A different Nadine Lustre veers away from ‘romance and kilig’ in suspense-thriller ‘Greed’

Nadine Lustre

Nadine Lustre couldn’t help but feel a little rusty on the set of the suspense thriller film “Greed”—her first acting project since the pandemic hit. And the fact that the genre is out of her comfort zone only made things more challenging.

But with the guidance of her director, Yam Llaranas, the 28-year-old star eventually got her acting groove back.

“There were times when I was doubting myself. It felt weird because I hadn’t acted in a while. It was awkward at first and I wasn’t sure if I was missing something or if what I was doing was right,” she told the Inquirer in a recent Zoom conference for the movie, which is now available for streaming on Vivamax.

“I was always asking Direk Yam, ‘Am I doing it right? OK po ba?’” she added. “But the good thing about him is that he pushed me and he was always there if I needed information or if there were things I wanted to clarify.”

“Greed” follows the lives of Kichi (Nadine) and Tommy (Diego Loyzaga), a young couple in a remote rural town whose dreams of escaping poverty materializes when they hit the jackpot in the lottery. They decide to keep the news to themselves. But just as they were planning to move to another village and start anew, their friend Dado (Epy Quizon) gets wind of their dumb luck.

Dado tries to steal the winning ticket, setting off a series of greed-fueled schemes and violent encounters.

“This is the kind of acting piece I have been wanting to try ever since, because most of my previous films were romance or romantic-comedies. I was so excited when I was told about the story. It was interesting and I thought that I really had to do this. I want to get challenged and not just do things I know I can do. Growth comes from stepping out of your comfort zone,” she pointed out.

What Nadine loves about her character is how she develops and grows throughout the story, which escalates into an intense climax toward the end.

Drastic turnaround

Scene from “Greed”

“Kichie starts out as sweet and simple. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. You really see a drastic turnaround in her character. She will have you wondering, ‘Is this still the same character?’” she said.

“There was an intensity that involved violence and anger. And it was difficult. I’m used to sustaining my emotions when I’m sad or crying. But this one’s different. I thought I was going to faint or have a heart attack afterward,” she said, laughing.

In line with the theme of the film, Nadine was also asked about her relationship with money and its effect on her. She recalled that she used to indulge in material things when she was younger and had just started earning.

“There was a time when I was young when I wanted to enjoy the money coming in. I forgot that I have to also to save for my future. I spent it on material things, eating out, designer stuff. In a way I think it was understandable because of my line of work, but I just didn’t know how to save back then,” she said.

Breadwinner

“I’m a breadwinner, so whenever I got my talent fee, I would spend it on the family, my siblings’ tuition. And when I started earning more because of movies, teleseryes and endorsements, I started spending for myself, because I didn’t always have the means to buy the things I like,” she said. “But now that I’m older, I’m now wise with my finances.”

Moving forward, Nadine said she would like to do more projects in the same vein as “Greed.”

“I’m more particular now with the projects I do. I don’t want to be redundant. If it’s something I have already done before, I want to move on from that. I think I will be veering away from romance and kilig, because I don’t want to be stuck there. I want people to see a different Nadine,” she said.