Rewind to 2011, Janine's lunchtime TV debut. It's been about three months since Janine marched at graduation in a toga. Now she's wearing a yellow bondage dress and she's about to sing Who Says by Selena Gomez on music variety show Party Pilipinas. "I was so nervous, I'm not a singer!" recalls Janine. But she was in good company. Dennis Trillo and Marc Abaya, among others, were part of the opening ensemble. "Backstage, I think Marc saw that I was nervous he told me, 'Just f*ck it! Go for it!' Oops, bad word." Janine says it's the greatest advice she has ever received. The show went on. I
'm no beauty queen / I'm just beautiful me.
It's been four years since. Now, Janine is on primetime news. But it's nothing serious. The report says her prosthetic dentures fell while taping a confrontational scene for
More Than Words, a drama series airing on the GMA Network. Janine actually has nice teeth. The dentures are for her character Ikay. Janine says Ikay gets bullied a lot for not being conventionally pretty. Ikay is, in fact, textbook ugly. She has bushy hair, unkempt brows. She wears ill-fitting cardigans mismatched with dowdy calf-length skirts. (Think Anne Hathaway's Mia before she was publicly pronounced Princess Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi.) An actor's fake jagged teeth falling off on set -- It's what news outfits consider headline worthy these days. Janine laughs it off. She later instagrams a clip of the video. "I love my job. #BLOOPERS"
This is Janine's fourth magazine cover interview this year. That's a record, so far unsurpassed by her peers. I found it fitting to go meta and ask: What's the question you're always asked first? "They always ask me what it's like coming from a showbiz family." For the unoriented, Janine, 25, us the daughter of actors Ramon Christopher and Lotlot de Leon. That makes her the granddaughter of Pilita Corales and Eddie Gutierrez on her father's side, and Nora Aunor and Christopher de Leon on her mother's side.) So the answer to the question? "I say it's inspiring, that it's an advantage, and it comes with a bit of pressure, but... It's the question that I hate the most because I'm so sick of it! It's really always the first thing I get asked. So I'm happy you didn't ask me that first." In case you're wondering, my first question were: What's your favorite movie?
Big Fish. ("It's fantasy, but it's still grounded in reality. I like the storytelling. And I'm a really big fan of Tim Burton.") Favorite Book?
The Picture of Dorian Gray. The song most often on loop on your playlist?
Ink by Coldplay.
After our brief meeting, I can't help but be reminded of her less than perfect Selena Gomez rendition.
I'm sure you got some things / you'd like to change about yourself / But when it comes to me / I wouldn't want to be anybody else. Pretty much sums up the Janine that I met. Good song choice.
What's something not a lot of people know about you?
A lot! I'll just ramble... I don't like cats. I love scary movies. But after watching one, I won't be able to sleep because I'll be so paranoid. And I have this theory that if I really, really want something, if I really think about it, then I'm going to get it. It's like in
The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne), I super believe in
The Secret. But then I also worry that if I think about something bad, then it's going to happen, too. I guess I'm really over-thinking too much.
There's this popular story about [your boyfriend] Elmo Magalona's losing your shoe. What happened?
Yes, he did! We went to Macau, and I was wearing Chucks--they were old, white, low-cut Chucks. My feet were hurting so bad because we kept on walking. So I bought slippers and put my shoe in a plastic bag. I was holding it, and he was like, no I'll carry it for you. And he left it in the ferry! In Macau! [Laughs] So for Christmas he got me new Chucks.
What's something you wish your younger self knew?
To not think so much about what other people will say, because I was always so worried about other people's opinions of me. I was always so cautious about my actions. Looking back now, I shouldn't have been so worried.
Were you aware from when you were young that your family was famous?
