As part of the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival official entry Uninvited, actress Nadine Lustre admits it was not a hard decision for her to accept the offer to be part of the project when approached by their director Dan Villegas.
“Actually, noong pinitch kasi sa akin itong project ni direk Dan (Villegas), nakakatawa na ‘yung una nilang sinabi is ‘yung makakasama sa film. Tapos after, ini-explain nila ‘yung story. Hindi pa tapos ‘yung pag-e-explain nila direk Tonette sabi ko, ‘Direk, game na!”,” she shared. “Kasi kailan ko ba masasabi na nakatrabaho ko silang lahat in one film? So siyempre I wouldn’t miss this opportunity of a lifetime. So agad agad tinanggap ko siya.”
Nadine recalled how she felt on their first shooting day.
“I think in the beginning, siguro noong first shooting day namin, siyempre dumating ako sa set na medyo kabado. But then everyone was so welcoming. Everyone was so nice, si kuya Aga at si Ate Vi. So mawawala talaga yung kaba mo. And I think ‘yung pressure and ‘yung kaba na ‘yun, it turned into how I just wanted to have a good time and I wanted to do my best. And of course, to enjoy working on the film,” she shared during the Uninvited Grand Launch presscon held last November 20 at the Solaire North Grand Ballroom in Quezon City.
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In the film, Nadine plays the role of Aga Muhlach’s daughter Nicole, a role that the actress admits is nothing like her real life persona.
“Medyo mahirap kasi sobrang polar opposites kami ni Nicole. So I think si Nicole kasi parang sobrang extreme siya na parang mayaman, tapos lahat ng vices ginagawa niya. And then in a way, parang may hatred siya towards her dad and kung ano pa ‘yung nangyari doon sa mundo niya,” she shared. “Ako naman, chill lang naman ako. I’m okay with everything and also my relationship with my dad is not exactly the same. Pero ang similarity namin siguro ni Nicole I would say is siguro parehas kaming palaban.”
Nadine recalled one memorable scene she did with Aga.
“That scene (with Aga) is actually very funny kasi every time after ng eksena, as in paglabas ko ng pintuan after the scene, tawa ako ng tawa. I don’t know if it’s going to be in the scene or in the film pero iba ‘yung pakiramdam na maka-eksena si kuya Aga. Hindi naman siya awkward. Parang if ever, if anything, mas natuwa ako na naitawid namin ‘yung eksena ng ganun,” Nadine shared. “Pero I would say na medyo you know, if you watch the trailer, medyo triggering siya in a way. I guess nakakatawa lang kasi knowing kuya Aga even in a short while, sobrang layo din ng personality niya kay Guilly.”
The 31-year-old actress also talked about how she was able to prepare for her intense scenes with her major co-stars, who she was working with for the very first time.
“Ako kasi, ever since, inaaral ko talaga ‘yung script and I really try to put myself in the shoes of my character. Pero ‘yung mga intense scenes rin kasi namin talaga, mahaba-habang rehearsals din. Especially because ‘yung mga shots siyempre mahirap ‘yung paulit-ulit. So I think I prepared with a lot of rehearsing and inaaral ko talaga siya,” she explained. “Mahilig kasi ako mag-imagine, and I think one of the skills that I have is that I easily put myself in the shoes of my character. So kahit hindi ko napagdaanan or wala akong experience sa isang bagay na napagdaanan ng character ko, parang nararamdaman ko din siya.”
Watch Nadine Lustre, Aga Muhlach, Vilma Santos in Uninvited, an official entry to the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival. Directed by Dan Villegas and written by Dodo Dayao under Mentorque Productions. Opens in cinemas nationwide starting December 25.