Lovi Poe. I had only recognized her name prior to entering showbiz, with no real grasp of how she actually looked. To me, she was another actress in the sea of artists, swimming around in our ever-expanding television industry. Either way, it’s not like I was into local entertainment issues.
Later though, I would discover that she is actually the daughter of the legendary Fernando Poe Jr. This came around about the same time her eye-catching billboard along North EDSA popped up. Then, in a surprise turn of events, I would be hurled headfirst into doing my first movie with her, Temptation Island.
In each encounter I had with Lovi, I came to find something new in her. It was like putting pieces in a puzzle as each time we would run into her or just a shade of her, I would get a better view of the whole picture the whole persona of Lovi. With this interview, I think I found more than a few pieces that I can add to the person that is Lovi Poe.
…on her first break as an actress
“I think my first big break was Bakekang. I played the role of Bakekang’s daughter although I really sucked there because I didn’t know how to act. I wasn’t able to pull it off so I stepped back from shows because I wasn’t able to prove myself. It took me some time. I had other shows but nothing major naman. Later I started doing movies. I started doing independent films like Mayohan and Sagrado Familia. Surprisingly, I got awards for that which made me feel good that finally I was able to stabilize myself as an actress.”
…on developing her craft
“I guess I got really lucky with the people that I worked with. Sunshine Dizon, binantayan niya yung acting ko, stayed up all night, watched me on the screen, parang acting coach ko. She didn’t have to do that but she did and I’m very thankful. She taught me how to act actually. Malaki yung pasasalamat ko sa kanya. That’s why, whenever people get to appreciate whatever I’m doing when it comes to acting, I always thank her because if it weren’t for her, I would not know how to act. Plus, I think the roles that were given to me, hindi siya yung typical na pa-sweet lang. Every character was different. And I want that din naman na hindi paulit-ulit.”
To me, it’s always interesting to see how people grow. We all have our own ways and experiences of doing so anyway. For Lovi, as an actress, she was fortunate enough to find a teacher and supporter in her co-worker, Sunshine. That part really caught my attention because I had never really heard of something like that. Usually, I would hear actors and actresses tell me about the workshops, schools or projects that they did to help them grow in their craft but Lovi’s path seems completely unorthodox. It’s great for her and even better to know that there are people who would just be willing to help the younger generation. I think it’s a mindset that we can all really use because there is no point in keeping our talents to ourselves. In that light, kudos to Sunshine, I hope I get to meet her one of these days.
…on growing up
“Very, very normal. I grew up, nagco-commute ako to school. Some people don’t even know that. I always dreamt of being a singer though, not an actress but then mas naging actress yata ako. And, I always knew that I was going to join show business which is kind of bad nga because medyo tamad ako mag-aral before dahil yun lang naman yung gusto ko, maging singer. So, it was really bad but I really felt that it was going to happen. I was just waiting for that moment na mapasok ako sa showbiz.”
…on her high school experience
“Lagi akong nasa theater. Pag may activities, dun ako lagi sa theater. I always used that as an excuse, lagi akong may extra curricular whatever stuff para may excuse sa class. Pero nag-aaral naman ako kahit paano. But then yun, sometimes naman siniseryoso ko but I always knew that I wanted something else.”
From my point of view, this is out of the ordinary. As I grew up, I did not have any friends who even considered getting into showbiz. To hear that Lovi always had it in her head that she wanted to get into it really took me by surprise. I honestly have a hard time trying to imagine what would go through Lovi’s mind during school days since showbiz doesn’t really have any educational prerequisites. But, at the end of the day, what matters is whether or not you achieved your goals and there is no doubt that she has.
…on her bad habits
“Cursing. Pero more of an expression and not really directed at someone.”
…on her good habits
“I make sure that I deliver in work. Regardless of how tired I am or how late it is in the day, I always deliver.”
…on being on her cellphone 24/7 and who she is always texting
“Lahat ng friends ko! I don’t know why. I can’t live without them. Ano ako, makulit ako. I text my cousins. Mahilig ako manggulo. Reklamo nga sa akin ng friends ko, te-text ko sila ‘san ka?’ and after sasagot sila then hindi na raw ako magre-reply. Curious lang ako sa ginagawa nila siguro. Magte-text ako, biglang sasabihin sa akin ‘hoy, di ka na nag-reply’ tapos di na talaga ako magre-reply.”
There’s a saying that when you are a celebrity, your life is put under a microscope for everybody to see. Your actions are magnified and every little thing you do can cause a ripple in the way people see you. I have to agree with that kind of thinking but beyond that, not only are these people put under a microscope, but they are also viewed in such a two dimensional way. If you think about it, the masses get to know just one side of these people, their celebrity personas. In the hype and glory of their celebrity lives, they are often objectified. We tend to forget that they have other sides to them, that they have sides that are as normal and un-celebrity like as anybody else.
For me, just hearing Lovi or any other personality tell stories of their past just brings everything back into perspective that they have lives that aren’t that much different from everyone else. They went to school, disliked some classes, hung out with their friends and everything else we would normally do. Just like anyone else, these people we all look up have their flaws, missteps and whatnots. We just tend to overlook them because of the way the media sculpts them in our minds. It’s all about perspective reallythey are just like everyone else.
…on the kind of guy she likes
“I want someone funny. Basta napapatawa niya ako, basta it’s a huge thing for me. Ayaw ko ng someone who is uptight. Makikita mo naman kung sino yung someday, masasakal ka. Ma-fo-foresee mo naman kung sino yung someday magsasabi sa iyo na you can’t do this, you can’t do that. I don’t want someone like that. Gusto ko yung laging game. Kung ano yung trip ko, kailangan laging masasabayan para I can do the same rin for him.”
…on talking about herself
“Hindi ako magaling sa jokes, pero magaling ako sa hirit. Like when someone says something, super bilis. Mabenta naman and I’m proud of that. Mabenta naman ang mga hirit ako. I’m just not very good with jokes.”
…on the year that was
“I went through such a tough time but at the same time, pagdating sa career, parang biglang nag-iba. My personal life, parang… I’m not gonna say it suffered kasi hindi naman but something went wrong and something bad happened. But, yung kapalit nun yung maganda na nangyari sa career ko. I can say na I’m happy din. No matter how difficult it was for me, I got to learn a lot from it. I got to realize a lot of things. I was able to grow kasi that time alone just made me realize that I’m better off being focused on work.”
…on 2012
“2012, I promised myself that I’d just have fun. Parang, masyadong serious ang nangyari sa akin before and now, I just wanna have fun and keep everything casual. Depende na lang if it goes somewhere pero yun muna ang peg ko, casual muna. Kasi it’s more fun that way kasi wala ka masyadong iniisip. It’s less stressful.”
Looking back at this whole interview and shoot with Lovi, I guess my own personal goal was to share a little bit of her personality with everybody else. Being the daughter of an iconic Filipino personality, being on so many billboards and having to put on so many different hats can really distort the public perception of a person. At least with this, I can say that I shared a little bit of who she really is and maybe give her admirers a glimpse past all the lights and cameras. Thus, we have Lovi Poe for Uncut.
(You can check out a video of the interview on mikaeldaez.wordpress.com. Follow me on Twitter @mikaeldaez or email me at mikael.daez@yahoo.com.)