MANILA, Philippines — Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan credited her son, Donny Pangilinan, with influencing her decision to re-enter the acting scene in 2019 after years of prioritizing her real-life roles as a mom and wife.
As both mother and son finally work together, as co-stars in the upcoming film GG (Good Game) under MediaWorks and MQuest Ventures, Maricel couldn’t help but thank Donny for convincing her to accept onscreen projects again.
“I have Donny to thank talaga because he forced me creatively to go back to showbiz and I’ve never been happier,” the veteran actress shared during a recent one-on-one with The Philippine STAR.
“Because we’re co-managing Donny with Star Magic so I’m always with him in events and then meetings, ganyan. Lagi niya sinasabi, ‘Mom, always dress up ha.’ Bakit? ‘Cause you’re artista. I’m not artista. ‘No, you should go back,’” Maricel recalled her past conversations with Donny.
“So ‘pag may nakikita siyang hinihindian ko, sasabihin niya, ‘Say yes, say yes.’ So, finally, I said yes and that was Hello, Love, Goodbye,” she said.
In the movie that would rank highest-grossing Filipino film of all time for several years, she played the mom to Kathryn Bernardo’s character.
“And I have not stopped working since then,” added Maricel, who subsequently starred in teleseryes on all major networks — TV5, GMA and ABS-CBN.
When Donny, on the other hand, was asked by this paper on what made him push for his mom’s acting comeback, the Kapamilya star shared, “Actually, bakit naman hindi? Ito yung gusto niya eh. Iniwan niya lang naman kasi for her family which is, of course, understandable. But you know, we’re already adults and (the youngest sibling) Solana is old na rin, well, hindi naman, baby pa rin siya.
“But medyo you have more time now,” Donny continued, addressing his mom, “na gawin mo yung gusto mong gawin.”
Maricel shared, “Because they promised to take care of Solana. Kasi sabi ko, ‘Ang daya n’yo, kayo lahat inalagaan ko, si Solana papano?’ Kami lahat mag-aalaga (they said). Ang problema si Solana, anim yung parents hahaha!”
The actress stressed she never harbored any regrets about setting aside her showbiz career to focus on her family.
“Oh no (regrets)!” Maricel said. “It was never a sacrifice. There were people always saying, ‘Sayang ka, bakit nandyan ka lang?’ Hindi ako nandito lang. Meron akong ginagawang trabaho na one day, makikita n’yo it’s all worth it. Ito na yun.”
In the barkada e-Sports-themed GG directed by Prime Cruz, Maricel plays the alienated mom of Donny’s character Eskape, a competitive gamer for the team Tokwa’t Bad Bois.
She couldn’t forget one scene that surprised her the most about her son’s acting. “Meron kaming eksena na natigilan ako, na I was caught off guard. Nahiya ako sa kanya kasi nakalimutan ko (yung lines ko),” she shared.
“I think, I’m just so proud of him — how he has evolved. And to amaze me, his mom, and someone who has been in the industry for so long, he’s really something na… a welcome surprise, so good job!”
According to Maricel, she knew nothing about e-Sports before doing GG. “I just know that it takes a lot of time away from the family if our kids are into this gaming thing,” she said.
“But, yun na nga eh, what we have to guard ourselves against is being judgemental. We should not be judgemental as parents, we should engage in conversations and discussions so that there is a healthy exchange of how we can make things better and how we can use the tools available to us for our advantage without disregarding the fact na may mga disadvantages yan. Let’s talk about how we can avoid them.”
GG is showing in cinemas nationwide on Jan. 24 and Maricel expressed hope that the surge of theater-goers during the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival will extend to films for release beyond the filmfest period.
“I think yung pelikula namin is hindi lang pampamilya pang e-Sports pa,” she quipped. “Sasabayan namin yung surge, yung wave, and kami yung follow through. ‘Di ba sa sports, yung follow through yung pinaka importante at saka pampa-buena mano sa bagong taon.
“I have high hopes and wonderful wishes. Whatever happens, God allows so GG is ‘good game,’ ‘God is good,’ ganun.”
Given that the film is also a family affair or team effort with both her daughter Hannah and husband Anthony Pangilinan involved as creative producer and MediaWorks boss, respectively, The STAR had to ask for Maricel’s tips on how to stay close as a family.
Said Maricel, “You have to be intentional in wanting to stay close. Like the other day, Donny posted about our date. But it is not something we do just once in a while, we do this regularly.
“You know, I have five kids so I do this regularly even when they were children. And hindi lang sila. Kami din ni Anthony, we date each other whether we like each other or not so it’s part of life, you know.
“So, be intentional. Hindi pwedeng yung bahala na basta nagmamahalan tayo, okay? Hindi eh kasi para mapakita mo yung pagmamahal mo, may intensyon ka dapat. Do it. Work on it.”