Anna Marie Lukban

Sue Ramirez weighs in on which among acting for TV, movie, or theater she finds the most challenging, most enjoyable

Article (news)

Mary Ann Bardinas

With how extremely talented an actress she is, it has been truly amazing how Sue Ramirez is able to conceal her Hiligaynon accent with the way she speaks in her interviews or deliver her lines in the movies and shows that she starred in.  Thus, many tend to be surprised to find out that she actually has Ilonggo roots, which she’s able to display quite in full during her guesting in ABS-CBN Entertainment’s online talk show for famous Visayan personalities, “Kuan On One.” And in this episode, one of the topics that she and host Kuantie Melai Francisco got to lightheartedly discuss was her prolific and remarkable acting career. Sue began by reminiscing about how her journey in show business began 15 years ago when she auditioned to become part of the Batch 2010 of Star Magic. Despite not having any connections or background in the industry, she still took the plunge and tried her luck after seeing on TV that the in-house talent arm of ABS-CBN was hosting auditions. While making it to showbiz is a dream for other artists, it was not for her since she was only persuaded by her aunts to become a celebrity because, aside from the stunning mestiza beauty that she got from her American dad and her Ilongga mom, she also sang a lot in school back then.  So, she told her mother that she would like to audition and set off on the journey all by herself at the age of 13. She recalled queuing up at the audience entrance of ABS-CBN the entire day, with her being the 697th person on the line, and having to endure the heat, hunger, and lack of a phone to contact her family. She recounted being actually nervous during that time, thinking that the other auditionees were more experienced than her since they had already tried auditioning many times before, while it was all very new to her and all she had then were courage, confidence, and faith in God. Thus, she didn’t really keep her hopes up, yet she was still expecting that she was going to make it. Her and her family’s efforts, sacrifices, and prayers for her auditions indeed paid off in the end as she eventually received a text message from Star Magic inviting her for a callback. Among her batchmates during the series of go-sees were Coleen Garcia, Daniel Padilla, Janella Salvador, and the ex-housemates of “Pinoy Big Brother Teen Clash 2010” led by Big Winner James Reid.  She may not know what made her shine and be noticed during the auditions, yet she’s really grateful to be given the coveted opportunity that opened a lot of doors for her and allowed her to fulfill her aspirations, which include helping her family with their finances, most especially when her father got sick and it was only her mom who worked for them. However, from being a mere source of additional income for their family, Sue has apparently become passionate about it as time went by, which can be proved by how she has been so booked and busy ever since she started. And throughout her 15 years in the industry, she has not only showcased her acting and singing chops via the films and shows that she starred in, but she has dabbled in theater, too.  Thus, when asked by Kuantie Melai which among acting for TV, movies, or theater she finds the hardest and enjoys the most, Sue imparted that all three are equally challenging. With TV, according to her, shoots are longer to make, which would sometimes make her feel drained and stagnant because you’re doing the same thing. Movies, on the other hand, are hard because they’re fast-paced, which makes internalizing and getting into characters a bit of a problem. Meanwhile, theater was something new to her, though it was really her childhood dream of getting into theater. When she was still a kid, her dad used to make her watch films like “The Sound of Music” and “Phantom of the Opera,” which enkindled her interest in musicals. However, she was never immersed in theater and never got to watch live plays, except when she watched “Ibong Adarna” and “Florante at Laura” at school. Even though she’s a talented actress, Sue confessed that the first rejection she got for a school play way back actually made her skeptical if she would be accepted or not when she tried to audition for the musical play “Little Shop of Horrors.” Like her initial Star Magic audition, she auditioned for the sake of just wanting to try it out, but without having any high hopes. She just held on to her mantra, which is if something’s really for her, then it will happen.  “Sinubukan ko lang talaga dahil matagal ko nang gustong mag-teatro. Hindi ko pa nasabi pero nag-umpisa ako na gusto ko pumasok ng showbiz hindi para maging artista, [kundi] para maging singer,” she admitted. But then, once she set her foot in the industry, she realized that there are already an abundance of great singers, so she said in jest that it made her decide to just become an actress. She went on to add, “Pero maganda naman dahil marami akong natutunan mula sa mga nakatrabaho ko.” Kuantie Melai also had her talk about some of her recent teleserye and film portrayals, which include her controversial character Lexy Lucero in the 2022 ABS-CBN Studios series “The Broken Marriage Vow,” the Philippine adaptation of the hit British series “Doctor Foster.” She topbilled it along with Jodi Sta. Maria and Zanjoe Marudo, who played the role of the couple whose marriage she ruined. Since she didn’t have any experiences with being a third party in a relationship, Sue recalled that part of her preparation for the role was watching movies with themes of adultery, which has been a prevalent concept in the local entertainment scene. Growing up, Sue was able to gain some insights on how she would carry out her role through the Kapamilya teleseryes that she and her mom had watched. “Noong pino-portray ko si Lexy, I really felt that Lexy was a victim. And I really felt bad when the people watching our show couldn’t see that Lexy was also a victim of David. Parang these are two women being played by one man,” she remarked when asked by Kuantie Melai if she believes that third parties are also victims and took her character as an example since she was lied to by the man she genuinely loved.  She then added, “I did not judge my character at all. Talagang I told Lexy na si Sue ‘yong kakampi mo. Parang kinailangang maging magkakampi kaming dalawa habang ginagawa namin ‘yong show.” As Kuantie Melai commended her for being able to do a good job separating herself from Lexy and pulling off a character with whom she entirely cannot relate, Sue conveyed, “‘Yan ang mahirap sa pagiging artista because we have to channel those emotions na maybe in our lives we won’t be able to channel. But that’s the exciting part about being an actress because you get to do things that are out of the norm. You get to do things na hindi mo everyday ginagawa. You get to do things that are uncomfortable for you. So, I take it as a privilege to feel those emotions.” Watch out for “Kuan On One’s” all-new guests, such as popular Visayan artists, influencers, content creators, and beauty queens, when a new episode drops every Tuesday on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/abscbnentertainment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube</a> and <a href="https://app.iwanttfc.com/dFR6MWHAcVb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">iWant.</a>

Watch as Sue Ramirez talks about the beginning of her showbiz career and her foray into theater in this episode of “Kuan On One.”

Watch as Sue Ramirez talks about the beginning of her showbiz career and her foray into theater in this episode of “Kuan On One.”