Andrea del Rosario
At 44, Andrea del Rosario is perfectly content being a character actress. Never did she imagine that, at this point in her life and career, she would still get offers to play a lead role in a movie.
“I’m in my mid 40s now. I have been in the industry for almost 30 years. I did beauty pageants. I tried public service. So these days, I’m happy to get whatever role, big or small,” she said at a recent media conference for her new romance drama film, “May-December-January,” which opens in cinemas on Oct. 12.
“I was very happy, of course, when I was given this project. And of course, I got nervous. My last lead role in a movie (‘Lupe’ in 2003) was a gazillion years ago,” she quipped. “But I knew this would be a wonderful project, so I gave my full trust.”
Produced by Viva Films, “May-December-January” is directed by Mac Alejandre and written by National Artist for Film Ricky Lee. It follows Claire (Andrea), a single mother who wholeheartedly loves and accepts his gay son, Pol (Gold Aceron). Later on, they find out that they’re in love with the same man.
Pol is in love with his best friend, Migoy, (Kych Minemoto). But he’s forced to hide his feelings while he wraps his head around this love affair that involves two people he deeply cares about.
‘More mature’
Show biz is a place that puts a premium on youth. But Andrea is glad to see that new material and concepts are being written for actresses who are deemed “more mature.”
“I was in a workshop recently. And as the older actresses talked about their feelings and sentiments about the industry they said that there aren’t enough roles for them. I’m actually younger than them, but I will get there one day. But I’m happy to see more material being given to older actresses. And I hope writers like Sir Ricky Lee can continue doing that,” she told the Inquirer.
While she’s no stranger to intimate scenes, it has been a long while since she did one. She’s now a mother of a 12-year-old girl. She sat as vice mayor of Calatagan, Batangas from 2016 to 2019. And the bulk of her recent projects were soaps. She needed to reshift her “mindset.”
“I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t think twice, get nervous or think about running away from the set… I tried other things like public service. And doing love scenes again… I had to change my mindset. It was hard. But then I was reminded: ‘You’re an actress. And when you’re an actress, your job is to arrive on the set knowing your script and execute the director’s vision to the best of your ability,” she said.
And with Alejandre and Lee at the helm, she knew she would be in good hands. “It was just a matter of trust… I knew they had my best interests at heart and that they would make the film beautiful,” she said.
Andrea was also thankful to her younger costars who made sure she was comfortable on the set. “It was actually the other way around. I have been doing teleseryes and then boom, I have to do an intimate scene. Kych took care of me. I feel so lucky because they’re such old souls and so professional,” he said of Kych and Gold.
Future plans
The film is a simple love triangle at its core. “No frills and gimmicks,” Lee said. And that’s exactly what makes the role difficult.
“Direk had to recalibrate my acting because most of my recent roles were for soap operas. The intensity and style are different,” Andrea pointed out. “The simpler the scene is the more challenging it is because you have no margin of error… Your flaws get magnified.”
Andrea has plans of relocating to the United States in the future. But for now, acting is the focus. “I always live in the now. As long as I get jobs and offers, I will continue to work. I don’t want to look too far ahead,” she said. “I might be based in Chicago. But even then, I will still probably go back and forth, like some artists do.”
“I don’t think I can completely leave the Philippines and show biz,” she said. INQ