Dina Bonnevie recalls encounter with ‘guard’ who pointed gun at her for playing ‘evil role’
Dina Bonnevie. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Ogie Diaz
Dina Bonnevie recounted an incident when a “guard” pointed a gun at her for portraying the “evil role” of Malena in the 2009 TV series “May Bukas Pa.”
The veteran actress opened up about her experiences playing “kontrabida” (villain) roles during an interview with comedian Ogie Diaz, as seen on the latter’s YouTube vlog on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
“I went to Davao one time… it had nothing to do with show business. Nag-landing ako sa Davao then sabi nung guard do’n sa airport, ‘Ikaw ba si Malena?'” she narrated. “Tinutukan [niya] ko ng baril, ‘Pati bata pinapatulan mo.'”
(I went to Davao one time… it had nothing to do with show business. When I landed in Davao, a guard at the airport asked me, “Are you Malena?” He then pointed a gun at me and said, “You are cruel even to a child.”)
“Sabi ko, ‘Chief, sandali lang! Role lang po ‘yon!’ Armalite ‘yon ha,” she continued. “Dahil lang sa role mamamatay pa ako.” (I told him, “Chief, wait a minute! That was just a role!” That was an armalite [he pointed at me]. I almost died just because of a TV role.)
Bonnevie, who was still taken aback and had not recovered yet from the incident, was then approached on the same day by an old woman who suddenly hit the actress with an umbrella.
“Pinagpapalo ako ng payong kaya sabi ko, ‘Sandali lang po, bakit po?’ Tapos kinawit niya ko ng payong dito sa arm ko, sabi niya, ‘Halika dito! Kawawa si Santino sa ‘yo!'” she narrated. Santino was the character played by actor Zaijian Jaranilla in “May Bukas Pa.”
([She] was hitting me with an umbrella so I said, “Wait a minute, why [are you hitting me?] She pulled my arm using the umbrella handle, then said, “Come here! Santino suffers because of you!”)
“Hanggang dumating na ‘yung security guard and sabi ko, ‘My gosh, ayoko nang mag-evil role. Akala tuloy ng tao na super sama ko talaga,'” she stated. “You can get killed ha.”
(Then the security guard arrived, I then told myself, “My gosh, I do not want to [portray] evil roles anymore. People think I am really a bad person. You can even get killed.)
Despite these experiences, Bonnevie noted that she does not resent portraying antagonist roles and that she instead takes these instances as testament to her being an effective actress.
Bonnevie then shared how she snaps herself out of her kontrabida characters by taking a bath every after taping—a routine she does to help her mental health.
“Most of the time, if you have negative roles and you don’t meditate yourself out of the role, [it feels as if you’re depressed],” she said. “I wash away all negative energy. I wash away all the bad words I said for the role [because] as far as your body knows, it’s not acting.”
“‘Yun ang explanation ko kung bakit mahal ang bayad sa artista—kasi nada-damage din ‘yung body mo every time you get mad, every time you scream, every time you cry,” she added. (That’s my explanation why actors have high rates—because [their] bodies get damaged every time [they] get mad, scream and cry.)
Meanwhile, Bonnevie recently made headlines after she revealed a past confrontation she had with actress Alex Gonzaga during a taping for their 2011 TV series “PS: I Love You.” Bonnevie also touched on this topic in her interview with Diaz, saying her children, Danica and Oyo Sotto, reminded her to be careful in releasing statements.
Danica apparently told Bonnevie that the veteran actress is “too frank to a fault,” a trait that, according to Danica, gets the latter into trouble. /ra
