Miles Ocampo on trusting the process, waiting for her time to shine

Her first teleserye character was a street kid of downtown Manila in the afternoon drama “Mangarap Ka” (2004), which was shot in Quiapo. Two decades later, she was back in Quiapo for a brief acting stint that would become her biggest break. Miles Ocampo has come a full circle. And today, she’s celebrating her beginnings, the commitment it took to get here, and the bigger, promising places she’s going.

In an interview with Bernadette Sembrano, the actress of the hour looked back on her career journey. As the story goes, she started as a dancing ‘bibo’ kid in a hotdog commercial. In 2004, she auditioned to Director Cathy Garcia-Molina for a role in the Kapamilya series “Mangarap Ka.” She went to the set in nice clothing, wore false teeth, and had her waist-length hair blow-dried, clueless that the show was looking for young actors to portray street children. Direk Cathy asked if she could cut her hair short to fit her character – a boy named Pepe. She gamely did it, although her mom, who poured effort to take care of her long locks hoping she’d land a shampoo commercial someday, turned emotional.

Like the audience, everyone on the set, except directors Cathy Garcia-Molina and Malu Sevilla (who is also one of the directors of FPJ’s Batang Quiapo) and the show’s executive producers, thought that she’s a boy.

“Ang rule ni Direk Cathy, bawal pumunta sa set nang nakaayos-girl, so pants lang, t-shirt, ganu’n lang po,” shared Miles. “‘Yung audio man kapag kinakabitan ako ng lapel, ‘Bakit ‘yung brief mo parang panty?’ Even ‘yung mga bata sa Quiapo na babae, sasabihin kay Mama, ‘Crush po namin ‘yung anak n’yo.’ Noong na-reveal na finally na babae ako, lahat sila even the crew, mga cameraman namin hindi makapaniwala na babae talaga ako.”

Her next project was Goin’ Bulilit, a kiddie gag show that produced popular stars like Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes. Watching her contemporaries soar to new heights while she was stuck in limbo, Miles inevitably compared herself to them.

“Habang lumalaki ka, siyempre, ang goal mo gusto kong sumikat, ‘yung sikat na sikat. The typical artista na pinagkakaguluhan,” she confessed. "Tapos dumating ako sa point na, ‘May mangyayari pa ba sa akin?’”

“Sina Kath and Ate Julia ‘yung parang first sa batch namin na talagang sikat na sikat after Mara Clara. Tapos ‘yun ‘yung nando’n na ako sa awkward stage ko na, ‘Shucks, gusto ko rin ng gano’n,’” she further admitted. “Paulit-ulit ko po naman sinasabi, hindi ko ide-deny na dumating sa, ‘Sana ako rin.’”

But, even at a tender age, Miles carried a strong mindset that made her last in showbiz, learning early on the concept of waiting and trusting the process, “Mare-realize mo na sa industry natin, hindi nasa’yo ang spotlight all the time. Lagi kong iniisip na baka hindi ko talaga time, hindi talaga.”

“So once na may project na binigay sa’yo or may work na binigay sa’yo, then that’s your time to shine. That’s your time na galingan mo, na ibigay mo ‘yung best mo,” she continued. “Hindi mo alam kung sino makakanood noon, so itotodo mo siya.”

After all, being an actress isn’t just about the glitz and glamor, but rather aiming for longevity and the intention to act with excellence. Despite the unfading self-doubt, “’Pag nando’n na ako sa set, talon lang ako talaga.” She grabs every acting opportunity to better herself and express her passion.

“Gusto ko talaga ‘yung ginagawa ko, ‘yung ang dami kong name-meet na tao. You grow talaga kapag iba’t ibang perspective ‘yung nakakasalamuha mo. At the same time, isinasabuhay mo ‘yung stories,” she elaborated. “’Yun ang nakaka-excite for me, iba’t ibang roles. Kaya every time na tinatanong ako, ‘Anong dream project mo?’ Ang hirap sagutin kasi kahit anong ibigay sa’yo, nakaka-excite all the time.”

