Celebrated actress Alessandra De Rossi announced that she will no longer accept roles as a villain due to health reasons.

During a media conference for the upcoming movie "Firefly" under GMA Pictures held in Quezon City recently, Alessandra disclosed that playing villainous characters has affected her health.

"Suntukan game ako kahit dyan sa kanto huwag lang sa TV. Yun naman ang sinasabi ko noon pa wala lang nakikinig. No regrets kahit isa. Never. Sumasama ang katawan ko doon kasi lagi kang galit pero hindi ka naman talaga laging galit in real life so meron akong acidity, nagpa-palpitate ako. Every other day kasi yung (taping) eh. Sabi ko ayoko na ng ganito. Tinigil ko tapos nawala siya lahat," said Alessandra when asked about how her roles affected her well-being.

(I'm okay with fighting games on the street corner; don't do it on TV. That's what I've been saying before no one listens. No regrets. Never. My body goes along with it because you're always angry (during taping), but in reality, you're not. So I had acidity, I felt palpitations. (The taping is) every other day. I said I don't want this anymore. I stopped, and then it all disappeared.)

"Minsan kaya kong magsungit ng konti before. Wala pala it's inside you lang. Para siyang tinu-totoo ng katawan ko. It's a chemical reaction. Nararamdaman ko sa scene na totoo siya eh. I don't know kung dapat ba akong kumuha ng ibang (acting) method na hindi masyadong totohanin. Ang problema sa taping lang siya totoo. Kapag cut hindi na. Hindi ko na rin alam kung paano.

(Sometimes, I can be a little grumpy. It's nothing, it's just inside you. It's like my body is telling me. It's a chemical reaction. I can feel in the scene that it's real. I don't know if I should take a different (acting) method that is unrealistic. The problem is that it is only natural on taping. Once cut, it is not anymore.)

Alessandra, who has already won acting awards from Famas and Urian, revealed that she has also stopped doing teleseryes.

"Wala namang kontrabida sa tutoong buhay eh. Wala naman akong nakikitang nagsasabunutan sa labas ng cafe. Derecho kulong yun di ba? Bakit nakakauwi pa sila ng bahay? Sabi ko ang tagal na niyang galit 42 days na siyang galit hindi pa siya namamatay? Sorry po. Kanina pa siya galit. Kahapon pa siya galit. Maligo ka na muna please," she said in reference to some villainous characters on TV series.

(There are no villains in real life. I don't see anyone messing around outside the cafe. That's straight to the prison, right? Why are they still able to go home? I said she's been angry for a long time, she's been angry for 42 days, and she hasn't died yet. Sorry po. She was angry a while ago. He was angry yesterday. Please take a bath.)

Alex said she hopes to do other things when she turns 40 next year.

"I'll be turning 40 next year. So sana magawa ko yung mga bagay na gusto ko pang gawin, especially yung pwede pa sa hitsura ko? Kasi baka mamaya sabihin nila nagkikiligkiligan si ate papunta na sa ano. Medyo nakakahiya na. So sana magawa ko muna ang nga yun bago ako mag focus on other things like travelling," she added.

(I'll be turning 40 next year. I plan to do the things I still want to do, especially the things I can do with my looks. Some people may react that I don't act according to my age. It's a bit embarrassing. I plan to do that before focusing on other things like traveling.)

'Magic realism'

Produced by GMA Pictures and GMA Public Affairs, the movie "Firefly" follows a young boy's quest to find the mythical island of fireflies from his mother's bedtime stories. The boy embarks on a journey to a magical island, using clues from his mother's old notebook to wish her back to life.

Alex said it has been a dream to do a project with a young child star in the lead. In the movie, Euwenn Mikaell plays the son of Alessandra.

"Okay naman si Euwenn. Matagal ko ng gustong gumawa ng pelikula na may batang bida na something touching, heartwarming. Sabi ko perfect ito. Buti na lang cute siya. Marami na ring akong ka-eksena na bata in the past. Young mother ako rito. Mother of a ten-year-old," 

(Euwenn is okay. I have long wanted to make a movie with a young star that is something touching and heartwarming. I said it's perfect. He's cute. I've had many scenes with children in the past. I'm a young mother here. Mother of a ten-year-old.)

