Maricel Soriano, 58, may have five decades of experience in the Philippine entertainment industry, but she remains humbled by the lessons she learned from working with luminaries.
Read: Maricel Soriano Biography: The Making of the Diamond Star
At her solo presscon for Pira-pirasong Paraiso, PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) asked if she can recall a moment during her younger years when she got reprimanded by her director.
Maricel readily answered that it happened during her shooting for the film Galawgaw in 1982.
Galawgaw was a romantic-comedy, which she co-headlined with then perennial love team partner William Martinez. It was directed by the late Ishmael Bernal.
Talking about the incident, Maricel elaborated, "May lagnat ako, pero pumunta ako sa set. Late ako ng 10 minutes.
"Nagalit [si Direk], 'Di puwede tayo nale-late!' In-explain niya.
"Tsaka maganda explanation niya, 'Kasi yung mga tao uuwi pa iyan. Kayo sasakay na lang sa kotse ninyo. Yung mga crew ang dami pa nilang gagawin. Kaya di ka puwede ma-late.'"
Pointing out the bright side of what happened, she quipped, "Mabuti nga di ako nabato ng magic flying chair. Yung iba nabato, ako di ako nabato."
Maricel also recalled how meticulous Ishmael was as a director.
Other movies where they worked together included Pabling (1981), Hindi Kita Malimot (1982), and Hinugot Sa Langit (1985).
"Gusto niya perfect. Di puwede sa kanya good lang. Kailangan marinig mo, 'Cut! Perfect! Very good! Thank you.'"
Having that kind of benchmark from her mentors, she said, trained her to deliver her best performance in every scene.
A fellow actor that Maricel considered as her mentor was the late King of Comedy Dolphy.
"Si Daddy Dolphy, siyempre siya yung maraming payo.
"Sabi niya, 'Magpapakumbaba ka. Wag masyado matayog ang lipad ng saranggola ni Pepe.'
"'Tsaka kailangan ko raw maintindihan na, 'Hindi tatayo ang tao kasi mahihiya. Ikaw na ang magparaya, anak.'
"Sabi ko, 'Ang hirap ng pinagagagawa mo.' 'Bruha!' sabi sa akin ni Daddy. Bruha raw ako.
"Pero nung wala na siya, dun ko lalo naintindihan yung sinasabi niya."
Maricel and Dolphy worked together in the long-running sitcom John en Marsha, which aired in RPN-9 from 1973 to 1990.
Maricel played the daughter of Dolphy and Nida Blanca in the sitcom, which gave birth to nine movie installments between 1974-1991.
ABS-CBN also made a spin-off, John en Shirley, which starred Dolphy and Maricel, in 2006-2007.
Maricel's body of work, consisting of more or less 144 acting credits, boasts of memorable drama films such as Separada (1994); Dahas (1995); Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin (1994); Inagaw Mo Ang Lahat Sa Akin (1995), Ama, Ina, Anak (1996); Soltera (1999); Mila (2001); Inang Yaya (2006), and A Love Story (2007).
Read: Edu Manzano, bakit lumuhod sa kalye noon para kay Maricel Soriano?
ON MENTORING 'PIRA-PIRASONG PAraiso' STARS
Now that she's in the position to mentor the younger generation of stars, Maricel said she makes sure that her co-stars are comfortable with her.
This was what she did when she joined the cast of Pira-pirasong Paraiso, ABS-CBN's afternoon drama series headlined by Elisse Joson, Loisa Andalio, Charlie Dizon, and Alexa Ilacad.
Maricel related, "Kapag kinakausap ko sila, sinasabi ko, 'Don't be intimidated. Iyan tatanggalin niyo kasi makakasira iyan sa acting niyo.
"'Isipin niyo handa kayo lagi. Kaya kahit sino pa iyan, gawin niyo kung anong dapat niyo gawin.'"
Maricel went on to say that her generosity as a co-star came from her own experience as a star.
Smiling, she said, "Kasi masaya ako sa kinalalagyan ko ngayon. Happy ako na andito pa ako. Kailangan pa nila ako."
Read: Maricel Soriano's Top Ten Films
GOOD WORDS FROM HER CO-STARS
Elisse, Loisa, Charlie, and Alexa confirmed their good relationship with Maricel when they joined the Diamond Star at the latter part of the mediacon.
Talking about how she overcame her nervousness around Maricel, Charlie said: "As in takot na takot ako sa kanya. Feeling ko bawal magkamali. Iba po yung pressure.
"Pero nung nakilala ko na siya, nung bumati palang ako nung umaga, yun kaagad sinabi niya, 'Anak, wag ka kakabahan. Sabayan mo lang ako.'
"Tapos sinabi ko agad sa kanya, 'Nay kinakabahan ako, di umabot luha ko.' Kasi yung eksena may kadugtong-kadugtong pa.
"So, parang di agad dapat umiyak. Dun ako kinabahan na baka di ako umabot.
"Tapos si Inay, niyakap niya talaga ako. Every cut niyayakap niya ako. Pina-feel niya talaga na, 'Wag ka kabahan, ako lang ito. Sabay lang tayo nag-eeksena.'"
Alexa echoed the same sentiments when asked about her first taping day with Maricel.
"Binasag niya agad yung kaba ko. She turned it into something very light.
"Sinabi niya rin sa akin na, 'Wag ka ma-intimdiate kahit kanino. Pantay-pantay tayo dito. Wag ka pangunahan ng takot.'"
On a lighter note, Alexa added, "Napakalambing din. Niyayakap ako. Mahilig kami sa aromatherapy. At aliw na aliw ako sa diamonds ni Inay!"
Elisse was also in awe of Maricel's professionalism and approachable attitude.
"Meron siyang aura na ang ganda niya dalhin yung sarili niya, ang powerful, parang matatameme ka.
"Pero when we talked after the scene, ang sweet-sweet ni Inay. Yung pagka-powerful niya from afar, yun ang kabaliktaran kapag nakilala niyo siya.
"Very sweet at maalaga. Parang nanay talaga. Sabi ko, someday I wanna be like that— yung powerful ka, pero very warm and inviting."
Loisa, for her part, was amazed at how Maricel easily switches between her persona on cam and her real self behind the cam.
"Nung first day taping namin, nag-throw lines pa lang kami, bumabanat na siya ng mga comedy.
"Di ko alam kung makikipag-banter ba ako ng joke sa kanya. Baka isipin niya, 'Close ba tayo?!'
"Puro drama po kasi halos lahat kinukuhanan namin na eksena. Dun ako nabilib na pag sinabing action, ang galing niya.
"Ang bilis po talaga [niya na maging in character]. Yun ang hinahangaan ko kay Inay."