Heart and Lovi: Friends off-cam… strangers on-cam

MANILA, Philippines - Friends Heart Evangelista and Lovi Poe will not adhere to the “art-imitates-life” cliché in their latest GMA primetime series Beautiful Strangers. Instead, they will live up to the title’s main word — strangers. This connotes a far different drama from what the two fine actresses showed in Legacy, where they played competing siblings.    

“We’re totally strangers to each other,” says Heart of her Kristine and Lovi’s Joyce/Lea. “We don’t know anything about each other. It’s fate that makes our characters meet and my character is given the opportunity to help her. We will become friends, you know, like sisters and eventually will become fierce rivals.”

As for Lovi, acting in Beautiful Strangers is a special opportunity “because I will be working again with (Heart after Legacy.) It is such a blessing because I’m with professional actors, the real good ones, and close friends. Working with them makes things easier.”

Again, the realities where Heart and Lovi’s characters are coming from are stranger than their respective lives. “But we both like the idea of being pitted against each other in a scene — slapping each other and showing our passion in acting,” says Heart, “and as artists, (doing challenging scenes) is what you look forward to.”

According to Heart, Lovi’s Joyce/Lea will appear the underdog in the beginning “and what is relatable about the characters is, (like them,) we have our own grey side and we will also go through moments where we need to fight back.” This is especially true to Lovi’s character, a “rape” victim. “It was a very good scene,” recalls Lovi of doing the life-changing episode of Joyce/Lea’s life. “We (I and Christopher de Leon) talked about it na kailangan naming pagandahin, na para mag-sync kami together. We added something to some parts of (it).” Getting back your life after that incident is one of the challenges Joyce/Lea has to hurdle in the storyline of Beautiful Strangers.

Off cam, Heart has her own challenge to face — that is playing the lover of Rocco Nacino, Lovi’s real-life boyfriend. “I feel very awkward doing (intimate) scenes with Rocco,” she says. “Parang hindi siya (Rocco) naiilang… ako naman pagdating sa ganyan, hindi ko naman siya boyfriend, nahihiya ako.” She also adds that such scene should not bother her and Lovi because “sobra naman yung pinagsamahan namin and she is very open to these things, tumatawa lang siya.”

Asked if Lovi gets jealous over the relationship between Heart and Rocco’s characters in the series, Lovi replies, “Not at all. Naturally, I’m not the jealous type. Of all people, si Heart pa ba, na very close ako sa  kanya.”

Lovi will be paired with Benjamin Alves, whom she worked with in the Jerrold Tarog Cinemalaya film Sana Dati. “I’m looking forward (to taping scenes) with him,” she says. “He is one of my favorite leading men. I’m excited. He is a playboy in the series and alam naman natin na mahilig ang mga babae sa mga lalaki na mapapabago nila. There will be a lot of confrontation scenes and there is so much love also. We don’t know what will prevail — love or hatred.”

Lovi also shares that the Kristine and Joyce/Lea characters will shift from bida to kontrabida, and vice versa. “It’s something people should venture into — dapat ibahin na nila yung thinking na bida at kontrabida — both are equally important,” she says. Between the lead female characters, Lovi’s Joyce/Lea has the tendency to become vengeful and she has this to say, “The best revenge is to live a good life. For me, instead of dwelling on the bad things in life or doing the same thing the person has hurt you, you have to let go.”

Away from the klieg lights, Heart and Lovi are a picture of happiness and contentment.

“I’m very, very happy. I’m back to work,” says Mrs. Chiz Escudero. “Everything is just so perfect. That’s why I’m praying hard kasi hindi ako sanay na OK ang lahat. Not all the time that your stars are aligned. Sana ma-maintain. (My mom and I) are shopping buddies again. We’re back to normal… Nakita niya talagang happy ako. When you see that she is genuinely happy, as a mom, happy ka na din.”

Lovi, on the other hand, is happy being with Rocco and friends like Heart. “He is very kind and patient… what’s good about my friendship with Heart is kahit pareho kami ng clothes, we don’t care. We almost have the same clothes.”

Given their surnames, the soul sisters are often asked about the 2016 political plans of their loved ones — Heart’s husband Sen. Chiz Escudero and Lovi’s sister Sen. Grace Poe. 

“I will support him,” says Heart. “I don’t want to meddle in his work. As much as possible ayokong makialam. Kinukwento lang niya sa akin, siyempre mga trabaho napag-uusapan namin. Whatever his decision is, I know pinag-aralan niya yun. I don’t know if I’m in the position to give him advice. As a wife, I have to be supportive and to be understanding.”

On the part of Lovi, she is happy that people are rooting for her sister. “I don’t know what her decision is. I’ll just be here. I’ll just be one call away.”

Whether senators Grace and Chiz will run for president and vice president in May next year or not, Lovi and Heart are definitely starting their Poe-Escudero tandem when Beautiful Strangers premieres on Aug. 10.

“It’s the only thing that I am certain about,” says Heart.

“Joke nga namin yung Poe and Escudero sa Aug. 10 nga. (At) nauna kami,” adds Lovi.