Athletic Belle braves own stunts

CEBU, Philippines – A body double for Isabelle Daza? Nah…she can very well manage her own stunts, thank you very much. Playing partner in crime to Dingdong Dantes’ aswang slayer character in “Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2” left the model-actress with intense body pain, but it was all worth it, she said.

She called it her most physically challenging role yet, having had to repeatedly climb a four-storey building in Binondo, among other flying, jumping, hanging and combat scenes.

“There’s also one scene where I had to lift up Ms. Lotlot [de Leon] from the swimming pool – that was tricky, because I had to keep my eyes open underwater, and I had to carry her. Aside from my acting, there were all these other elements to keep in mind,” Isabelle said.

When the film’s Chinese stuntmen saw she could execute one stunt herself, they made her do everything else. Athletic and competitive by nature, she accepted the challenge, and passed with flying colors.

“Not a lot of actresses do their own stunts, so I wanted to give it a try. And I’m proud to have done all of my stunts,” she remarked.

When she told her mom, beauty queen and veteran actress Gloria Diaz, “Naloka siya,” she said. “I told her after the fact, and she said, ‘What??!!’ But she’s excited to watch it.”

One thing she’s not eager for her mom to sit through – and everyone else, for that matter – was a scene of her doing a silly dance right smack in congested Binondo.

“I had to do a wacky dance in front of a crowd in Binondo, and I’m so scared of people seeing that. It’s like an ice-breaker for my character. Direk Erik [Matti] took away all of my dignity. It was harder than the crying or action scenes. I was told I had to look silly, and I had to invent the choreography myself. I had to make the people laugh while I was looking serious. It was so embarrassing! Even talking about it now makes me squirm.”

Having been trained in her former noontime program “Eat Bulaga” to be a trouper, Isabelle swallowed her pride and mustered all her gumption to get it over with.

“I thought, it was either ‘Go big, or go home.’ In that scene, kailangan kong magmukhang tanga. I thank my ‘Eat Bulaga’ experience because in that show, you can’t say no to what they want you to do. Walang hiya-hiya.”

That humiliating bit aside, Isabelle claimed her “Kubot” part is a dream role checked off her bucket list, as she’d always wished to engage in some screen action.

Taking inspiration from Angelina Jolie’s “Tomb Raider” and “Salt” films, Isabelle would be reminded now and then by Matti to remove the sensuality and appear the tough, ass-kicking heroine she should be.

Choosing wisely

The morena beauty counts Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Diane Kruger in her list of acting idols. At home, she admires Maricel Soriano, Vilma Santos, Bea Alonzo, Lovi Poe, and “of course my mom. I have to say that,” she said with a chuckle.

Set to star in the upcoming ABS-CBN primetime series “Nathaniel” with Gerald Anderson and Shaina Magdayao, Isabelle admitted to choosing her roles carefully. “I don’t want to accept films just because I don’t have a choice. I want to be proud of all my movies,” she said, adding that her mom often advises her whether an offer will contribute to her growth as an actress or not.

It helps that she’s guided well by an outspoken mother who knows the industry like the back of her hand. Replete with anecdotes of her famous mom’s one-liners, Isabelle shared how the “Ang Pinakamagandang Babae sa Balat ng Lupa” star fusses over her performances.

“I don’t like sitting beside her when we’re watching one of my films because she has a lot of comments. She is my worst critic. She’s like ‘Oh my God, your eyebags! Ask the lighting director naman next time…’ ‘You should smile more,’ ‘Why are you wearing that lipstick?’ But she’s also my biggest supporter. I’m sure all our mothers are always opinionated. I’m used to her being her.”

Ryzza Mae’s tutor

Isabelle, 26, has also gotten used to the query that refuses to die: Would she join a beauty pageant, following the footsteps of her mom who became the country’s first Miss Universe title-holder in 1969?

Had she gotten a dime each time that question pops up, Isabelle would be a millionaire by now.

“It’s very flattering that people want me to join pageants…they think I’m qualified and I deserve it. But there are lots of beautiful Filipinas out there.”

She added, “It’s just not my thing. I’m very competitive, and had I really wanted to be a beauty queen, I’d have gone for it. I’m all up for competition, but I don’t want to compete in being the most beautiful. I don’t see a need for me to do that. What’s the point?”

Just like the sons and daughters of achievers, Isabelle hopes to find her own spot in the universe outside the shadow of her iconic mom.

Originally aiming to be a doctor (she took two years of Human Biology after securing an Early Childhood Education degree at De La Salle University), Isabelle found the lifestyle wasn’t for her and was instead bitten by the hosting and acting bug.

“There was a time that it was either I shoot a commercial with Manny Pacquiao, or take a school exam. Of course, I chose the commercial. My mom said, ‘I don’t want to support you my whole life.’ Anette Gozon-Abrogar of GMA-7 offered me my first contract. And that was it.”

These days, Isabelle puts to use her pre-school teacher background by volunteering to tutor “Eat Bulaga” child star Ryzza Mae Dizon. Though she recently transferred to the rival network, she makes it a point to meet the nine-year-old in person for book reports and other supplemental lessons.

“I give her homework until now. I teach her everything – Math, English, Social Studies and Science. She doesn’t have a tutor, so I forced myself on her,” she explained. “She didn’t like it. Tinatarayan ako. Sabi ko, ‘No, you have to do this. You have to fake it until you make it.’ Sagot niya, ‘Ano yun?’ Sabi ko, ‘Kunwari marunong ka hanggang marunong ka na talaga.’ Magaling na siya sa multiplication and she’s more confident with her English. She calls me everyday; I’m very close to her.”

Eventually, Isabelle hopes to put up her own pre-school someday.

On her spare time, she trains for triathlons, goes horseback riding, hiking, or plays tennis and football. “I like to be active,” the formerly boyish Isabelle said.

Huge clan

Christmas, she spent in France – where her current businessman-beau hails from –with her mom and sister Ava. They will be ringing in the New Year there too.

Asked how the holidays is typically celebrated in the Diaz-Daza (she’s granddaughter of well-known chef Nora Daza) clan, Isabelle animatedly shared, “Christmas in our family is very big! My mom has 11 siblings, which is now down to nine. We’re 42 cousins in all, and that still doesn’t include their kids, so you can imagine how huge the clan is. May mga nagpapasabog ng money, and I remember last year I was competing with the kids. Georgina [Wilson] told me, ‘Belle, ano ka ba? You make money. Just give that to the kids.’”