Sweet and spicy Angel

MANILA, Philippines - Angel Locsin is not only sweet but “spicy.” She can fire a gun and fight the bad guys. This gives her an edge over the young actresses who sit pretty, waiting for Prince Charming to rescue them from their saccharine characters.

“I love doing action even before I joined ABS-CBN,” replies Angel when asked about her inclination for high-kicking and adrenaline-rush projects. “Most of my assignments then saw me jumping (and rolling). Actually, I did expect to have an action project like Imortal. This is something I love to do. Nobody else does this who is game or into it.”

“(Action) is exciting,” she adds. “I always like to do challenges. I don’t like street fights. I want something realistic and different. That is what I hope to achieve with Imortal.” That’s possible because Imortal has wushu and martial arts experts to bank on.

According to Angel, Lobo is a more intense drama than Imortal. Work on the set is tedious because actors are on harnesses and have to execute the fight scenes perfectly on top of the special effects which makes the storytelling engaging. But Lobo won’t spare her from crying. After all, Imortal is a love story between two beasts — vampire (Mateo played by John Lloyd Cruz) and she-wolf (Lia). “The story has just begun,” Angel says. “We haven’t reached yet the point where things are heavy on action. I fell in love with Lyka (of Lobo). And I have fallen in love with Lia. I’m starting to imbibe the character.”

In the story, Angel is reincarnated as Lia, daughter of her previous character named Lyka. Imortal is a sequel of Lobo. If you take a closer look, Imortal is not inspired by Twilight. It has its own mythology created by local talents. Imortal has also gone beyond TV by creating on-line games. Last week, Imortal scored 35.5 percent in the TV ratings leaving its closest competition with 23.6 percent. Also in the cast are Vivian Velez, Jaime Fabregas, Johnny Revilla, Jomari Yllana, Jake Roxas and Maricar Reyes.

Three years ago, Angel admits she was more pressured doing Lobo because it was her first show on ABS-CBN. She had to prove herself and learn to deal with detractors. She was on the edge of her career to prove her decision to find greener pastures right — and to stand up again.

“I’m more relaxed,” she shares. “I’m comfortable working this time around because I’ve been with ABS (for quite a long time). I’m confident to do something of quality. We’re offering something new to the audience given the (present) technology. What we did with Lobo was (very) three years ago. My approach to my character is different (and new).”

Angel’s signature smile is proof that she’s at home being a Kapamilya.