With her tradition of professionalism and fluidity, Miles allows herself to explore various characters. She recently morphed from being a sweet girl-next-door into a mother, despite having no maternal experience in real life, to lay the foundation of Coco Martin’s story as Tanggol in his newest Kapamilya series FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, which she considers her most challenging role, so far.

“Noong in-offer siya sa akin, young Cherry Pie [Picache] daw po, so nag-yes ako agad pero wala pa akong alam with the flow of the story,” she revealed. “Tapos noong nalaman ko na kung paano ‘yung latag niya, nandoon na ‘yung pressure na since pilot siya kailangan kong mapaniwala ‘yung tao na isa akong Ina.”

“Inire ko lang nang todo. Ang instructions lang sa akin, ‘Masakit ‘to. Sobrang sakit. Kung anong maisip mo na masakit, ‘yun siya.’ Tapos nakakapanood din naman ako ng mga pelikula na may nanganganak, so ako talaga jump lang, talon lang,” she said of her trending birthing scene at a wet market which highlighted her brilliance as an actress.

Miles, whose greatest influence is Judy Ann Santos, is not one to take all the credit. She acknowledged the help of her directors and everyone who worked behind the scenes. She thanked Coco and Dreamscape Entertainment for casting her in the pivotal role of Marites, saying she wanted to prove herself worthy of being chosen.

Waiting pays off when people stay committed and give their best, and that’s what Miles did. Because of that brief but remarkable and well-applauded stint in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, she has come from chasing dreams to finally living them. It has been almost two weeks since she opened the show but the acclaim continues to pour in, and she allows the sense of validation to flourish into a motivating force in her heart.

“Weakness ko talaga ‘pag may nagsabi sa akin na proud sila sa akin… Sabihan mo ako ng masasakit na salita, hindi ako iiyak. Pero sabihin mong proud ka sa akin, iiyak talaga ako,” she tearfully shared. ‘’Cause I’m always doing my best, so meron lang nakakita ng effort na ginagawa ko, importante siya for me, like, I’m on the right track.”

Miles may be basking in what she considers her big break, but she won’t let it kill her humility. “Ito ‘yung mga bagay na hindi dapat umaakyat sa ulo mo. Kasi once na umakyat siya diyan, mabilis siyang mawawala. “

“Nandoon ako sa moment na ine-embrace ko siya kasi nga minsan lang siya mangyari sa akin, ‘yung ganitong recognition, ganitong praises sa mga tao. I’m using it as motivation na galingan pa. Kasi ngayon ko lang ulit napatunayan na may naniniwala pa sa akin.”

Thinking about the possibilities, she said, “Sobrang nasa exciting part ako kasi I get to explore different roles, ‘yung iba’t ibang environment talaga.” And with the so-called exciting part comes the enthusiasm to broaden her horizon as an actress, keeping in mind the piece of advice she got from Direk Rory Quintos: “Magaling kang artista. You just have to reinvent yourself.”

If there’s one thing that Miles’ journey can teach us, it’s that dreams can be a reality as long as you trust the process, even the delays and detours. Also, it’s important to love what you do and the people you work with, so they will love you back. “Iba kasi kapag iniisip mo rin ‘yung mararamdam ng ibang tao. Kindness talaga. Ang cliché man pakinggan pero you need to be kind, kahit sinong tao, kahit ano pa ‘yan, wala sa posisyon – be kind. Babalik siya sa’yo kasi naniniwala ako sa goodness ng universe. You manifest talaga.”

To cap it off, Bernadette asked where Miles got her screen name. We learned that she is Camille Tan Hojilla in real life. When she joined “Masayang Tanghali Bayan,” it was a time when actors refrained from having identical names. So, to avoid confusion with Camille Prats, whom she was actually named after, she opted to use her real nickname ‘Miles’ and her real surname Hojilla. However, ‘Hojilla’ was hard to pronounce and remember, so she ended up using Ocampo, which is her great-grandmother’s last name.