The 'new' Cristine Reyes: 'Maldita' no more

MANILA, Philippines — By her own words, Cristine Reyes admitted that she used to be "maldita" (grumpy) and that Diego Loyzaga is her first on-screen partner that she was very nice with.

The actress revealed this during last Monday's virtual presscon of her and Loyzaga's upcoming TV5 drama, "Encounter," the adaptation of the Korean drama of the same name that starred Hallyu stars Song Hye-kyo and Park Bo-gum. It will premiere on March 21 at 9 p.m. on TV5.

"I'm very, ano, maldita," Cristine said.

When prodded if it was because she wasn't close to Loyzaga whom she works for the first time with, she said it was not the case.

She said she had a lot of growing up to do and it came with her dealing with life as she knows it.

"Ah, no, no. I think it comes with, you know, life. I used to be a brat. Now, I think I've grown. I appreciate what I have right now. I'm grateful with what I have. I don't want to burden anybody I'm working with. It's not about them. It's about personal growth," she explained.

Diego affirmed that his leading lady and fellow Viva Artists Agency talent was "nice from day one."

Even her director, Jeffrey Jeturian, was surprised at the new Cristine he worked with on the set of the drama.

"I've worked with her before and I also experienced na maldita pa siya. Kaya na-surprise ako ngayon na ibang-iba ang Cristine na nakatrabaho ko," the seasoned director shared.

He continued, "In fact, noong nalaman ko na si Cristine ang makakatrabaho ko, nagkaroon ako ng duda. Napaisip ako na baka mamomoblema ako pero nothing of that sort happened. I'm surprised na si Cristine is more matured now, more considerate of her co-workers at saka mas professional."

Jeturian directed Cristine in the 2011 drama "Reputasyon."

"You grow and you have to learn to be always better and don't be stuck, to you know, where you're... If it's not good, why would you stay there? So, it's always a progress. I'm not saying I'll always gonna be like this but it's a progress na I'm working on," Cristine shared.