AFTER 40 years and almost 200 movies in the acting business, the much-loved Dexter Doria is finally starring in her first lead role.
The 60-year-old actress is the central character in Giancarlo Abrahan’s Paki (Please Care), a highly touted competition film in the ongoing 2017 CinemaOne Originals Film Festival. Dexter plays an old woman at a crossroad, with palpable emotions to control and complicated internal dilemmas to address.
“It’s a very challenging role that scared me when I was first informed about it. There are several layers and dimensions to the character of the matriarch, which needed careful study, processing and internalization. It also came as a surprise, as this is the first-ever lead role offered to me. I have long accepted that I’m a supporting actor and I have always been boxed in that category.”
She added, “So this film, this role, it’s something new, and I have to admit I started having mixed emotions while prepping up for the shoot, and even had a more extreme range of feelings throughout the shoot. I’m just fortunate that my director shepherded me every step of the way, and my wonderful coactors gave their full support to me and was in unsion as far as the vision for the project is concerned.”
It was not difficult for the production team to convince the likes of Eula Valdes, Ricky Davao, Shamaine Buencamino and Noel Trinidad to say yes when they were offered their respective roles. The film is the director’s second full feature, and his first film Dagitab gave Eula a couple of acting trophies, including the hard-to-get Gawad Urian. Noel plays the philandering patriarch, while Eula and Shamaine essay the roles of their strong-willed daughters. Ricky plays the quiet son-in-law.
Completing the cast are Paolo Paraiso, Ina Feleo, Sunshine Teodoro, Miguel Valdes, Cielo Aquino, Thea Yrastoza, Sari Estrada and Dravin Angeles.
It’s interesting to note that in real life, Miguel is the son of Eula Valdes and Cielo is the sister of actress Angel Aquino. Both are making their acting debut in the film.
Unlike many other actors who have stayed in the business for decades, Dexter was never linked romantically with her colleagues. “Oh, there were some who attempted, and passed by, that much I can say, but I’m a very private person, and I always keep my lips sealed,“ she said, letting out a hearty laughter.
Before she focused on acting as a lifelong career, Dexter was able to complete a degree in Humanities at the University of the Philippines Diliman. “Education is priceless. That’s what I always tell younger generations. You might go into a different pathway after school, and that’s not a problem; we are free to go into whatever our hearts desire. But it is important that we keep the basic foundations strong, like education, like faith, like family.”
Like her character in Paki, Dexter also faced rough waters in her personal life. “I went through it all—self doubt, insecurities, unanswered questions, high waves and low tides, everything. But I guess like everyone else, I came out stronger from every experience and tougher from every heartbreak. That’s how life is—you lose some, you keep some. But the memories remain and the heart remembers.”
There are no regrets for Dexter Doria. She loves life and she loves her job. “I know love. I know hurt. I know betrayal. I know being left out in the cold. I know what being really down is. I know happiness, too, and contentment, and peace. I’m good, thank you.”
MORE TO COME
THERE are those who know him as a celebrity photographer, and there are also those who are familiar with him as an actor. Jojit Lorenzo is both, depending on where you’re looking from, and I guess those who know him well will agree that he’s very good in both jobs.
On the big and small screens and onstage, Jojit is usually assigned to play the not-so-big but important roles—a sidekick, a priest, a best friend, a colleague, a foster father—name it, he must have played it.
He is reliable, pleasant, well-respected and easy to work with. Recently, we caught the Dan Villegas film Changing Partners, a screen adaptation of Vincent de Jesus’s heart-wrenching musical, and we saw and felt what is, perhaps, the best performance of Jojit Lorenzo to date.
He played two roles, just like his three other coactors (Agot Iidro, Sandino Martin and Anna Luna), and played both with so much feeling, intensity, charm, sincerity, flair and fluidity that it would be impossible not to feel him, unless you have a frozen heart. Jojit has taken on countless roles and has won only once as best supporting actor—for the Dennis Marasigan film, Anatomiya ng Korupsyon, an entry to the CinemaOne Originals Film Festival in 2011.
His role in Changing Partners might give him his next acting trophy, and maybe more.