Barbie wows co-stars in new GMA series

Barbie Forteza returns to primetime as she spreads good vibes via the GMA 7’s latest offering, Inday Will Always Love You, to premiere tonight.

MANILA, Philippines — It’s not the first time for Barbie Forteza to play lead role in a GMA TV series. If I am not mistaken, she has already done over a dozen topbillers in the Kapuso network, aside from the block timer shows that cast her as the main character. But it is only in her latest primetime starrer titled Inday Will Always Love You that her co-stars — old-timers and newbies — have been vocal in commending her talent.

Set to air its pilot episode tonight, Inday Will Always Love You will see Barbie playing the bubbly and optimistic Inday Happylou Magtibay, a lechon store assistant whose life turns upside down after making a career move away from Manila to search for her father in Cebu.  

Nova Villa, who plays Barbie’s grandmother in the show, has always known that the young actress will shine from the very first time they got to work together.

“In the beginning of her career, I was witness to Barbie’s biggest break in Nita Negrita because I portrayed as her grandmother in our very first soap together. She was very young then but you could see that she’s really got the talent and I was not surprised at all when there were many offers for her to do drama shows after our show,” said the veteran actress during the recent presscon. “I salute her for being such a very good actress. In terms of her love life, well, unless she comes to me, that’s probably the time I will give her a piece of advice but I don’t think Barbie needs one since she’s always in (good) mood. Ang galing mag-memorize, ang bilis.”

Gladys Reyes, on the other hand, said she admired the 20-year-old Kapuso for her versatility. The former is back to playing antagonist who is set to put Barbie’s Inday in misery.

“Sobrang flexible ng batang ito,” she began, and added, “from comedy to drama and rom-coms, you can be sure that she’s comfortable working on whatever genre. At sa personal pala, tahimik na bata na pagka walang take. Barbie is also serious with her work and I really admire her for being so respectful.”

Another contravida Kim Rodriguez shared that she and Barbie get along well and they often talk about their scenes together before the shoot. “Everybody is happy and we eat together during dinner time. Barbie is always prepared, masayang kasama.” 

Equally-impressed was Manilyn Reynes at how Barbie has been able to get her career on a continuous upward trajectory.

“She’s gone a long way because of her kindness and secondly, we always say that we are very proud to work with someone na kahit ang bata-bata pa lang, nakikitaan na ng professionalism. You won’t ever hear any single complaint from her (on the set). Basta s’ya ginagawa n’ya kung ano hinihiling sa role n’ya that’s why, I’m sure she will last long (in the industry).”

Ricky Davao shared the same observation by recalling the time he had worked with Barbie in the indie film Mariquina where she won the Best Supporting Actress awards from Gawad Urian and Cinemalaya. According to him, Barbie is a model actress for showing dedication towards work. He added, “Like what they’ve said, Barbie is respectful, serious with work and she always comes on the set well-prepared. I’ve worked with a lot of actresses pero si Barbie sa age group n’ya ngayon, dapat s’ya ang tularan ng mga gustong sumikat.”

With co-stars Juancho Triviño (left) and Derrick Monasterio

After hearing all the kind words, Barbie quipped, “Will it be my last taping (laughs)? Seriously, I’m surprised by what they’ve said but I’m not doing all those things just because I want to be noticed or for them to say good things about me. Whether you believe it or not, I am usually quiet on the set because I am conserving my energy to keep me going the whole time.”

Taping usually starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 3 a.m. the following morning “and we do 34 sequences in a day with me in every scene. So, I can’t say anything but thank you to Tita Nova, Tina, Gladys, Manilyn and direk Ricky. Grabe, what an honor to be recognized by my idols.”

Coming from the success of her last TV series Meant To Be, does she feel pressured that Inday is expected to be another top-rater?

“I don’t feel any pressure at all even if it’s my first time to work in a show produced by News and Public Affairs. I guess, it’s because I believe that this is a quality show with a very fresh concept. It will definitely appeal to televiewers.”

The rom-com also puts Cebu in the spotlight as it showcases the unique beauty and rich culture of the province. It will also tell stories of Cebuanos and of the Filipino family. Barbie shared that although she has a leading man in the person of Derrick Monasterio, the story will not concentrate on the love angle but more on the longing of a daughter for her father’s love.

That’s why, she need not look sexy in a two-piece while shooting a scene on a beach. “This time, I’m on a one-piece suit unlike in Meant To Be.”

Asked if boyfriend Jak Roberto limits her from wearing sexy outfits, Barbie said that he has always been supportive of her on- and off-cam. She is proud that Jak is doing well in Contessa as one of the leading men of Glaiza de Castro. The past few days, the two have seldom seen each other due to their respective taping schedules. They are content with texting or making phone calls every single day.

“You cannot really avoid that kind of situation if you are both in showbiz so I can say that our relationship is fine. We go out on dates pa rin naman, nakakapag-mall pa rin.”

Barbie blushed and expressed surprise when asked about intimate moments with boyfriend. “Wow! No, Jak is a gentleman and when it comes to intimacy, I think, we are not in a rush. I mean, kung ano lang ang ibigay ko kung sinabi kong holding hands lang, fine. Hindi naman s’ya mapusok sa ganung bagay. He’s a real gentleman.”

Asked about her stand on pre-marital sex, Barbie said that she has no experience yet and she is not in the position to tell anyone that a girl should remain pure until the day of her wedding.

“It depends on the person and we don’t share the same opinion when it comes to that subject so I cannot really speak for everyone. It’s a very sensitive matter.”

She continued, “But for me, I want to (preserve) myself for the right one. How will I know if he’s the right one? I don’t know yet and I’m still trying to figure out (laughs).”

(Inday Will Always Love You also stars Juancho Trivino, Tina Paner, Charisse and Charlotte Hermoso, Kimpoy Feliciano, Buboy Villar and fliptop artists Mzhayt and Price Tagg. Directors are Monti Parungao and Rember Gelera with head writers Zig Dulay and Nathan Arciaga.)