MICHELLE Dee is happy that after playing an evil villain to Bong Revilla in the action-fantasy, “Agimat ng Agila”, she now plays a glamorous character in the new GMA primetime series, “I Left My Heart in Sorsogon”.

“Most of my scenes are with Heart Evangelista and Paolo Contis,” she says. “I was intimidated at the start, kasi I’m so new in the industry and they’re already big stars. But they’re both helpful.

First scene ko with Heart is a breakdown scene and she really guided me. I didn’t expect it, but it broke the ice between us. Ang bait niya talaga. Si Pao naman is so much fun to work with his good sense of humor. He made sure I’m comfortable working with him, kasi we have intimate, vulnerable scenes. Working with everyone in Sorsogon turned out to be really pleasant.”

She also enjoyed the food. “I love spicy food so I really enjoyed their laing and Bicol express. I’m pleasantly surprised with Sorsogon kasi it’s so modernized compared to other provinces.”

Doesn’t she miss her beauty pageant days? “After beauty pageants, acting is something I now enjoy doing and I hope to do it for the longest time. And I hope to grow as an actress. Suwerte nga ako, challenging ang roles given to me. In ‘Agimat’, naka-prosthetic ako, pinapangit talaga ako. Now naman, different challenge ang role ko in ‘I Left My Heart in Sorsogon’. But I love challenges and I take my craft seriously so I welcome this role as it taps into my humanity. Contravida siya pero hindi naman siya extreme contravida.

We’re just tapping on natural human emotions and I believe I’m capable of tapping it naman. I really want to do my scenes properly and contribute to the show so I’m thankful to GMA for giving me the chance to explore my craft.”

Her paternal grandmother, Regina Dee, was a well known banker and she could have gone into banking or business, but Michelle chose to follow the footsteps of her parents, Melanie Marquez and Derek Dee, who both went into acting. “Acting has become my passion and I really now want to excel in this field,” says the former Miss World Philippines.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Mario Bautista