Bea seriously now

Producers who took one good look at Bea Alonzo when she was just starting out can’t be faulted for casting her in girl-next-door, goody-goody romantic roles. The face is hopelessly pretty, her age then – sweet 16 – every inch teenybopper.

Bea is still a teenager, and good for so many more sweet girl roles with her dashing knight in armor (read: John Lloyd Cruz). But she’s also riddled with the angst of someone who grew up in a broken home, which only brightened up when she found a stepdad who loved her like his own. Because of this, Bea can shed tears as if there’s no tomorrow and take on roles that require her to portray characters much older than she is – like that of a lawyer in Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay.

This is what Star Cinema saw, and did something about when they were casting for someone to play Jinkee, Manny’s wife in Pacquiao The Movie. The Star Cinema-FLT Films production is a milestone for Bea, since it marks her first time to tackle a serious dramatic role.

Manny and Jinkee themselves had Bea in mind all the time for the sensitive role.

After all, Manny’s wife is no mere decoration in his eventful life. Jinkee dies a thousand deaths each time her champion husband mounts the boxing ring. All sorts of dreadful thoughts race across her mind while she waits for the bell signaling the end of another round.

"People think a boxer’s wife leads an easy life, that she’s wallowing in wealth and all. What they don’t know is how she fears for her husband’s life whenever he has a fight," says Bea.

Thus, this one, she points out, is no ordinary love story. It’s worlds apart from the light roles she used to play. And here lies the challenge.

"Jinkee projects a strong facade. But she gets hurt deep inside," Bea observes.

Jinkee has reason to be jealous, too, Bea adds. Manny, after all, attracts girls the way flowers do to bees.

Jericho Rosales as Manny sings Bea’s praises. "She’s a quiet person. But the minute the cameras roll, she’s ready with her lines and gestures. She already knows what to do. Bea is very professional," he says.

Their director, Joel Lamangan, adds, "Bea and Jericho are intelligent actors. They get instructions easily, and they even have their own inputs."

It is Bea’s job to humanize the man many people only see as an icon, as someone up there on a pedestal. And she knows it’s no mean task. But it’s still a dream come true of a role.

Thus, she read magazine and newspaper articles on the Pacquiao couple. Bea learned Jinkee is four to five months pregnant. This means that, like most women in that interesting stage, her cycle of emotional ups and downs spins faster than that of other women’s.

On TV, the new soap, Maging Sino Ka Man, is waiting for her.

So too – Bea would like to believe – are her dream roles, that of a serial killer and an all-singing heroine akin to Nicole Kidman’s character in Moulin Rouge.

That dream role may still be on the drawing board, or just waiting for a brilliant director to bring to life on screen. Whatever it is, Bea will not tire of waiting, the way she has waited so long for the breaks she is now getting.