With a glass of fresh orange
juice, actress Meryll Soriano shared with me her definition of a good day, why
she likes being alone, and who she wants to be trapped in an island with.
“Ay oo, marami na ang nagsabi
nyan. I get that a lot. Malakas dugo ng mga Soriano e ha ha!” says Meryll
Revillame when I told her that she looks so much like her Tita Maria (actress
Maricel Soriano). Meryll uses her middle name but she is a Revillame. She’s the
daughter of Willie, yup, that guy who once reigned a certain time slot on TV,
and that same guy who loves giving jackets and mobile phones. But we’re not
going to talk about him here because I’m far more interested for you to get to
know his brilliant and fun-loving daughter, Meryll Soriano.
She’s probably one of the most exceptional actresses of
her generation here in the Philippines. Every time I get to watch her in TV
series and films, she lives and breathes the characters that she portrays. When
the camera is away from her, she’s a loving mother to her son Elijah and a
student of the world. She thrives on learning new things daily, enjoys her
routine, but at the same time, gets pleasure from the comfort of her short
lived solitudes. She loves to talk, that’s why I think we clicked and got along
so well, because I love to talk too! She seeks adventure, you can see it in her
eyes, and the way she gets excited when she would tell stories about her travels. Meryll
loves taking pictures that’s why she published a coffee table book of the
photographs that she took while living a student life in London and called it Playground: London. She studied Production
Design at Central
Saint Martins - University of the Arts London. While planning this blog
project, Meryll was already one of the first people that I had in mind to interview
because I know that I would enjoy a really good conversation with her which
proved me right when we sat down for dinner and drinks, as revealed in this third installment of Drinks with Denise.
I
asked her to meet me at Wildflour Cafe + Bakery at the Podium where she arrived first, and
upon entering the restaurant; I saw her reading a script for an upcoming movie
with John Lloyd Cruz and Erik Matti. I am truly excited for her and her forthcoming
adventures, because a woman like Meryll needs to be happy and unbound.
How did we meet?
Her
version:
Meryll: Hhhmmm…Pano
nga ba? Parang ang tagal na kasi natin magkakilala. Sobra! Ang grabeng vivid sa
utak ko yung nanuod tayo ng movie ko, yung Kabisera tapos nakilala mo si
Antonio, pero hindi ko matawid yung kung pano tayo nagkakilala talaga. May
clue? Ha ha!
At the premier of her movie Kabisera which she starred alongside Joel Torre, Art Acuna, Bing Pimental,
Ketchup Eusebio, and ex-husband Bernard Palanca
My
version:
The first time I met Meryll was
at Xander Angeles’ studio, Edge of Light. I went there because I got an invite
from X to celebrate his birthday. Meryll was there shooting with X’s apprentice
photographer Niko Villegas for a magazine feature and she was being styled by
our common friend, Patrick Galang. We we’re introduced by Pat and from then on,
we just started being friends.
With Patrick Galang and Meryll during the launch of Playground: London, Meryll's visual diary.
What
three songs make you emotional?
Meryll: “Christmas
Lights” ng Coldplay. Nag Christmas ako sa London, bilang sa culture natin dito
sa Philippines, tuwing pasko parang pyesta, it was very melancholic because of
the time difference, iba yung oras ng batian ng “Merry Christmas!” mas una
dito, late dun, tulog na yung pamilya ko dito, tapos magcecelebrate pa lang
doon. That song made me feel the cold of winter when I was there, and that’s how
I felt when I spent my first Christmas in London na wala naman akong pera para
gamitin umuwi.
So
that’s one, next would be Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird”. Yung song kasi parang
kinakantahan nya yung taong mahal nya, sinasasabi nya how he deserves to be
happy and loved, but at the same time, she also wishes it for herself. Grabe
lang yung magnitude nung kanta even though it’s such a simple song.
Last,
kanta ng Up Dharma Down sa album nila na Fragmented, “We Give In Sometimes.”
Ganda kasi talaga e, ibang klase. Nung nanuod kami ng gig nila recently, yung
mga kapatid ko hindi sila masyadong nasastarstruck sa kahit sino, kay Armi
lang. Nung gig tinugtog nila ito, halos di ko makaya.
What’s
the most difficult and your favorite part of being a single mom?
