Call her unusual

She has always been a maverick. As a kid, GMA 7 actress Chynna Ortaleza crafted dolls out of empty Yakult bottles.

Chynna, later cast as a junior reporter in the magazine show “5 & Up,” was into role-playing, too—a cashier one day, a laundrywoman the next…“but my favorite was a witch,” she volunteered.

That may have been a tad weird, but this expansive imagination came in handy when she picked up acting.

Although she started this phase as a cutesy teenybopper in the GMA 7 youth show “Click,” she found her true calling as a conflicted villainess in various Kapuso soaps, the latest being “Dading.”

On the big screen, Chynna gets to sink her teeth into sundry roles. During the recent Cinemalaya, she played a suicide hotline counselor in Gino M. Santos’ film “#Y” and a convict-turned-gangster’s assistant in Joel Lamangan’s “Hustisya.”

In Perci Intalan’s debut film “Dementia,” which opened in cinemas Sept. 24, Chynna portrays a vengeful ghost.

She seems unafraid of gloomy, gritty roles, and her derring-do has yielded rewards. She and the other young actors of “#Y” won Cinemalaya’s Best Ensemble citation. But she considers having worked with Nora Aunor in two movies—“Hustisya” and “Dementia”—more precious than any award.

Aunor, she said, “teaches without teaching. She pushes me to be truthful. Not a lot of actors can be as brave, exposed or vulnerable.”

Now, with courageous candor, she shares her eclectic collection with Living Stars.

ACTING and film books share space with poetry tomes and
graphic novels.

She’s so unusual.

Books

Few actors would confess to this: Chynna proudly declares she’s a bookworm. “I sleep surrounded by books.”

She eschews e-books because, she said, iPads lack the tactile experience that real books provide. “I love the feel and smell of books.”

Most girls dream of walk-in closets; Chynna yearns for a mini-library at home.

She formed a book club with a high-school friend but, she said, chuckling, “We are the only two members.”

HER DAD writes long dedications on the books that he gives her.

Several acting books are on her shelf, among them Ivana Chubbuck’s “The Power of Acting.” Her father, Gryk Ortaleza, gave Chynna a thick tome, “Take 100,” about the “world’s most exceptional emerging filmmakers,” including Filipinos Brillante Ma. Mendoza, Kanakan Balintagos, Pepe Diokno and Raya Martin.

“My dad wrote a touching dedication on the book,” she related. “He loves writing, like I do. He was an advertising executive in the 1970s and also directed movies.”

Chynna also has a book on scriptwriting, Syd Field’s “The Foundations of Screenwriting.”

She collects books by female literary luminaries Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Maya Angelou and Anais Nin, along with works by male authors Franz Kafka, HP Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe.

Graphic novels

She is a Neil Gaiman fan. “I just finished reading ‘Sandman,’” she said. “Renz Fernandez (fellow GMA 7 artist) saw one of my Instagram posts on Neil Gaiman and lent ‘Sandman’ to me. Graphic novels can be quite expensive. If you could borrow from friends, that would be smart.”

Gaiman opened her mind, she said, “to destiny, death and desire…things we deal with every day.”

Journals, pens

Outside of work, Chynna is busy with mixed-media journaling. Her entries are stream-of-consciousness musings and poems, with various doodles and drawings. “That’s why I buy lots

SHE SHOWS off mixed-media artwork in her journal. GMA Corporate Communications

of pens and markers.”

One art work is dedicated to “Dading” costar Glaiza de Castro. “It was inspired by Glaiza’s music,” Chynna explained.

She works on the journals at home. “I can’t do it on the set,” she said. “I need total focus.”

Typewriters

She considers herself a nostalgia buff. “I appreciate the beauty of old things, like typewriters.”

This fascination was sparked just a year ago, when she had just started on journals and wanted to churn out poems and essays—using a typewriter. “I like the sound it makes. Words flow more effortlessly for me.”

She is so in love with her five typewriters, that she gave them names. Her first was an orange Brother typewriter, from the 1980s. “I named it ‘Boris.’” The second one is a green Smith Corona from the 1960s that she called “Wicked.” From her parents, she got “Gian,” a white Olivetti that she restored.

HER FIRST typewriter: an orange Brother model that she calls Boris

A 1940s Smith Corona that she christened “Gene” is from her grandfather. “Gene was my dad’s typewriter in college. He said he typed a love letter for my mom on it,” Chynna said.

The fifth is a pink 1960s Royal. “I named it Marie Antoinette but I also call it WiFi because it has an antenna—actually, a paper stand.”

She said, waxing romantic: “When you write something on the computer and post it online, everyone can see it. But something typewritten is like a first edition (book). It is special.”

Décor

Her taste in décor also lean toward the unorthodox.

She found a decorative skull in a store along Dapitan. “I named it Alexander,” she said.

Inevitably, she is drawn to all things Gothic. A favorite screen character is Jack Skellington of the Tim Burton animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” She said, “I collect Jack

SLEEPING Beauty and Jessica Rabbit snow globes GMA Corporate Communications

Skellington stuff, too.”

Snow globes

She has several snow globes, mostly collectibles from animated Disney movies like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Peter Pan,” “Aladdin” and “Hercules.” She has one of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “I order them online,” she said.

Dolls

On her 30th birth anniversary last year, Chynna gifted herself with a “Maleficent” doll and threw a “villains” party.

“When I was a child, my favorite Disney character was Maleficent,” she mused. Not Sleeping Beauty; not Snow White; not Cinderella. This was long before Angelina Jolie made it cool to be a witch. Even with the Disney Princesses, I prefer the strong-willed heroines like Belle of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and Ariel of ‘Little Mermaid.’”

Memorabilia

SHE GOT the “Wicked” poster after watching the Manila production.

It comes as no surprise that she adores Elphaba and the musical “Wicked.”

“I have a soft spot for misunderstood characters,” she admitted. When “Wicked” was staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines early this year, she watched it with Glaiza.

She recalled, “Glaiza and I were seated separately. But after the show, we ran across the lobby and embraced each other, crying.” To commemorate the occasion, she bought a “Wicked” poster and had it framed.

Clothes

Chynna counsels young women to wear clothes that suit their personality.

Stressing, “comfort is key,” she elaborated: “Some people endure pain just to look stylish. I don’t buy that.” She is into tailored timeless pieces like jackets, and adheres to practical dressing.

Unlike the brats in “#Y,” she sees nothing the matter with shopping at Forever 21—even as looking up to Victoria Beckham as the ultimate fashionista.

IN A modern terno by Anthony Ramirez, which she wore at Nora Aunor’s Plaridel awarding GMA Corporate Communications

As for couture, she is drawn to the designs of Chanel, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.

Accessories

She is not into shiny bling or trinkets. She used to run an accessories store on multiply.com, Stellar.

Since she usually picks flexible clothes that go from day to night, she relies on accessories to jazz up her look. “I wear stud earrings to formal events,” she said. “I’m partial to black-and-white stuff.”

Shoes

She loves boots, preferably black. “As for heels, I am partial to beige, black, neutrals,” Chynna said. “Simple, streamlined.”

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