Diana poised for stardom

Seiko Films producer Robbie Tan seldom allows his new discoveries to be interviewed by the press. But his latest find, Diana Zubiri, is an exception.

"The others kasi are either not articulate, like Klaudia Koronel who had a thick Visayan accent then, or they are hiding something, like Rosanna Roces who was already married and with two kids when we got her," Robbie explains. "But Diana knows how to express herself kaya okay lang ipa-interview."

The refreshing thing about Diana is her honesty. She confesses she is a love child, and that she has stepsisters. Her real name is Rosemarie Joy. Born on April 15, 1983, she was 13 when she applied at ABS-CBN and took the auditions to be a Star Circle member.

"I was interviewed by a lot of people there, including Johnny Manahan, and they told me they’ll just call me up, but they never did," she says. "Inisip ko na lang, it’s not really meant for me to be with them. At 15, I joined their Calendar Girl contest, but at the last minute, I backed out because I got so busy with my classes then."

She lives in Lagro Subdivision and finished her secondary education at the Amparo High School. She was taking up a computer course at Informatics when Robbie Tan’s talent scout saw her at SM Fairview.

"He gave me his calling card, but I was hesitant and had to think things over before I called him up because I know Seiko Films produces sexy movies. Even my mother was against it, pero gusto ko talagang makapasok sa showbiz, e. After a week, I decided I was willing to give it a try and he presented me to Boss Robbie, still at SM. Three days later, they told me to go to the Seiko office and bring a swimsuit. They liked me well enough and signed me up to a build-up contract. The first thing they did was to give me an acting workshop under Abdel Langit, the assistant director in my new movie, Bakat. For two weeks, everyday, I was subjected to various acting exercises. And it really helped me a lot because I felt I was quite equipped when I did my first movie, Itlog, where I played the young wife of Celso Ad. Castillo who has an illicit affair with his farmhand played by Winston Elizalde."

The movie did well at the box office so Robbie quickly gave her a followup film, Bakat, where she is paired with Rodel Velayo.

Diana has always been a movie fan. "My favorite teen star as I was growing up was Carmina Villarroel, but the best actress for me is Vilma Santos," she says. "I really enjoyed her performances in Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa and Anak. I want to be as good an actress as her."

Has she ever had a boyfriend? "Yes, once. He’s 26 and he didn’t want me to join showbiz so we broke up because it’s really my dream to be in the movies. Sayang naman ang opportunity, nandiyan na baka mawala pa."

She finds her role in Bakat, written by Lualhati Bautista and directed by Francis Posadas, much more challenging than her role in Itlog, where she was a provinciana working in a duck farm.

"This time, I play Annie, a mysterious girl who is simple and innocent one moment and wild and wanton the next. It turns out I’m suffering from schizophrenia and I have a split personality that makes me behave that way. Tommy Abuel finds me wandering in their town and takes me home. He has two kids from his previous marriage, Rita Avila and Rodel Velayo. Rita is married to a jobless man and she wants to get her inheritance from her dad, so she gets mad when she learns that Tommy has married me. Rodel is an architect living in with Ana Capri, who works in a crisis center for women. The townspeople are against me because they believe I bring bad luck to their children. But Rodel eventually falls in love with me and even takes me to a psychiatrist to help me find my true identity. We have two torrid love scenes here, unlike in Itlog where I was paired with Winston. Rodel is very helpful even in my emotional scenes."

But with fame comes intrigues. It was reported that a club in Angeles City sued Diana and she took off her dress while dancing in a club in Libis. "About the Angeles thing, someone booked me there without my knowledge, so it’s not my fault," Diana explains. "About ’yung nagwala ako sa Libis, it’s true I was there with some friends pero hindi ako nagwala o nag-alis ng damit. I guess I just have to live with intrigues." Robbie Tan is confident Bakat will be another hit so he is now shooting Diana’s third film, Kasiping: Buhay Condo, a sex-comedy where Seiko stud Dante Balboa will be introduced.