Elation has not quite escaped Maja Salvador after achieving the 2012 Gawad Urian Best Actress Award last June 13.

PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) caught up with the 23-year-old Star Magic talent in an ASAP rehearsal, Saturday night, July 7, at the Studio 10 of the ELJ Building, ABS-CBN Network, Quezon City.

The Thelma star revealed that the happiness, post-Gawad Urian night, comes with mixed feelings of unease.

“Feeling ko parang ang hirap pala manalo ng Best Actress kasi parang, ‘Uy! Best Actress!’ yung ganun?

“Siyempre naman minsan proud ka, pero minsan parang di ko alam kung sa’n ko ilulugar sarili ko.”

Maja said that she still thinks of it as a dream until somebody comes up to her and greets her, “‘Uy! Best Actress!’”

“Parang doon ko naaalala,” she relayed.

The actress received a deluge of text messages from her friends and co-talents in the ABS-CBN Network after the awards night.

“Sobrang ang daming nag-text 'tapos parang very happy talaga sila sa akin at proud kasi, di ba, ten years na nga ako sa business, sa industry, 'tapos sa wakas daw, finally nagkaro’n na rin ng Best Actress award!

“So, masarap yung pakiramdam yung nandiyan talaga yung mga kaibigan mo, yung laging nandun talaga para sumuporta kahit ma-nominate ka lang or kung ano man yung matanggap mong award.”

She considers boyfriend Matteo Guidicelli, also Kim Chiu and Xian Lim, among her closest friends in the Kapamilya pool of talents.

BEING A SALVADOR. Maja mentioned that a major part of who she is as an actress today is because of the training she has been getting from the Star Magic Talent Center.

Prior to their tutelage, Maja said, “Hindi talaga ako marunong umarte…

“Kung hindi ako nag-Star Magic, parang nakakahiya na maging Salvador, [na] maging part ako ng Salvador clan.”

Maja is the daughter of the late actor Ross Rival (Rosauro Salvador), also cousin to Bagets cast member Jobelle Salvador, and the niece of action star Philip Salvador, actress Deborah Sun, and film producer Ramon Salvador.