Following the worldwide release of the trailer for her highly anticipated upcoming series “Lavender Fields” on August 7, Kapamilya star Jodi Sta. Maria, who’s also set to play the feisty titular character, sat down with ABS-CBN News showbiz correspondent Gretchen Fullido to discuss the teleserye and for the latest episode of “On Cue.”

According to her, it might seem like “a typical revenge story,” but she described it as a “complex tale of love, duality, and revenge.” She boasted about it having a lot of subplots that the viewers should watch out for and that will certainly get them hooked.

In the decades that she’s been in showbiz, Jodi revealed that this is actually her first time headlining an action drama series.

“I’d say na it’s not easy, it’s very challenging, ang daming mga physical scenes talaga na nire-require. We had to do a lot of preparations from training to doing cinematic Filipino martial arts to boxing, a lot of strength and conditioning to avoid injuries. A lot of rehearsals na before kami sumampa sa set, may day talaga na ina-allot ‘yan para sa rehearsal lang,” she related.

Thus, it’s inevitable for Jodi to go home without bruises and to not feel exhausted physically, mentally, and/oremotionally because she has to already give her 100% effort, time, and dedication even though she’s just training. It may not be easy, but it’s fulfilling whenever she accomplishes the routines or action scenes for a certain day, especially since she never imagined being able to do so.

She then talked about working with the powerhouse cast of “Lavender Fields,” imparting that this serves as her reunion with the actors that she already worked with in previous projects. It can be recalled that she worked with Jericho Rosales as his younger sister in “Pangako Sa ‘Yo” (2000) with Maricel Soriano as her daughter in “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin” (2021), with Edu Manzano as a frequent player in the classic game show “Game K N B?” that he used to host, and with Albert Martinez as his wife in “Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara” (2008). Meanwhile, it’s her first time working with Janine Gutierrez.

This really excites her since she’s given the opportunity to collaborate both with artists she already got to work with before as well as the ones with whom she’s working for the first time.

When asked how she feels about working with them, she expressed how happy she is to be able to work alongside top-caliber, excellent, and very professional actors. But most importantly, all of them are kind, which makes them a breeze and delightful to work with.

The 2022 Asian Academy Creative Awards’ Best Actress then gave us a hint on the role that Jericho will portray and what his connection will be to her characters Jasmine Flores and Lavender Fields.

“Si Jasmine Flores at si Lavender Fields ay iisa. Si Jasmine Flores as nahulog nang bonggang-bongga sa role ni Jericho Rosales, so nagkaroon sila ng ‘thing’. At dahil doon sa ugnayan na ‘yon, doon nagsimula ang problema at sigalot sa buhay ni Jasmine Flores, a.k.a. Lavender Fields,” she explained.

Everyone’s excitement probably drummed up as she enthused how thrilled she is about the twists and turns of the narrative everytime she reads the script.

“Ang dami, super. Kung minsan nga kapag binabasa ko ‘yong script, sabi ko, ‘ah, anong mangyayari rito?’ ‘Yong kahit ikaw alam mo na ‘yong mangyayari kasi syempre inexplain naman na ‘yan e. [Mapapatanong ka ng] ‘Ano kayang mangyayari? Ba’t ganito?’ Parang kahit ikaw naco-confuse ka? Ang galing, nakakatuwa,” she conveyed.

Aside from the series, the Kapamilya star also talked about the time she quit showbiz, her newfound passion for running, her being a globetrotter and travel bucket list, the absolute nullity of her marriage with her ex-husband, and her plan of pursuing her Masters’ degree in Psychology.

Make sure to show your love and support for Jodi in the much-awaited Kapamilya revenge drama, “Lavender Fields,” once it premieres this coming September!