From a childhood fascination with “Princess Sarah” to preparing for serious roles in adulthood, Alessandra de Rossi’s journey is just as compelling as the roles she takes. Surprisingly, Alessandra de Rossi’s journey into acting wasn’t sparked by a traditional film but by the beloved cartoon Princess Sarah. “ Pero, ‘yun nga .
Miss Minchin yung mga naging role s ko, ” the actress jests, alluding to her villainous roles. “ Syempre, bilang bata, gusto mo princess ka. [As a child, you want to be a princess.
] Until now, I still want to be Princess Sarah. But it hasn’t happened yet.” While childhood dreams of playing princesses were enchanting, it was in her teenage years that the actress discovered a deeper passion.
Her turning point came with the film Azucena , which she worked on in Spain. “Doon ako pinaka nag- enjoy, ” she reminisces, noting that the filming location was enjoyable to her because it drew her closer to her European heritage. She draws a stark comparison to her experience shooting the 2017 film Kita Kita , which was shot in Hokkaido, saying, “ Sa Japan , wala talaga akong maintindihan eh, [In Japan, I couldn’t understand anything.
”] Buti sa Spain , kahit maligaw ako, kahit papaano, may mga r oot words naman na English or Italian . (If I got lost in Spain, at least I can understand some of the words with English or Italian.”) Apart from starring in films at such a young age, in a way, De Rossi always had that gusto, that spunk, that effortless coolness that she’s only been able to harness throughout her career.
She tells a story of one of her earliest memories of going to the cinema in her early adolescence, to watch the coming-of-age film Pare Ko in 1995. It was rated R-13, and De Rossi was 12 when it was showing in cinemas. “The guards asked me, how old are you?” she recalls.
“ Sabi ko , 13! But they didn’t look convinced. So they asked again, Kelan ka pinanganak? [What year were you born?] So I calculated it, and said 1982!” Redgardless of the confidence of the barely-teen, the young actress wasn’t allowed in. “ Sabi nila, mapapatunayan mo ba yan sa office pag dinala kita? ([Will you be able to prove your age to the authorities if we take you?] Sabi ko, hindi! Pero two hours kaming pumila! (I said no! But we waited in line for two hours!”) De Rossi remembers being drawn to these mature films very early.
“Ayaw nila ipa-panood sa’kin kase feeling nila, maco-corrupt ako, (They didn’t want me to watch these films because they think these will corrupt me.) But then I said, I’ve seen worse.” She recalls being a huge fanatic of action star Robin Padilla at Grade 3, and watching a packed theater screening of Titanic with her yaya.
“Yung mga time na yun, mahaba yung mga pila, puno yung sinehan. Bawal kang umihi! Nakaupo ka lang for three hours. (That time, the lines for the cinemas were long, and you couldn’t get up to urinate.
You’ll will yourself to sit for three hours.”) Technology has definitely changed the way we consume media, and the actress has noticed this too. “That’s very interesting, because now, with streaming, sobrang dami nang pagpipilian, (there are so many choices) then you can’t choose.
It takes less than five minutes to get someone’s full attention. Beyond that, parang they wanna skip na ? So, films need to get their point across agad-agad ( really quickly.”) Having worked with various directors over the span of her career, de Rossi has learned to adapt to different filmmaking styles.
She highlighted the importance of experience over theory. “ Matututo ka talaga. Hindi ka pwedeng isa lang ‘yung alam mo, dapat mag a-adjust ka rin sa director mo, (You will learn.
It’s not possible to only know one type of filmmaking, you need to adapt to whoever your director is.”) she emphasized. She shouts-out her favorite Filipino director, Zig Dulay, who directed her in the award-winning film “Firefly.
” “Di lang dahil friend ko siya, pero may touch siyang di mo makuha sa iba. (He’s my favorite director not just because he’s my friend, but he makes films with a touch you can’t get anywhere else.”) In 2021, De Rossi stepped into director shoes while also serving as the writer and one of the lead roles in her film “My Amanda,” starring opposite Piolo Pascual.
She candidly shared the challenges of juggling multiple roles. “Biggest mistake. Ay, hindi ko pala gusto.
(I realized that I didn’t want that.”) De Rossi semi-jokingly says regretfully. “You cannot be two places at once.
And then when I saw the credits: starring Alessandra de Rossi, directed by Alessandra de Rossi, written by Alessandra de Rossi, sabi ko, okay na pala ako sa isa. (I realized I was just okay with one credit.”) Despite her extensive career, Alessandra remains eager to explore new genres.
The idea of preparing for a physically demanding role excites her. “ Kailangan may kaunting muscle ako. Preparation ba, something like that, (I want to prepare for roles that demand me to have muscles.
”) Her interest with different time periods also plays a significant role in her career choices. “Gusto ko yung mga roles na noong unang panahon, (I like roles from a distant past.”) She further explains that she has so much respect for the legendary actresses of Philippine cinema, Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos.
“Yung times ng Nora-Vilma, kung di ka magaling, ‘di ka pwede mag artista! (During the time of Nora-Vilma, if you weren’t exceptional at acting, you couldn’t be an actress!”) de Rossi muses. “Kasi film ‘yung gamit eh. Mahal ‘yun! (They shot those movies on film.
) Tapos dapat, pag action, magaling ka! (When they say action, you have to be give it your best.”) She also expresses a new fascination with the speculative fiction genre, where she gets to play roles in imagined worlds. “A little bit of sci-fi, or fantasy,” she says.
“Gusto ko ng role na di nila makakalimutan yung name mo. (I want to have character-driven roles where the audiences don’t forget your name.) I want strong independent characters, not like, Wonder Woman, maybe something ala-‘Gone Girl.
’ ‘” Alessandra de Rossi delivering a “cool girl-“esque monologue on our screens soon? We can only cross our fingers..