Meryll: The
most difficult part of being a single parent would be stability, most common
naman yun. Other than stability, hindi pa ako tapos sa mga dapat kong gawin,
and that takes the toll on parenthood and my personal fulfillment. But then
again, that’s also my favorite because it pushes me to go and do it so I can
live as an example, especially to my son that when the time comes that he would
have certain ordeals in his life, kahit gano kahirap, pwede ko sabihin sa kanya
that there’s always an answer to everything and it can be done! It’s a bitter
sweet thing, really. Gusto kong mag-aral ng mag-aral pero may anak na ako, kaya
nung first year ko sa London, I was so overwhelmed, hindi pa ako nun
naapektuhan ng distance tsaka bata pa sha nun. Pero ngayon, kapag matagal na
akong nawawala, mas namimiss ko agad ang anak ko because now, there are more
conversations and interactions between the two of us. But going back, when I
was still studying in London, I did that for him but mostly for myself because
then it becomes a story that I can tell him.
It’s
inevitable for people not to judge me, and call me selfish kasi nga naman bakit
ko kailangan mag-aral sa London e meron naman akong magandang trabaho dito, yun
agad yung mga pumapasok sa utak ng mga tao. People will always see that factor,
but at the end of the day, fuck it! This is my life; I can’t explain these
things to everybody. What’s important is my relationship with my son.
Describe
a good day for you
Meryll: Wake
up. Hatid si Eli sa school. Nakapagbasa ako ng news. Answer emails. Hindi ako
nag Candy Crush. Nakain kasi ako for a time ng social media life, at ang Candy
Crush, kinain nya ako, nacrush nya yung life ko! A good day for me is when I
get to implement the routine that I want. At times I really like my solitude,
but sometimes to a fault. A good day for me is to be able to get things done,
to be productive, and then sleep early. Bipolar ako, so I know when I’m down
and I know when I need to stop doing things.
Me: Can I
mention that?
Meryll: Oo! I
don’t have a problem with that; I think kulang tayo sa awareness sa ganyan.
Sometimes people tend to be ashamed of this condition when there’s nothing to
be ashamed of anyway because there are really measures to be done. Fortunately
for me, hindi naman ako grabeng grabe. So going back to having a good day, it
would also be having a routine, to insert things that I want to do. Read a
little; write a little. Spend a good amount of time with Eli. Pati sa kanya, ang
good day sa kanya is walang iPad. A good night naman for me is reading with him.
Are
you scared of being alone?
Meryll: No. I’m
not scared of being alone, I like it too much. Ha ha! Fear ko nga yan e, why am
I not scared to be alone? I enjoy it! There’s so much room to breathe.
Although, yun nga, kinekwestyon ko rin ang sarili ko tungkol dyan, na bakit
gusto ko na nagiisa lagi? Why do I find happiness to a certain distance with
any person? Basta, I just love my space.
Me: That’s
why I travel alone.
Meryll: Me
too! Ayokong ayoko na may kasama sa airport! Di ko kaya yung magtatravel kayo
in a group, maximum na ata tatlo.
If
there’s one thing in your life that you want to relive, what would it be?
Meryll: Shet
and dami nyan, teka lang. One lang di ba?
Me: Ha ha!
One lang!
Meryll:
Ballet, nung bata ako nag ballet ako. Binitawan ko. Dance is my first love.
Sana di ko yun binitawan. I was too young to appreciate it but if given a
chance to relive it, I’d go the other way, I would not quit.
Who
would you rather be trapped in an island with: your dad, an ex, or your son?
Meryll: My
dad.
Me: Bakit?
Meryll: I’d
rather be trapped in an island with my dad because I’d like to figure out
things and to sort of seal it, and have a relationship with him. My dad and I,
lagi kaming may kasamang ibang tao, and being trapped in an island, wala kaming
choice kung hindi kaming dalawa lang ang magusap, and I think I’ve asked God
for that chance. I would love for him to get to know me, and I would love for
me to get to know him. I would say Johnny Depp but since hindi sha kasali sa
choices…Ha ha!
Why
is Orange Juice your favorite drink?
Meryll:
Refreshing sha e. Binibigyan nya ako ng nutrients, ng vitamins. It brings me life.
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