Katrina’s party days are over
BY MARIO BAUTISTA
Spotlight on Bela Padilla
Another face from the famous Padilla showbiz clan is on the rise.
The beautiful Bela Padilla is enjoying her big break being a member of the cast of GMA-7’s primetime soap opera "Endless Love" and her regular appearance as TV jock in "Party Pilipinas."
Bela is fast-becoming a familiar name in showbiz. She considers her stint as Yumi Ramirez, girlfriend of the character of Dingdong Dantes in "Endless Love," as a "major dramatic break." She plays a New York-bred ballerina and the fiancée of Johnny. Early on she gives importance to how directors can be of help in bringing to life an interestingly complex character.
Bela explained, "My character here in ‘Endless Love’ really made me grow, both as a person and an actress. She’s a bit complicated, being obsessed with her fiance but still has to act educated in every way. So when she’s angry or sad, she always has to calculate it, she can’t let it show. That part was confusing to me at first. I didn’t know how to hold so much anger inside, and that’s what Direk Mac (Alejandre) and Direk Andoy (Ranay) helped me with."
A niece of actor Robin Padilla, Bela sees some likeness between her real self and the character that she portrays in the soap. "In a lot of ways I think I’m like Yumi. We both love to dance and were both very soft-spoken."
After signing a contract with GMA Artist Center early this year, things started to look brighter for the young stunner whose dad is a British national currently working in Bangkok. She acknowledges the immense help that she got from the trainings she underwent under GMAAC, those that improved her acting, dancing, grooming, styling and hosting.
Obviously having the time of her life, the recent "Maynila" guest star shared, "I really enjoy films by Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I’d love to be like them. I like how warm Nicole is and how mysterious Catherine is. I could say that I’ve already learned to love this job so much that I want to stay in this business until I’m really old."