I was aware that a lot of people knew them, because people wave to them sometimes when we would be outside, or they'd know my parents' names. So growing up, I already knew they were kind of popular, because people knew them, people I didn't know. I didn't want to be an actress because as a kid, it was such a hassle for me that my parents didn't have the same schedule everyday. My classmates' parents would have jobs Monday to Friday, and they'd be home for dinner. But my parents would have erratic schedules, and suddenly they'd have work even if we already made plans. It seemed like something I didn't want for myself. And since everybody in my family was in showbiz, I wanted to do something else. I think that's why I didn't want to do it at first, because I just wanted to be different. But I ended up here! [Laughs]
How did that happen?
When we were juniors in college, everybody was thinking of what they were going to do after graduating, so you can really feel the pressure somehow. I was thinking, what am I going to do, what am I going to do? Then I got offers if I wanted to enter showbiz, being part of a network, stuff like that. And I though I would be wasting the opportunity if I don't grab it. At the same time I later thought, I was able to graduate from college anyway, so if ever I end up not liking showbiz, I can do something else.
How do you feel about people's expectations of you as a celebrity?
Actually even when I wasn't a celebrity yet, I was always so careful. Like I told you a while ago, my mom really made it a lesson for me and my siblings that we think before we say anything. We were raised knowing that whatever we say can be interpreted in a different way, or could be used against us. That's why I was always so careful, because that was the lesson my mom taught us. I remember, I would sometimes see issues of my family on TV, blown out of proportion. But now, I try not to think too much about it. You end up becoming something you're now when you filter yourself too much. You end up resisting impulse, and it gets confusing.
What's the greatest difference between your public self and your private self?
I think my public self is really a lot more poised, like I'm in line for orals, [a spoken final exam]. If it's just me, I just kind of say whatever. My friends know me as the funny one. I think people who don't really know we would think of me as reserved... or always wearing a gown. [Laughs] Which is really far from who I really am. Now I try to be more myself, and not stuck in a celebrity mold.
Do you have plans of pursuing what you studied in university?
I'm a European Studies major, and I took the business track. It's really one of my dreams to have my own business someday. Like a small restaurant... I also really want a resort. I remember, me and my bestfriend in college, we had this dream to put up a stall at the student-run outdoor cafeteria! [Laughs] We would always talk about it but it never happened. Though we already had a name: Frakes, Fries and shakes. Those are the only things we would sell--fries and shakes! [Laughs] Anyway, going back, I also really want a bed and breakfast. I like the idea of buying an old, old house and turning it into something new, but still have an old feeling to it. Though I think what I learned in college, I'm able to apply to my life now. Maybe not directly the lessons, but you know how in Ateneo [de Manila University], we'd have a lot of spoken exams? I think those really helped because now I have to talk to a lot of people, and make sure I'm expressing myself in the right way.
Who are your local showbiz icons?
I love Eugene Domingo, she's my favorite. First thing I like about her is that she's really funny, which is I guess what she's most known for. But when I saw her indie film Barber's Tales, it's so far from her TV self! It was a serious movie, and she was a dramatic actress in it. And I also like Lovi Poe. She's successful on TV, but she also does a lot of indie films. I realize it's fascinating how you can show so many different sides of yourself in this line of work, and that you can balance what you're supposed to do and what you want to do.
Do you have a dream role? Something you've never done?
A lot... I haven't done a lot of things. Maybe something like Khaleesi in Game of Thrones? Or a role in a period film.
What's the best thing about your job?
The best thing is that you get to be different people for work. You get to go different places, and work with people you've looked up to, you get to meet people you wouldn't have the chance to meet if you were doing something else. And meeting fans... It's really cool that there are people who don't really know you, but they make the effort to show their appreciation for what you do. Or even just people who tweet you. It's cool to make connections with people you've never met.
The worst?
The worst part is everybody gets to say something about your actions or what you say. I understand that it comes with the territory, but it's also what's difficult. Like sometimes, when people feel that... like you owe them something? Or you have to do this. There can be people who sort of want to dictate your choices. If it's a fan, I can relate because I'm a fan of other people, too! I guess it's inevitable. Sometimes you can't help but feel, of I wish he or she did this or that instead.
