Best known for her stint on Your Song Presents Boystown, Star Magic artist Jessie Mendiola happily shared with ABS-CBN.com that she’s going to be part of Kokey @ Ako which is one of the most anticipated teleseryes of ABS-CBN in 2010. “Nalaman ko two months ago. Nagulat na lang ako nung sinabi sa akin ng handler ko na ‘Jessie standby for Kokey.’ ‘Oh my gosh, Kokey? Magandang opportunity ito for me.’ Alam ko kasing malaki din ang naging following nito sa kids noon.Ang laki ng ratings nung part one ‘di ba? Na-curious ako agad kung anong magiging takbo ng story at sinong ka-love team ko. And I’m really happy na it’s a wholesome show,” she began.

Based on the discussion during their story conference last Monday, November 30, Jessie will be the sister of the kind-hearted scientist played by DJ Durano with Enrique Gil as her love interest. “I’m a spoiled brat here. Hindi naman super bad. Hindi lang ako nakaka-appreciate ng small things kasi I come from a rich family. I’m nice naman kaso nga lang gusto ko madami ako nakukuhang bagay. But when I finally meet Kokey na dati ng kilala ng brother ko, dun ko mari-realize na mali ang ginagawa ko. Siya yung magtuturo sa akin kung paano ma-in love at paano bumait,” she revealed.

When asked what she thought about her co-stars whom she met during the story conference, it was Angel Locsin who made a deep impact on her because of the latter’s lovable personality. “She's really nice kasi hindi naman kami nagkawork pa before, hindi kami close. But then she approached me and she introduced herself, so nagulat ako. She was like, ‘Hi I’m Angel’ and she made beso. Then I said, ‘Hi, I’m Jessie po.’ Sabi niya, ‘Hey you're here pala.’ So parang I felt at ease kasi napakabait pala niya. And the others I met na during the recent trade launch tapos I’ve worked with Direk Wenn (Deramas) sa Volta so masaya lang talaga lahat,” she beamed.

As part of her preparation for this project, Jessie stressed that being good friends with the cast is really important for her to be able to deliver her character well. “When I get the script, I read it. And then siyempre dapat todo bonding ako with the kids and sa ibang cast para hindi ako mahiya. Better na maging close ka sa iba para pagdating ng trabaho mailalabas mo yung emotions mo kasi comfortable na kayo sa isa’t isa. So it’s really fun lang. I guess pagdating sa character ko, I’ll just really try my best na ihiwalay yun sa mga sa nagawa ko na dati. Kasi ang pangit naman kung pare-pareho yung ibibigay kong attack sa bawat role.”

Looking back on her accomplishments this year, the pretty mestiza believed that it was really Boystown which helped the viewers single her out amongst all the budding actresses in showbiz today. “Boystown really opened a lot of doors for me. It gave me a big exposure because I’m the only girl in the show tapos kasama ko pa yung Giggerboys. I’ve been here in the industry for two years pero ang tumatak sa puso at isip ko dun ako nagsimula. Ngayon nakakausap ko si Direk Lino (Cayetano, who handled Boystown) and he's really proud of me daw. Malaki na daw ang improvement ko mula nung una kaming nagtrabaho. Siyempre I’m really thankful na I got shows on my own feet. So I hope tuloy-tuloy lang yung blessings,” she exclaimed.

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