Bela Padilla
It was a tricky question that instantly showcased Bela Padilla’s eloquence. During the launch last Thursday of Britory, the Korean skincare line she coowns and endorses, Bela was asked why she decided to throw her support behind a “skin whitening” Korean product that is trying to woo Pinoy users.
But the 29-year-old actress was quick to point out that the brand that intends to soothe and treat what the company calls “the 3As”—appearance, aging and acne—is really about “making the skin glow [regardless of skin tone] more than merely whiten skin.”
It’s just the type of potentially contentious circumstance that could have been handled with less flair by an endorser who isn’t as articulate.
It was also this whip-smart intelligence that served Bela well when we spoke to her for this one-on-one interview after the launch.
The night before the event, as we were mulling over our upcoming chat with Bela, we saw a post on YouTube showing the actress singing her own composition about heartbreak (“Nighttime”) as she accompanied herself on the piano. Our online “snooping” also led us to the time when she competed at the 2011 Asian Super Model search in China at age 20 and brought home two special awards.
“I’m just a person who’s very bored,” Bela quipped, laughing. “I constantly find ways to amuse myself!”
Noting how she continually defies categorization as a performer by doing “conventional things unconventionally,” we asked her what fulfillment or pleasure she gets out of multitasking and doing different things at the same time.
“On a serious note, there’s gratification in owning something, rather than just endorsing something. There were products that I endorsed in the past that I continue to use even if the endorsements weren’t renewed. But that hasn’t stopped me from using them because, after all, I wouldn’t have represented them if I didn’t believe in them. I’m just doubly blessed that I was offered to coown this skincare line.”
It’s important for people to be happy and passionate about the endeavors they pursue and, at the same time, be comfortable in their own skin. Asked to single out what she liked about herself, Bela said, “On a nonsuperficial level, I like that I’m easygoing. I’m very active. I like working out, hiking, swimming—as a person, I’m very outdoorsy.
“I adapt [to situations] very well. I need things that are the same, so I use products—and I’m not just talking about skincare, ha—as well as clothes, bags, shoes and everything that I use to keep up with me and adapt to my lifestyle.
“That’s my personality. I don’t take myself seriously because I work hard. Even before the pandemic, I was taping and shooting every day. So, I like just having fun when I’m not working.”
It did take a while for Bela to finally “make a name” for herself and hit her stride as an award-winning screenwriter (“10,000 Hours”) and bona fide movie star, with an enviable body of work that includes such box-office hits as “100 Tula Para kay Stella,” “Meet Me in St. Galen,” “The Day After Valentine’s,” “Camp Sawi” and “On Vodka, Beers, and Regrets.”
But the first film that truly made us sit up and notice Bela’s emerging thespic skills was “I America,” Ivan Andrew Payawal’s 2016 Cinemalaya film, which not only gave the actress enough elbow room to see what she could do with her role in it, but also to showcase her sensitivity and then rough-around-the-edges acting ability. That film, we thought, helped jumpstart Bela’s long streak as one of Tinseltown’s busiest film actresses.
Bela at the launch
“I love that film! It was a role I was allowed to play around with,” Bela said. “I honestly think that the turning point was when I did ‘10,000 Hours,’ where I was credited as one of the writers and won [for best original story] at the MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival).
“That was when I decided it was time to work double-time because I felt like, before it, I wasn’t as assertive. I never said, ‘This is what I can do’ or ‘This is where I want go’—I just allowed people to take care of my career.
“But after ‘10,000 Hours,’ something snapped in me. We shot the film in Amsterdam, and I saw how hard the process was, and it really woke me up! I said, ‘I love this job so much that I’ll do everything for it.’ You experience that when you shoot abroad and use a skeletal crew. So, you have to do the tasks usually assigned to several people—hindi ka lang artista, ikaw din ang nag-iilaw and clapper (laughs).
“As far as multitasking is concerned, I love the fact that, in TV shows as much as in the movies that I appear in, they would ask me what I thought of the scenes—like when I did the ABS-CBN soap ‘Sino ang May Sala?’ I appreciate the gesture because it shows their trust and confidence in me. I thrive in the process of collaboration.”
We likened Bela’s versatility and career options to an onion—you discover something more as you peel off its layers. But where does she get the ideas and concepts for her films?
“They come from the weirdest places (laughs),” she said. “Whenever I’m asked this question, I always use ‘Luck at First Sight’ as an example. I was in the car one night and the DJ said something about love at first sight—and I just drifted off and came up with a play with words, thus ‘Luck at First Sight.’
“Sometimes, I just get inspiration from words or a song or a situation, like why isn’t there a rehab facility for people nursing a broken heart (‘Camp Sawi’)? I get the weirdest ideas—some of them work, some of them don’t (laughs).”
Despite her string of artistic triumphs, the latest being her Urian nomination for her performance in “Mañanita,” the actress told us she wasn’t quick to call herself “sikat.” “I don’t consider myself popular, really,” she shared. “But I’m a face people recognize, if only because they have no choice but to see me on TV (laughs).
“But I consider myself lucky because when I get old, I can pull out these films to let my grandchildren see who I was at a particular age. I love films more than TV because they’re more irreverent. It’s something that represents who I am today—from the roles I choose, to the projects I get. I feel like they match my personality.”
When we reminded Bela that it’s been 13 years since she was introduced as a member of the 15th batch of hopefuls handpicked in 2007 for Star Magic, a group that also included the similarly lovely likes of former Miss World Megan Young and Jessy Mendiola, Bela laughed at the unexpected trip down memory lane.
How has she evolved since then?
“It was so crazy back then,” Bela beamed. “In those days, if they would put our batch on ‘ASAP’ and tell me what the formation was, I would never question it. I’d let the others stand in front of me.
“I’m still like that! I’m always happy to see my friends flourish and succeed because I’m very comfortable with who I am, and with what I can and cannot do. I don’t push myself in aspects I’m not good at. I think I’m the same as I was 13 years ago, although maybe I was chubbier then (laughs)!
“But definitely, I have more life experiences now [to guide me]. But, to the core, I’m still the same girl. My mom still tells me to get her water at home (laughs).”