actually, hindi. In fact, it was Dr. Vicki who suggested that I do it for her clinic’s website. She wanted a nude man and a nude woman as come-on. I said , ‘Why not?’ I knew naman kasi na hindi naman ako mababastos.” (Note: Hayden said he agreed to do it because no other guy would. Besides, he’s proud of his body which he willingly — and happily — displayed during his stint on the Celebrity Duets. If you have it, by all means flaunt it!)

There were rumors that you and Hayden had an affair that started on the set of Marimar (in which Hayden guest-starred as a doctor). Naging kayo ba talaga?

“Actually, we didn’t have any scene together. Sila ni Marimar (Marian Rivera) ang magka-eksena. I think people suspected na naging kami because I sang with him on Celebrity Duets and, because I am one of the Belo Clinic endorsers, we were always together during the promo.”

How would you know if a guy is serious with you or after a “one night only” (according to the title of her Metro Filmfest entry)?

“Actually, hindi ako lapitin ng guys dahil I think takot sila sa akin.

I’m not the ligawin type. But I like it that way para hindi ako nilalapitan ng basta kung sinu-sino.”

Not even by DOMs (as in, ehem, Darling Old Men)?

“None. You know how men are. They won’t show that they are interested in you unless ipakita mo rin na interesado ka sa kanila.”

How different is the real Katrina Halili from the sexy and seductive Katrina Halili that people see on TV and movies and in magazines?

“Makulit and kalog...and hard-working. Those who don’t know me think I’m maldita when actually mabait ako.”

What type of guys do you like?

“Siempre, ‘yung marunong kumanta ng R&B.” (Hinting at her rumored boyfriend, Kris Lawrence) “Oops! Joke! I like a guy who is mabait at marunong rumespeto hindi lang sa akin kundi pati sa mga taong nakapaligid sa akin. At first, like any girl, I look at the physical aspect. But what’s important is the guy’s character, ang kanyang ugali.”

At this stage of your career, do you put any importance on your love life? Seryoso ba kayo talaga ni Kris?

“No, not serious. Hindi pa naman talagang kami ni Kris. We are just in the getting-to-know-you stage.”

Good. Otherwise, your male fans might lose interest in you because if you go steady with a guy, mawawala ang illusion ng male fans mo that you are, you know, “available.”

“I would say that my priorities are 60/40 — 60 percent sa career, 40 percent sa personal life ko.”

Is it true that Kris has asked you to stop doing sexy roles or posing sexy for magazines? Has he forgotten that you are making a name as a sexy actress and the public has accepted you as such? Di ba siya nakakasira sa diskarte mo as an actress? Until you were rumored na kayo na, hindi naman daw siya pinag-uusapan.

“Hindi naman siya nakikialam sa career ko. But I find him nice. Maalaga at maasikaso siya  especially when we were doing shows in the States.”

These days, actresses are getting pregnant out of wedlock. How do you prevent yourself from falling victim to that kind of “accident”?

“I keep in mind the advice of my Tatay Rommel (Gacho, her manager). You know, ‘Tigilan mo ang mga lalaki!’ It’s a good advice that I can give to my colleagues.”

On TV, you switch from kontrabida (Darna as the Black Darna, Marimar, etc.) to bida (Magdusa Ka and in the GMA monthly special Obra where she played four different characters). Now in One Night Only, you are switching to comedy.

“Actually, medyo may pagka-comedy rin ang role ko sa Sundo (unreleased, starring Robin Padilla) and in Gagambino (the GMA fantasy show with Dennis Trillo in the title role). One Night Only is my first time to work with direk Joey. Masaya ang istorya. My co-stars — Diana, Jennylyn, Alessandra and Valerie — are fun to work with. Each of us has her own story. We don’t know one another and we meet only in the ending when we find ourselves with our partners in the same motel where we spend ‘one night only.’ I am supposed to be leaving for Macau the next day, and my Sugar Daddy and I agree to meet at the motel before he would give me a car.”

After One Night Only, you are doing Miss X (again directed by Gil M. Portes to be filmed also in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, early next year). Di ka ba natatakot na mai-compare ka kay Vilma?

“I wasn’t born yet when that movie was shown. Sayang nga at wala akong makitang DVD copy. I really want to see it para naman maiba ang portrayal ko doon sa kay Gov. Vilma. I heard that she was very good in the movie kaya, yes, medyo nakaka-nerbiyos.”

On the screen, you are a bida-kontrabida. In real life, ganoon ka rin ba?

“The same.”

Kelan ka nagiging bida at kelan nagiging kontrabida?

“I am a bida when people are nice to me. Then, I become a kontrabida when people are not nice to me.”

What kind of childhood did you have?

“I am part-Chinese, sa mother side ko; her surname is Pe. I spent part of my childhood in Palawan and I studied in a Chinese school, St. Stephen in Binondo, Manila, until Grade 5. I can speak a little Chinese. I was brought up in a mix of Filipino and Chinese customs but I think mas Chinese ako sa ugali. I and my only brother had a yaya at home but in school, mga kasama at kaklase ko lahat Chinese.

Halili is my real surname. After finishing grade school at St. Stephen, I moved to another Chinese school (on Tomas Mapua St., Sta. Cruz, Manila) for high school. I never made it to college because after high school, I landed in StarStruck.” (According to her Tatay Rommel, who directed StarStruck, Katrina was spotted by the show’s crew while she was walking on Dapitan St. in Sampaloc, Manila. She was the only applicant who didn’t have to audition. “She was driven,” said Rommel. “Even then, mayroon na talaga siyang star quality.”)

If you were not an actress, what would you have been?

“I would be selling fishball in Divisoria. Joke! Seriously, I would be in Palawan with my mother. Feeling ko, in Palawan I can live comfortably without working. All I would do is tend to our farm.”  

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