Maricel Soriano to celebrities who want to be slapped by her: ‘Masisira ang mukha niyo!’

Maricel Soriano. Image: HANNAH MALLORCA/INQUIRER.net

Maricel Soriano, who’s known for her fervent acting and realistic slapping scenes in movies and television, issued a word of caution to celebrities who expressed interest in wanting to experience being slapped by her, saying it would hurt.

At the media conference for her new series “Linlang,” the Diamond Star said it would be very difficult to hold herself back especially in heavy drama scenes that would require her to be in character.

“Naku, sabi ko, ‘Wag, masisira ang mukha niyo.’ Kasi ang hirap. Siguro, kung comedy, madali, kasi hindi masakit. Eh ganito kapag drama, hindi ko magawa ‘yung i-control kasi ‘yung galit ko [sa character], lahat nandoon. Mahirap i-fake ang [emotions] eh,” she said.

(I told them, “No. Your face will be ruined. Because it’s hard for me to hold back. In comedy perhaps, it would be easy because it wouldn’t be too painful. But in drama, it would be difficult to control because the surge of emotions is high, everything is there. It would be hard to fake my emotions.)

The screen veteran, who stars as the mother of Victor (Paulo Avelino) and Alex (JM de Guzman), in “Linlang” then joked about Kim Chiu’s character Julianna being unfaithful to Victor with Alex.

“Siyempre, ‘yung galit ng nanay dahil dalawa kong anak tinuhog mo? Gan’un dialogue ko [sa series]. Ayan, na-kwento ko na nang slight ha (Of course, I feel the anger as a mother because you had your way with two of my children? That’s how my dialogue went. Okay, I already revealed certain scenes already),” she said, which made the cast laugh.

Soriano, however, said she is not offended, but rather takes as a compliment to her acting skills the remarks of celebrities who have expressed interest to receive her signature slap.

Co-star Ruby Ruiz, meanwhile, said Soriano’s reputation as someone who delivers the hardest slaps among industry greats may have been “sensationalized” a little, but in actuality, it was the veteran actress’ acting prowess coming into play.

“Noong nakatrabaho ko ‘yung The Maricel Soriano, naririnig ko nga ‘yung sampal-sampal but after working with her, ‘yung unang eksena pa lang na naka-eksena naming siyang lahat, kasi nga diba sensationalized ‘yung sampal,” Ruiz said. “But people should really see na siya sobrang totoo ang binibigay niyang emosyon at napakahusay ng pag-arte, parang hindi siya umaarte.”

(When I worked with The Maricel Soriano, I’m already aware of her “sampalan” scenes. But after working with her, in our first scene together, people should really see that her emotions and skill in acting are real — and that her slap is merely sensationalized. She’s so good, it almost feels that she’s not acting at all.)

“Ang consequence, halimbawa, kung ang emosyon, galit ‘yun ay kinakailangan ngang sampalin, nadadala lang ‘yung sampal. To date, she’s one of the most napakahusay na artista, walang kupas,” she further added.

( The consequence is, since she’s taken over by her emotions, it then goes to her slaps. To date, she’s one of the best actresses, her skill never went away.)

Chiu earlier said that getting slapped by Soriano in the series was a dream come true for her, and a check off her bucket list as actress. But more than being an excellent actress, Chiu revealed Soriano’s soft side when she handed the younger actress an anti-swelling spray while filming to help her face heal after their intense scenes.

“Binibigyan niya ako ng spray, ‘yung pantanggal maga. Hindi niya talaga ‘yun kinakalimutan kasi konti lang siya at sa Hong Kong lang siya nabibili. Pagkatapos ng eksena, ‘Ah, kaya pala pantanggal maga ‘yung spray. Pero binibigyan ako lagi ni Inay,” she said, referring to Soriano’s moniker among the “Linlang’s” cast.

(She gave me a spray that removes swelling. She never forgets it, as only a few items are produced and it can only be bought in Hong Kong. After the scene, Inay lends the spray to me all the time.)

“Linlang” also stars Kaila Estrada, Jaime Fabregas, Raymond Bagatsing, Heaven Peralejo, Anji Salvacion, and Adrian Lindayag. EDV