Tessie Tomas as Bettina in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” —ABS-CBN ENTERTAINMENT/ YOUTUBE
For veteran actress Tessie Tomas, the toughest challenge she tackled when she took on Doña Bettina, her role in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” was how to differentiate her from another character, the manipulative and shrewd matriarch, Doña Cielo, in “Dirty Linen.”
Tessie said Coco Martin (“Batang Quiapo” lead actor, director and producer) asked her to join the cast because he took notice of her performance in “Dirty Linen” and enjoyed watching her recent interview with broadcaster Korina Sanchez.
“He could empathize with me already working at the age of 10. The invitation was through my manager Ricky (Gallardo). Coco and I eventually met when he requested for a preproduction meeting, although this wasn’t the first time. We already worked together in the series ‘Tonyong Bayawak,’ where I played his aunt,” the actress told Inquirer Entertainment in a recent interview.
READ: Tessie Tomas reminds young stars: ‘Ang katanyagan ay hindi forever’
Playing Bettina was a struggle, Tessie said. “How do you outdo or get rid of an icon as big as Doña Cielo? The first thing I did was change my hair color. It took me 10 hours to get into Doña Cielo because I never liked using wigs. Aside from the fact that it gets too hot wearing it, it always looks artificial on camera.
‘Place of power’
“The change in my overall look really brought me to a place of power. I also looked older. When I achieved the look, it was easier for me to internalize,” she said.
The instructions from the creative team of “Batang Quiapo” were “very basic,” she said. “She is the rich wife of Don Facundo (Jaime Fabregas). She is engaged in drug dealing and money laundering. She is much younger than Doña Cielo. I tend to develop my character organically. I never pre-plan. I would just discover it along the way.
“I was surprised that my first scene was set in Quiapo and not in our mansion. When I asked about this, they said they wanted to make my character’s entry really big. True enough, for her first scene, Bettina gets stabbed in the marketplace. I thought, Coco is really something else. Artistically, he thinks very differently.”
Tessie said she loved that her fanbase “expanded” because of Bettina. “Security guards, construction workers and taxi drivers know me now. I gained a lot of male followers. I would even joke that I’d win a Senate seat if I run because I now have the support of both male and female voters. I would get comments like, ‘Ang taray n’yo!’ or ‘Ang sama ng ugali n’yo!” or ‘Ayaw ny’o pala ng tinolang manok.’ It’s the same with Cielo, who has a lot of iconic lines,” Tessie said.
Agreeing to be part of the TV series meant she had to indefinitely live far from her husband, marine biologist Roger Pullin, who is based on the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom. Unlike “Dirty Linen,” which had a fixed production schedule, “Batang Quiapo” is expected to be a long-running show.
“I hope to be given a break because the program features a lot of characters, anyway. It’s easier to fade away for a while and just come back or my husband can come over. He likes visiting the Philippines from time to time—although he is 80 now and prefers not to travel often anymore.”
‘Test of our love’
Being in a long-distance relationship (LDR) at this point in their lives “is really a test of our love for each other,” Tessie admitted. “I keep saying this: My husband doesn’t want it to appear like I’m complaining or that I got plucked out of the Philippines at such a late stage of my life. We’ve been married for 30 years this year, and honestly, I didn’t expect that he would have this strong desire to live in the United Kingdom.
“I was in the middle of doing ‘Blood Sisters’ when he told me about it. I said I’d just finish the show and go with him. My only request was that he allow me to go back and forth.”
Tessie continued: “It’s really not easy. It requires sacrifice. I just couldn’t say ‘no’ to doing ‘Dirty Linen.’ Ricky told me, ‘You are asked to play the matriarch in the biggest soap opera of Dreamscape this year.’ My husband is very supportive, but he was sad.”
Despite this, Tessie said she has embraced her life as Mrs. Pullin on the Isle of Man, too. “You take it one day at a time. I try to keep myself busy. I make journals because this entertains me. I read books. Whenever I have ideas for film scripts or poems, I write them down.
“At 5 p. m., I become Mrs. Pullin—that’s my cut-off point. It’s time for me to whip up food to eat. I think it’s largely acceptance. I miss being there now. It’s quiet there. The air is cleaner, compared to here in Manila, where I would sometimes get allergies. The crime rate is low there, too. But like any place abroad, the feeling of loneliness is really hard to fight.” INQ