ANNE Curtis: “It meant that I wasn’t just a one-time-big-time thing.” instagram photo
“It’s every actress’ dream to win. It proves you’re doing something right,” Anne Curtis said about bagging the best actress award from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas) for her performance in the romance-drama “No Other Woman.”
Anne’s first win as best actress was for the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival entry, “Baler,” by director Mark Meily.
“The first (win) came as a shock,” Anne told the Inquirer.
“The second time was sweeter and more real. It gave me a sense of achievement. It meant that I wasn’t just a one-time-big-time thing.”
She added: “It took me 15 years to get to where I am. I had to play the roles of a balikbayan (homecoming Filipino) or a sister of the lead actress again and again. I had to do all these before finally getting the award-winning lead roles.”
But she claimed she never intended to win an award. “I didn’t think of it (award) in any way, especially while doing ‘No Other Woman.’ I did the movie because I felt challenged to portray the character,” she pointed out.
In the Ruel S. Bayani film, Anne played Kara, a rich and liberated woman who had an affair with a married man (Derek Ramsay).
Anne, 27, said she has nothing more to ask for: “I’m scared that if I wish for more, God would take everything away … I’d probably wish for something again when I reach 30. By then, I’d want a family of my own … have three or four kids. Right now, I’m still enjoying work … being able to travel with my family and friends. ’Yun na lang muna (That’s all for now).”
Understanding
Anne added that she and her boyfriend, French-Filipino fashion model Erwan Heussaff, have yet to discuss marriage.
She also belied talks that Erwan was against her doing steamy love scenes on TV and in film.
“It helps that he’s half-French and a film enthusiast,” she explained. “The sexy scenes here are nothing compared to what he normally sees in the films he watches. This doesn’t bother him at all. Of course, there’s that awkward feeling, especially when we watch my movie together. But he understands. He would always squeeze my hand. This is not something we quarrel about.”
Anne said she was aware of criticism that her latest film, Nuel Naval’s “A Secret Affair,” is merely a copy of “No Other Woman.”
“It’s different in the sense that it talks about betrayal in different relationships. It tells us that betrayal happens between friends, between a boyfriend and his girlfriend, between a married couple. A story like this never grows old. It became a trend in the 1980s and ’90s. It just differs in terms of the situations presented.”
Anne said what made “A Secret Affair” special was that she had to “tone down” her acting: “I was so used to portraying the role of the feisty woman. I had to control each nuance and mannerism. It’s challenging for me, but I enjoyed it. I did request that there be a little bit of naughtiness in her character.”
Anne plays Rafi, who breaks up with her fiancé Anton (Derek Ramsay) but realizes she wants him back. Complication arises when she discovers that Anton has an affair with her longtime friend, Sam (Andi Eigenmann).
She also stressed that the movie would never glorify promiscuity and cheating. “There’s a moral to the story. It’s also a wake-up call for people, especially married women. They should be more wary of the signs that their partners could be cheating.”
“A Secret Affair” opens Oct. 24 in theaters nationwide.