Will the real Tessie T. stand up?

Tessie Tomas is one of the country’s most brilliant artists. She is famous for her side-splitting impersonations of Amanda Pineda, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Bonnie Buendia and Meldita. Tessie hosted the talk show Teysi ng Tahanan and appeared in the sitcoms Champoy, Onli in da Pilipins, Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata and in the series Noah, Bangis and Agimat: Tonyong Bayawak. Now, she is back on the small screen as the rich widow Doña Alicia La Peña on ABS-CBN’s afternoon drama Mundo Man ay Magunaw.

Tessie is a loving wife to husband Roger Pullin and a proud mom to designer Robin Tomas who is now carving a name for himself in the fashion industry in New York City. We recently had a lively chat in Bandila where she talked about her family and career. Read on.

Tessie, can comedic talent be learned or you are born with it?

Parang maaaral pero sa tingin ko, kailangan mayroon ring talent. I was discovered in Champoy because I was always joking around the office. Ang dami ko palang kinukulob na wackiness sa pagiging creative director ko ng McCann Erickson.

Do you still remember Bonnie Buendia?

Yes.

Let’s talk about Meldita. Ang Meldita ba, naiuuwi mo?

Noon? Oo naman.

Right now, you play the role of Doña Alicia in Mundo Man ay Magunaw, I heard from the staff na ayaw mo na ng role na mahirap.

Hindi naman po. Baka hindi na ako mabigyan ng role. Kinakantyawan lang ako ni Robin, “Mommy, huwag ka namang maduster. Give me a chance to design for you.” Right now, I’m wearing a Tomas outfit. Already, Sa Mundo Man ay Magunaw, mayroon akong three or four pieces pero sa Amerika mayroon na siyang Fall Collection by Tomas. He has launched the Tomas Brand. He has infiltrated the market.

Nag-umpisa siya sa T-shirts, di ba?

Yes, doon siya nanalo sa Bloomingdales.

Now he’s doing couture.

He really presented himself and the buyers got him. Now there’s a Tomas Line.

Can we already reveal what we talked about off cam?

Mukha nang official iyon.

Robin is designing the costumes for?

The musical Nine. I’m very excited. Kinakabahan rin ako pero natapos na raw niya lahat ’yong designs.

I’m so proud of him. I wanted to do an interview with the boy. I call him the boy because I saw him as a baby.

Sinasabi niya, ‘Oy, may tataob na pala sa iyo na isa pang Tomas.’ Di bale, ako na lang iyong sa Litson ni Mang Tomas.

Let’s go back to Tessie as an actor. How is it working today with actors as compared to working with actors in the past?

Siyempre hindi maikakaila na talagang mahirap ngayon. Kamukha ngayon pagkatapos nito babalik pa ako sa taping.

But how are the actors today? Are they better? Are they more passionate?

I think they are better. It’s very competitive. Ang expiration date mo kasi maiksi. Kumbaga pag di ka pwede, ‘palitan iyan.’ Ang daming nakalinya, di ba?

Totoo iyon.

You have to put your best foot forward and you have to be multi-talented. Manood ka lang ng ASAP. The stars have to sing, dance and jump.

As I was telling our young writer in the show, “Do you know that Tessie Tomas could have been one of the first, if not the first president of an advertising company if she pursued her advertising career?”

Totoo iyon.

As creative director of McCann Erickson, I remember you had to stay abroad for months.

In New York, San Francisco and LA.

Who is your favorite actor?

Piolo Pascual and Christopher de Leon.

Your favorite actress.

Hilda Koronel and Maricel Soriano.

If love has a name, what is it?

Nobody else but Roger, my darling.

If you have wings, where would you go?

To all the beautiful places in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Ano ang magpapagunaw ng iyong mundo?

Siyempre ’pag nawala ang mga super minamahal ko sa buhay. Ang nanay ko, ang mga kapatid ko, ang asawa ko at ang anak ko.

Maraming salamat, Tessie.

Thank you.