A role Tessie easily falls in love with

Because her only son Robin (a fashion designer) married not a girl but another man (Robin is open about his life), Tessie Tomas may never have a biological grandchild.

“But actually,” clarified Tessie who is married to Roger Pullin, a British marine biologist, “I have grandchildren from my two stepdaughters Alice and Lucy (Roger’s children from a previous marriage). Alice has three children, two of them twins; and Lucy has one cute boy na muntik nang ma-kidnap.”

That must be why Tessie easily fell in love with Lola Fely, the 69-year-old grandmother who goes back to school that she plays in Old Skool, an indie directed by her niece Cia Hermosa-Jorge (daughter of Tessie’s brother Manny). Against the objection of her daughter (played by Angel Aquino), Lola Fely enrolls in Grade 6 after her husband dies. She struggles with not just the physical demands and the stigma of being the oldest student in the entire school but also dealing with a bully (played by Buboy Villar).

“I love the role,” said Tessie who is a few years younger than Lola Fely. “I can easily identify with it.”

As we all know, Tessie has made a name as a comedienne and proved herself just as good as a drama actress (remember her as former First Lady Imelda Marcos in A Dangerous Life?). It’s true what they say that good comedians are just as credible as drama actors (Gloria Romero and Susan Roces, among the others).

Asked how was it directing her aunt, Cia, 34 (a mother of three) admitted that she had to shift her mindset from a niece to a director.

“Directing not just my auntie Tessie but also Angel, another veteran, was daunting at first,” said Cia. “She has been my auntie for 34 years. But on the set, I was her director and she was my actress. I respect the process of actors, so I let them do their thing at doon ko lang ini-insert kung ano ang dapat lumabas sa movie. Suportahan lang.”

Cia likened her journey to that of Lola Fely’s.

“Before studying film,” recalled Cia, “I held a really good corporate job for over six years. At that time, my eldest son was starting to develop into his own person and that’s when I knew I had to set a good example for him and follow my passion. My first time to work on a movie was in 2010, for Ikaw Ang Pag-Ibig which was Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s last film.”

Said Tessie, half-jesting, “I admire Cia because she shows that talent runs in the family. But seriously, it has been an  exciting ride for us. We did have little arguments on the set but it was walang personalan, trabaho lang.”

Buboy, who recently won his 15th award (for Kid Kulafu, at the Guam International Film Festival), confessed to having been a bully in school.

“But I am another kind of bully,” Buboy said. “Ako ang nagbu-bully sa mga bully. Parang awkward na sa movie, ako ang nagbu-bully kay Tita Tessie.”

Tessie herself has experienced being bullied on a train while she was vacationing in London.

“I was eating a hamburger and the lady beside me happened to be a vegetarian,” narrated Tessie. “Obviously, she didn’t like the smell of meat and she scolded me. She ordered me to throw my hamburger away. I was helpless and I felt like crying. When I reached home, I told Roger about the incident and you know what he did? He apologized to me and to all Filipinos.”

A UP graduate who started her career in advertising, Tessie is an accomplished woman who has excelled in various fields (television, stage, movies and radio; her mom Laura Hermosa was a radio talent until she retired). If ever she went back to school, what else did she expect to learn?

“I want to study social work,” said Tessie who is involved in charity projects. “Parang gusto ko i-career ‘yung paggawa ng foundation.”

Every time there’s an election, Tessie invariably is lured into running, maybe for a position in her native Eastern Samar (as governor, congresswoman or mayor of Catbalogan City where she grew up?). So, is she running in 2016?

“Not yet,” was her quick reply. “Maybe if I didn’t marry Roger, baka bumigay ako sa mga invitation. I feel sorry for my province which is not bouncing back. There’s just too much corruption. Masakit sa loob ko because wala akong magagawa. My priority is my husband.”

(Old Skool will premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 4, exclusively at SM Cinemas nationwide.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)