I will never go bold - Chynna Ortaleza
By Antonette R. ValdezPublished in Manila Bulletin (09/25/2005)
Having been in showbusiness for six years now, pretty actress Chynna Ortaleza has arrived at that certain point in her career where she's ready to expose more of herself on the field of acting.
These days, you'll no longer see a lanky Chynna strutting around in her mid riff T-shirts and jeans because the 22-year-old actress has transcended that look to take on a new one classified as sexy and mature.
"I like to show people I can tackle different kinds of roles. I can be a wholesome performer now and play an anti-hero character afterwards. It's a good exercise as an actress," explained Chynna when asked of the reason behind her change of image.
As Rebecca on GMA-7's "Sugo," Chynna said she is enjoying every scene in that teleserye which requires her to be bad and pitiable at the same time. Playing villainess anyway has been this young actress' long-time dream and now that she gets to do it on TV, she's not about to let go of this opportunity.
"It's so fun to play kontrabida and I'm lucky that 'Sugo' has a very nice staff who is willing to take suggestions from their artists. As Rebecca I'm full of angst in this show. My scenes are getting more exciting because most of these are with Amy Austria whom I enjoy working with. She's such a nice person and it's fun to be with her because she's like a mom to me. She helps me out whenever we're doing a scene together, ang galing niya sumalo," shared Chynna.
Although she enjoys playing bad in front of the cameras, which is something she didn't see coming until her daring photos on the pages of Pump Magazine convinced the executives of GMA that she has the makings of a genuine actress, Chynna still refuses to disrobe literally before the eyes of moviegoers. She even denied the rumor that she had her breasts enhanced in order to be noticed for a sexy project.
"I got fat that's why my breasts seem bigger now pero wala akong pinagawa. But I am indeed very happy with the outcome of Pump because it helped me change my image. I will never go bold though. I can do sexy but I'm not going to take off all my clothes before the camera," she confirmed.
Of course her boyfriend of two years and three months now, 20-year-old Railey Valeroso, a former talent of GMA-7 who's now with ABS-CBN, has nothing to do with Chynna's decision. In fact, when asked if she can imagine herself leaving Railey in the country if the possibility to work in Hollywood comes along, Chynna was quick to say yes.
"Railey would always tell me 'if there's something good and big out there for you, go for it. I'll just be here.' We always support each other. I guess that's the best thing about being in a relationship. You learn to think of other people and not just yourself. There was a point in my relationship with Railey that made me mature," explained Chynna.
Chynna doesn't want to hide under sheep's skin by claiming she and Railey are constantly on the smooth lane that's why their relationship has never been a subject of controversy. Like other couples they, too, have problems to deal with. However, unlike other young showbiz couples, Chynna and Railey prefer to keep their relationship away from the prying eyes of the public.
"It's enough that people know Railey and I share something special but to let them know about what's happening to us in private is unhealthy. There's a private side to us that people shouldn't know about anymore. All I know is that Railey has helped me mature as a person and as an actress because he is too mature for his age," cleared Chynna.
As she has matured, Chynna has inevitably been handed more challenging roles to portray aside from her current assignment on "Sugo." This coming Thursday, Sept. 29, on GMA-7's "Magpakailanman," Chynna will be cast as Bobbi Mercado, daughter of singer and pageant host Eddie Mercado.
Born and raised in a happy home with parents whom she would describe as open-minded and two reliable brothers, Chynna said taking on the complicated life of Bobbi on "Magpakailanman" was a real challenge for her.
"I told our director, Argel Joseph, that I can handle the crying scenes pero nahirapan ako when it was time to act like a drug addict. Bobbi used to take drugs kasi and I had no idea how a drug addict looks like but Direk Argel was very supportive of me," recounted Chynna who stars with Ariel Rivera, Biboy Ramirez, Cid Lucero, Dino Guevarra, and Gio Alvarez in this drama anthology.
Asking Chynna of another passion which she intends to pursue would be pointless because this youngster could already see herself growing old in the world of entertainment.
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