How Do You Talk to an Angel?

Three things to keep in mind when you’re interviewing Angel Locsin:

1. Play it cool. Tell your heart to stop bouncing around your chest cavity. She is drop-dead gorgeous, but you can’t let that turn you into a stuttering puddle of mush. You’re a professional, damn it! 2. Expect her to be extraordinarily nice. So nice, in fact, that she’ll offer to hold the recorder for you even after a grueling 6-hour shoot for UNO’s twelfth anniversary. It will be difficult to say “no.” 3. Prepare for the interview to go way past your 15-minute time limit. There will come a point where she’s asking you the questions, because that’s just how things go when someone’s a lovely conversationalist.

It’s hard to imagine that Angel’s career has been active for over 15 years (that’s three full years longer than UNO, if you’re keeping count). She’s still not used to it herself; “Kailangan ko lang mag-pretend na sanay ako, pero honestly, pag tinatawag akong Angel Locsin – yung buong-buong ‘Angel Locsin!’ – nahihiya pa ako,” she says of encounters with random strangers who recognize her on the street.

“Ewan ko. Siguro hindi kasi ako sanay na maraming nakakakilala sa akin before… Dati kasi, hindi ako lumalabas, kaya kapag maraming taong nakakakilala sa akin, parang nakakaoverwhelm din minsan. Pero nakakatuwa rin naman!”

Angel is a bonafide star, however, reaching household-name status with leading roles in both and . She’s set to reprise her role in the latter with an upcoming movie this year, and is also currently working on a yet-untitled project with the legendary . Even her love life bears the mark of celebrity – she speaks glowingly of her boyfriend Luis Manzano when given the chance, and won’t let up about his sense of humor once you get her started on it.

But to listen to her speak of her career is to be treated to a treasure trove of self-deprecating jokes and stories that are strangely relatable, despite unfamiliar circumstances. Take, for example, the lessons she’s learned about the perils of playing flying character:

“Iba rin ang naitulong ng Darna sa career ko. Natuto akong matulog sa harness nung time na ‘yun. Sobrang pagod. Ang sakit nun ha? At pag-gising ko, tinatawanan ako ng lahat ng tao. Ang saya, di ba?”

“’Tsaka sinabit ako sa EDSA, sa may Monumento – nakakatawa kasi yung mga kakilala ko, dumadaan bumubusina, ‘Gel, anong ginagawa mo diyan?!’ Tapos nakasabit ka lang dun, di ba? Hiyang-hiya ako nun talaga.”

She’s quick to add her appreciation for everything and everyone involved after each story, though. “Pero masaya kasi talaga yung grupo namin, kahit medyo ngarag, so yun, makakalimutan niyo [yung hiya].”

Showbiz, however, isn’t really something she talks about, at least in a traditional sense. Conversations often veer off track, instead moving to things that connect with her on an emotional level. It’s refreshing, really, to do an interview where you’re the one having trouble keeping things on-topic. Angel enjoys simply chatting, and it’s far too difficult not to oblige.

So, instead of things like “Best Career Memories” and “Favorite People to Work With”, you’ll find yourselves talking more about that time she was really, really craving kropek – specifically, those long orange prawn crackers that see being sold only by street vendors – and found herself obsessed with getting them for days.

“May time na nag-crave ako ng kropek – yung may picture ng hipon. Yung straight lang? Yung binebenta sa kalye? Merong ibang kropek na piniprito na gusto ko naman, pero yung time na ‘yun, gusto ko talaga yung mahaba na ‘yun. Umikot ako sa Commonwealth, sa EDSA… Tatlong araw na akong nagiikot, ha? Nagte-tweet na ako kung saan makakabili ng ganung kropek, nabarkada ko na lahat ng mga mambabalot sa Commonwealth, wala talaga. After ONE WEEK, nakita ko siya finally sa EDSA – ayun, okay na ako.”

As the conversation goes on, you’ll find that she seems remarkably grounded because that’s who she really is – someone real who just so happens to work in an industry that seems manufactured and pre- packaged, where people are expected to answer things in a certain way.

Perhaps that’s why so many people follow her on social media (as of writing, she has 6.14 million followers on alone). In an online climate where self-promotion accounts for more or less 30% of the content on an average celebrity’s timeline, you’ll find Angel sharing her thoughts and feelings as they come, without filter.