Alessandra also said she accepted the project because of acclaimed director Zig Dulay.

"One of the factors kung bakit ako nag-say yes sa project is Director Zig. Gusto ko kasing balikan 'yung experience na magandang magtrabaho yung kaibigan mong magaling, masaya kasama. At saka maganda talaga yung kwento," she said. 

Best friends Zig and Alessandra prayed that "Firefly" would make it to the official entries of the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival.

"Sana makapasok sa MMFF," said Zig, who also directed the hugely popular teleserye "Maria Clara at Ibarra" also on GMA. "Sana makapasok para mas maraming bata ang makapanood nito. Mas na-a-achieve ng pelikula kung bakit talaga siya ginawa." "(I hope the movie enters MMFF so more kids can watch and achieve its purpose.)

Alessandra added: "I think MMFF is para sa mga bata talaga." (I think MMFF is really for children.)

Writer Angeli Atienza talked about her inspiration for "Firefly."

"As a mother, lagi mong iniisip kung ano yung iiwan mo sa mga anak mo. Ano yung kakapitan nila kapag wala ka. Something to inspire your children kapag sila na lang. Mga 2019 pa po ito. Before the pandemic, ready na kami mag shoot. May. mga test shoots na kami nun pero nagka pandemic. Pero okay na rin kasi now napaghandaan. Mas prepared kami."

(As a mother, you always think about what you will leave to your children. What will they hold on to when you are gone? Something to inspire your children when they are alone. It was conceptualized in 2019. Before the pandemic, we were ready to shoot. We already had test shoots but a pandemic happened. But it's okay because now we're prepared. We're more prepared.)

Senior Vice President for GMA Pictures Nessa Valdellon commented: "It is a big film. It is meant to be seen on the big screen. Ang ganda nag pagkaka shoot ng cinematographer namin si Neil Daza. We wanted to wait for a possible festival. Local films have been doing poorly for 2023, but we expect the upcoming Star Cinema film to do well. Next, there's a GMA Pictures collaboration with Cornerstone and Myriad. This is the Five Breakups and a Romance with Alden Richards and Julia Montes. We're expecting that to do well. And all entries that can make it to MMFF are parang ang gaganda. So the audience will come back for the festival. We hope to watch 'Firefly' at that time. We'll see."

Zig also tackled the challenge of making "Firefly."

"Noong kinausap ako for this project, challenging siya kasi lubog ako sa realism tapos biglang magic realism. Iba yun. Kaya tinanggap ko yung challenge. Tumatanda na rin ako so gusto kong gawin yung mga hindi ko pa nagagawa. 

(When approached for this project, I was challenged because I was immersed in realism and then suddenly magic realism. That's different. That's why I accepted the challenge. I'm also getting older, so I want to do things I haven't done yet.)

"Medyo mahirap siya sa tutoong buhay at mahirap siya pero lagi ko ngang sinasabi, kapag gusto mo, gagawin mo. Mahal mo yung ginagawa mo kahit na gaano kahirap yun. Ilalaban mo talaga. Mahirap gawin pero enjoy. Noong bata tayo meron tayong certain magic na napanood na hindi natin nakakalimutan at forever mo ng dadalhin. 

(It's a bit difficult in real life, but I always say you'll do it when you want to. You'll fight for it. It's hard to do, but I enjoy it. When we were kids, we had a certain magic that we watched that we will never forget and that you will carry with you forever.)

"So andun sa puso mo na gusto kong magawa yun. Palagay ko ma-a-achieve mo lang yun kapag maraming makakapanood nito. Tulong-tulong talaga kaming lahat sa paggawa ng magic realism. Nailaban naman namin at proud kami para ma-share ito sa tao. Iba talaga ang experience kapag mapapanood mo ito sa sinehan," the director said.

(So it's in your heart that you want to do that. You can only achieve that when a lot of people can watch it. We all help one another in making magic realism. We fought, and we're proud to be able to share it in person. It's a different experience when you watch it in the cinema.)