Why Lea Salonga signed to play unlikeable character in 'Yellow Rose'
MANILA, Philippines — Broadway diva Lea Salonga likes a challenge.
In her latest film “Yellow Rose,” the actress accepted the role of a character she described as difficult to like.
“'Yellow Rose' is the timely story of a Filipina teen from a small Texas town who fights to pursue her dreams as a country music performer while having to decide between staying with her family or leaving the only home she has known,” reads the film’s official synopsis.
It will premiere locally on January 29 through KTX.ph, iWant TFC, SkyCable pay-per-view and Cignal pay-per-view for P150 per ticket.
“It was a character that is not so easy to like, which I think is something far more attractive than, far more interesting for me to play after having played many ingénues and heroines in my career,” Lea said during a virtual press conference earlier today.
“It was interesting to tackle and to try something where the character isn't really, really well-liked. So trying to gain some empathy from that audience would be a little more challenging unlike Rose who you know is the hero throughout the entire narrative of the film.”
The thespian said she drew inspiration from someone she personally didn’t enjoy.
“I patterned this character after somebody that I didn't like and it made for an interesting shoot for me I guess. And me trying to gain empathy for that kind of a human being. But yeah recently I was reminded why I didn't like this person so it was interesting to be revisited by all of this, all at the same time.”
Lea’s total screen time in “Yellow Rose” is approximately 15 minutes, “but it’s a pivotal 15 minutes,” she said.
“I'm a supporting character and I just hope to advance the protagonist's journey in this. So that is my role in this... And I had a lot of fun shooting it.”
Lea landed the role after her manager in the United States sent her the script, convincing her to take on the screen project.
“He said, 'You have to do this film. You should do this film. Because it's just the right thing to do. It is very topical. And you should do this',” she fondly recalled.
“I mean it didn't take that much convincing to do. The script was beautiful... What convinced me to do this, it was the power of the script and the power of the story and the power of my manager's words saying, 'This is the right thing to do. You gotta do it.' So that's it.”
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