Whatever you see on her accounts, that’s who she is in real life, and who Angel Locsin is is a funny, honest woman who tries her damned best to be a positive presence in people’s lives. And yes, that expands to her work as well; sometimes, emotionally so:

“Yung Legal Wife, hindi ko makakalimutan kasi nung birthday ko, nagbe-breakdown ako kasi yun yung time na nalaman ko na yung asawa dun sa story, ‘tsaka yung best friend ko, may affair. Umiiyak ako kasi yun yung eksena ko, tapos kailangan kong ipakita yung pain ng mga nanonood na legal wives.”

“Siyempre gusto ko mag-enjoy sa birthday ko, pero feeling ko kasi may responsibility ako sa show, sa viewers, dahil pinagkakatiwalaan ka ng mga tao na ipakita ang pinagdadaan nila sa buhay. Kapag nakaka-relate sila, minsan gumagaan ang loob nila, kaya feeling ko rin nakakatulong din ang ginagawa ko. Ganun din ako kapag nanonood ng sine, as in ‘Ayun! Ayun nga ang nararamdaman ko!’ Kaya ko rin minahal ang trabahong ito.”

She’ll also smile through minor injuries through the course of a show – especially when she’s playing Darna – because she understands how important it is for kids to look up to someone, and how crucial it is that the fantasy isn’t broken. It doesn’t matter to her if she stumbles during a live performance as the heroine (as she once did); she’ll power through it because that’s what she believes her fans need.

Known as an early and earnest responder to calamities, Angel also shares a soft spot for several advocacies. She gets involved with women’s rights groups, as well as those for children. “Wala naman akong fine-favor na advocacy – depende kung saan talaga kailangan ng tulong – pero bilang babae at siyempre naging bata din ako, yun talaga yung malapit sa puso ko. Pero siyempre kung merong ibang nangangailan ng tulong, ba’t natin dedemahin, di ba?”

Of course, even when she isn’t living up to her namesake in socially responsible ways, Angel is simply a pleasure to be around. She says she’s always laughing, and you’ll see she isn’t kidding. Ask her what her tattoos mean, and she’ll joke, “Aray, ang sakit.”

Ask her what she likes reading, and she’ll answer, “Anything except… an encyclopedia. Mahilig talaga akong magbasa! Pero siguro hindi habang nagtatrabaho kasi nahahalo ko yung binabasa ko dun sa character ko.”

Ask her what her hobby is, and she’ll say, “Complaining. Pero huy, joke lang yun ha?” And she’ll crack that famous smile of hers when she catches that split-second of disbelief on your face.

And she is, in the truest sense, a child of the 90s. She recalls growing up reading R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps, renting out Archie comics to her classmates, and rocking out to both grunge music and the earworm dramatics of Aegis. She’ll even sing a few bars of her favorite commercial jingles from that era if they ever come up in conversation (they probably will, and you probably shouldn’t resist the urge to sing along).

So, what’s it like to really have a conversation with Angel Locsin? Normal, in a good way. You’ll see her sit in a makeup chair for two straight hours, getting herself updated on the personal lives of her makeup artist and hairdressers; pausing in between to take a snapshot or two with an excited fan; stand in front of the camera for most of the evening in a number of different outfits, shifting through different poses, losing her balance every now and then but managing to keep her poise just the same; and none of that will matter in light of her genuineness.

Despite all the pomp and pageantry that comes with a magazine’s anniversary cover shoot, and all that she’s achieved with a career that is far from fading, Angel Locsin is never “Angel, the Celebrity.” She’s the kind of person you could picture having grown up with, the kind of woman who gets along with all your buddies, who’ll never take herself too seriously, and who manages to stay humble in spite of all the attention she’s getting.

She’ll ask your questions back to you, just because she’s interested in getting to know you, too. She’ll do her best to make you feel comfortable before you even open your mouth. She’ll excuse herself every now and then to beso people who are leaving the studio, and thank them profusely for their help.

How do you talk to Angel Locsin? Say “Hi,” smile, shake off any pretenses you have of being “cool”, and just approach her as someone you know is going to be your friend real soon.

She’ll make it easy for you.