Jodi on film directing, doing action, pursuing master’s degree
MANILA, Philippines — Given her achievements as an actress, did it ever occur to Jodi Sta. Maria to consider film directing?
The “Lavender Fields” star contemplated it but asked herself if she could really do it. She recalled an instance where director Manny Palo requested her to direct a scene in her previous drama “Unbreak My Heart.”
“He told me, ‘Jodi, come here. You sit here.’ There were three monitors. ‘What should I do?’ (Direk Manny said), ‘You direct this scene,’” Jodi shared during a media interview for “Lavender Fields.”
The scene involved her co-stars Joshua Garcia, Gabbi Garcia and Jeremiah Lisbo. “‘Direk, wait.’ Kasi parang mataas yung eksena. ‘Pag pumalpak ako, siyempre masasayang yung emotions ng actors. I know what the actors go through to reach that kind of emotion needed for the scene.”
“Just try it,” she recalled direk Manny urging her. “How do I do it? (He said), ‘Basta everything kailangan pitik, you have to make a command, mag pa-move ka, masundan mo ganyan.’
“You know what, nagkabuhol-buhol utak ko. I couldn’t do it,” she said with a laugh.
Jodi realized how tough it was to be a director at that moment. “When you sit there, aabalahin mo acting ng actors, the movement of the cameras, yung command mo sa cameramen. There were a lot of things going on. I said, ‘I can do multitasking but not this way.’ Hindi ko kaya. I said, ‘Direk, I’m happy to be an actor.’”
She accepted the fact that directing is not her strength and preferred to produce movies or series, which she’s done in the past.
Jodi, who played Jasmin Flores in the action-drama “Lavender Fields,” shared that the fight scenes in the show are the most memorable yet challenging for her.
It was her first time working on an action genre project. She admitted, “I must say that when I accepted the role, I doubted myself if I could really do it. But I took on the challenge. I told the prod, ‘Please, each and every time there’s an action scene, let’s rehearse a day before because I wasn’t confident na ire-rehearse sa set and then ita-take din on the same day.’”
She was thankful that the production team was considerate and understanding of her request.
Asked by The STAR if she is willing to take on another action project in the future, she said, “I never realized that it was that difficult. Kasi parang lang pagme-memorize ng choreography, but you still have to know your lines. Hindi ka nawawala sa character mo at nandun pa rin yung emotions.
“So parang lahat nangyayari simultaneously, so it was really challenging. So if you’re going to ask if I will do action again, I can’t answer that. Katatapos lang talaga eh.”
Meanwhile, Jodi recently announced that she will be taking a hiatus from showbiz to pursue further studies.
“This year (2025) is a year for me to learn and to grow. So this year I’m starting my Master’s Degree in Psychology, and I want to focus more on family and marriage therapy,” she disclosed.
“The reason why is because I want to make mental health care accessible to everyone, not just to those who could afford it but accessible to all.”
She is also keen on ticking off her travel bucket list this year.
On her son, Thirdy, Jodi said that he “wants to carve his own path that is not showbiz-related.”
“I think when he was younger, when we were doing like commercials and all, nag-guest kami pa-isa-isa sa mga TV shows. I think as a child, it was out of curiosity and maybe compliance to me as his mom. But now that he is in his teens, this year, he is turning 20, and we talked about it — if it’s (showbiz) something that he considers, he really said no.”
The last few episodes of “Lavender Fields” air weeknights at 8:45 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, TFC and Kapamilya Online Live on ABS-CBN Entertainment’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Watch it on Netflix and iWantTFC in advance.
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