Jennylyn Mercado taps into her dark side

MERCADO. Her character in “Rhodora X” has a split personality.

If Jennylyn Mercado is still smarting from the breakup of her two-year relationship with Luis Manzano, it certainly doesn’t show. During our recent chat with Jen, she was lovelier than ever—and it was amusing to catch the 26-year-old singer-actress off-guard and see her face light up when, in our attempt to break the ice, we jested that the split had its advantages, after all!

Jen knows that it would be hard to evade questions about the issue—but, she chooses to keep quiet about it and focus instead on her latest teleserye on GMA 7, “Rhodora X,” about a woman who develops a split personality after going through intense emotional trauma.

The dramatic thriller reunites her with fellow “StarStruck” alumni, Mark Herras and Yasmien Kurdi. The cast also includes Mark Anthony Fernandez, Boots Anson-Roa, Frank Magalona and Lollie Mara.

She shares, “I find the role challenging because I’m used to portraying characters who are kind, subservient, poor and aping-api—so, getting cast as Rhodora and her nasty alter ego, Roxanne, is a daunting challenge that I welcome with open arms. Initially, it was difficult for me to find her nasty persona, but I eventually learned to tap into my dark side, because we all have it—plus, we consult a psychiatrist on set to make sure we get Rhodora’s erratic shifts correctly.”

Ready answer

We’ve only met Jennylyn twice before, but her warmth and honesty have always struck us and made us wonder how she got her image as a grumpy and temperamental actress. She has a ready answer: “I’m tough and strong, because I need to be—for my 4-year-old son, Jazz.”

She adds, “You don’t know better when you’re young. The last time I acted with Yasmien was in 2005-2006, in ‘Engkantadia.’ Back then, we were stubborn and hard-headed. Ngayon, hindi na kami pasigaw mag-kwentuhan—we’re mothers now, so we’re well-behaved (laughs).”

How is her working relationship with Mark Herras (another ex)? Jen replies, “We’ve learned not to let our personal issues affect our work. When we were together 10 years ago, we fought like cats and dogs. We couldn’t finish scenes that required us to be sweet to each other, because we couldn’t fake them—they had to lock us up in a room to settle our differences! Happily, we’ve turned that volatility into genuine friendship.”

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and they’re both single now. Is there any possibility of rekindling her romance with Mark? The actress stresses, “There are good reasons why relationships end—that’s why I always say na wala akong binabalikang ex. —But, you never know!” (Beside her, Mark laughs and quips, “Ouch!”)

What has she learned from her recent heartbreak? Jennylyn carefully answers, “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been together—kailangan mo s’yang lubusang makilala. Some things are better left unsaid—at kailangan mong magtira para sa sarili mo!”