Been there, done that

Lorna Tolentino has an offer to do sexy poses for a men’s magazine. Other mature actresses like Dina Bonnevie and Pops Fernandez have done it. Would she do it, too?

"I’m turning 45 on Dec. 23, that would make me the oldest actress to pose sexy?" she laughs. "Ayoko nga. Been there done that na ako sa ganyan. Pinagdaanan ko na ang pagiging Pictorial Queen when I was younger. That’s enough for me."

Has she reconciled with Deborah "Gigi" Sun who went to jail because of estafa charges she filed years ago for the jewelry she asked Gigi to sell, the sales of which was never remitted to her? "Oo naman. When we saw each other recently in Startalk, I was even the one who made beso to her. Wala na sa’kin yun. I’ve also always been nice to her son, Jam (Melendez.)"

How about Rosanna Roces? "I’m a very forgiving person, but I definitely will not be the one to make the first move kasi hindi naman ako ang nakagawa ng kasalanan. Hindi ako nagtatanim ng galit as I feel I have so many blessings na from the Lord. Pero siempre, mauna munang mag-apologize ang may kasalanan, di ba?"

As Lolit Solis (her manager) would say: "Si Osang ang dapat maunang humingi ng tawad dahil siya ang nagkasala nang ahasin niya si Daboy kahit alam niyang may asawa ito."

Is her husband Rudy Fernandez venturing into politics again come election time? "Ay, please, no more! Huwag na! We lost a lot of our own money when he ran for mayor of Quezon City. We’re still working hard up to now to recover from that."

Their two sons are now both in college. "Ralph will graduate from Ateneo next year. He majored in psychology and filmmaking. He seriously wants to direct and is now making a documentary on his grandfather, the late director Gregorio Fernandez. Renz is now in St. Paul’s University taking up interdisciplinary studies, but he wants to transfer to UP. Rudy and I are so fortunate because our sons are both good boys. They never give us problems and I thank the Lord for that."

She has played a Chinese wife before in Mano Po 2 but her role there is much easier compared to her role as Yolanda, the mother of Angel Locsin, in Regal’s filmfest entry, Mano Po 5: Gua Ay Di.

"My lines are so long and they’re all in Fookien," she wails. "Kung minsan, Tagalog na nga ang dialogue as written in the script, but direk Joel Lamangan will order our language coach, Janice, to translate it pa into Fookien kaya nadaragdagan ang Chinese lines ko. But I love my role at kinareer ko talaga siya. She’s really such a character. Actually, sa’kin unang ipinabasa ang script and even then, I liked it na. Pero hindi natuloy ang negotiations between Nanay Lolit and Mother Lily so next thing I knew, it was offered na to Dina (Bonnevie). When Dina got sick and couldn’t shoot, ibinalik sa’kin, so I guess ako talaga ang nakatakda to play the role. Yolanda is so not me, totally different, kasi hyper siya, super madaldal, pakialamera, manipulative. E, hindi naman ako ganun. Viewers will see a Lorna here na ibang-iba talaga and I’d also like to thank our director as he taught me how to make the character even more spunky and colorful."

Some of her contemporaries are no longer active, but she remains very busy on TV and the big screen. What’s her secret? "No secret. You should just learn to go with the times. I’m glad I’m flexible. I can do drama and I can also do comedy like my role here in Mano Po 5. On TV, I host Startalk and I was in soaps like Hanggang Kailan and Sugo. I can even sing and dance. I’m also a judge on StarStruck. I’m really so busy and I thank God for that."

Those who have seen her riotous performance as Angel Locsin’s meddlesome mom, who wants her to marry Christian Bautista instead of Richard Gutierrez, say she has a good chance of bagging an acting award as Yolanda. "I hope magdilang anghel sila. But I hope I’d be nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category. It’s Angel who should be nominated as Best Actress dahil strong support lang ako sa kanila ni Richard dito. And Angel is really good. She has the potential of becoming one of our best actresses. Dito, it’s not only Angel who’s my child but also Ketchup Eusebio, who’s mentally challenged, and AJ Dee, who’s married to Joyce So but can’t have kids kaya pinapakialaman ko rin. I’ve won so many Best Actress awards already, but I have yet to win one for a supporting role, so I really wish they’d nominate me here as Best Supporting Actress."