Good Guy, Bad Girl

Article posted July 01, 2008

You’ve heard the buzz about GMA-7’s newest action/suspense primetime offering, ‘Codename: Asero.’ You know it stars the Primetime King, Richard Gutierrez, and new Kapuso Heart Evangelista, and is backed by an outstanding cast. Now, get to know two homegrown celebrities who are both thrilled to play their respective roles in ‘Asero’—Rainier Castillo and Chynna Ortaleza. Text by Rose Galvez. Interviews by Jillian Q. Gatcheco and Jason John S. Lim. Photos by Mitch Mauricio.

The good brother

“Bulag ako dito,” Rainier begins at the story conference for Codename: Asero. “So ibang role na naman ‘to.” Rainier, as with his previous roles in Majika and Kamandag, is on the good side. He plays Nicky, Heart’s brother.

This indeed is a different role for the StarStruck 1 alumnus, who, although has never been a kontrabida, has never played a role this emotionally taxing either: “Sobrang challenging tsaka sobrang seryoso. Bale si Nicky, matapang siya. Pinagtatanggol niya si Heart tsaka ‘yung mommy niya sa lola nilang napakalupit sa kanila. So kahit na bulag, palaban.”

But Rainier is taking it all in stride, knowing that with each role he plays, the more he gets to flex and develop his acting chops.

“Talagang lumalawak pa ang experience ko sa acting,” he says. “Tsaka iba’t-ibang roles ang tinatahak ko.”

Since he’s never played a person with a disability before, was he anxious when they first started taping for the show?

“Medyo na-tense ako [at first]. Pero hindi ko pinahalata, para hindi ako mag-buckle sa mga lines. Para walang take two.”

Rainier also reveals that the cast only knows what will happen in the script for that particular week that they’re taping the scenes, but beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess: “So abangan na lang nila kung ano ang mangyayari, dahil [hindi namin alam at] excited na rin kami.”

He also says that Asero has a cast unlike no other—with stars like Richard Gomez, Janno Gibbs, and Michael V.—and that people should watch out for Heart. And then, he adds, “Kailangan panoorin nila ang Asero kasi sobrang saya, sobrang jam-packed!”

The evil fashionista

Chynna, though just as excited as Rainier about her role, is with the baddies on this one.

“I feel very honored playing my role because most of the characters I played before were ‘gray,’ kumbaga there’s always a good side. But with Fran, she’s very manipulative and scheming,” she says.

Fran, Chynna’s character in Asero, will play the kontrabida to Heart’s character. Actually, Chynna liked Fran’s vibe so much that she, well, decided to become Fran! The most notable transformation the young star recently went through to get into character was having her long hair clipped and styled into a pixie cut. And then she had to pick out all these glamorous clothes and accessories to wear as Fran.

“When I have villain roles, I take it as an opportunity to transform myself and wear all the nice clothes I can. And Fran naman is upper-middle class, so she can dress up,” she relates.

But Chynna didn’t get all the posh clothes and the fancy new ‘do just because she was so into Fran. The Asero creative team also wanted her to look completely different from Heart, who’s sort of dressed down here.

“Her role kasi is different from the ones she played [before]. So I had to look like the complete opposite,” Chynna says.

How about action scenes? Did she train for them?

“No, I didn’t train for this role!” she laughs. “No martial arts for me; I don’t think I have the body for that! [Here], it’s basically all drama and acting.”

Still, Chynna says Asero is different from all the other primetime shows she’s done: “First, it’s got a stellar cast. Second, Heart is with us here, and it’s interesting ‘cause people want to see her again after she was gone for a long time. Third, it was shot in Dubai. And finally, it’s different ‘cause it’s not fantasy. It’s action-slash-[suspense].”

Rainier and Chynna are definitely up to the challenge with their new roles and totally excited about Codename: Asero! Want to know more about how they prepared for the show and if they’ve got any bits to spill about their co-stars?