Princess Punzalan, one of the country's top villains, is back on Philippine TV through The Last Prince, GMA-7's first fantaserye for 2010. In an interview with PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) last Wednesday, January 6, the U.S.-based Filipina actress said she took the chance to do a short project while she's vacationing here.
"At least kahit, sa konting panahon na nakapagbakasyon ako dito, nakatikim ako ng konting camera muli. Siyempre, alam niyo na ang isang artista daw ay di napapagod sa pagiging isang artista. So, hahanap-hanapin ng katawan mo ang pag arte, so nagpapasalamat ako sa GMA at napagbigyan ako ng pagkakataon ngayon," said the actress who was known for her kontrabida roles in the past.
In The Last Prince, Princess plays Alwana, an evil witch who wishes to rule Paladino. The Last Prince stars Aljur Abrenica and Kris Bernal, the tandem dubbed by GMA-7 as the "Royal Teen Couple of Primetime."
Princess praised the lead character of this fantaserye. "Si Aljur, ang gusto ko sa kanya, seryoso siya sa trabaho, very respectful sa lahat ng trabaho. Saka very pleasant, gusto ko siya, at saka yung maamo, yung hindi maangas," she said.
Princess said the love team partners are easy to work with. "Magaan ang [pakiramdam ko] sa kanilang dalawa," she added.
CHANGES IN PHILIPPINE TV. Princess's last project for television before she moved to the United States was the 2005 afternoon drama Now and Forever, which aired on GMA-7. In August 2009, viewers were able to watch Princess on ABS-CBN's drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya.
PEP asked Princess how she would compare Philippine television then and now.
"Ngayon parang mas bongga, mas malaki ang budget. I guess siguro it helps na worldwide na ang market ng both networks. Yun, so mas merong tulong yung malaking market," she said.
She admitted, however, that she has not much time to watch Pinoy TV shows so she is not familiar with the new stars of today. Princess is currently taking up a Nursing degree in California.
When asked to name the most effective kontrabida today, she pointed out, "I'll be honest with you hindi ako updated sa mga bagong artista ngayon so, siguro kailangan panoorin ko muna sila lahat bago ako makapaggawa ng decision."
But Princess added that she sometimes watches Tagalog movies so she could preserve her acting chops. It will be recalled that she won a Best Actress award during the 1998 Star Awards for TV for ABS-CBN's Mula sa Puso.
"Sa America, pag nanunuod ako, nakakapanood ako ng Tagalog. Iniisip ko kung ako yung artista anung gagawin ko. Anong arte ang gagawin ko, papano ko i-dedeliver yung line. So kahit papano, alam mo dahil yung gusto mo yung creative juices ko parang kailangan nang [may] mapupuntahan, lumabas so medyo napapaganun, ayun napapa-praktis praktis."
Princess is set to return abroad before the end of January to resume her studies. She said even if she does not have enough time to appear in Pinoy TV shows, maybe she can schedule to act in an indie film.
"Scheduling lang talaga kahit nandoon ako, mag-su-shooting dun sa America," Princess said.