Jodi Sta. Maria downplays competition with Iza Calzado

Being in competition with co-star Iza Calzado, whether imagined or real, is something that Jodi Sta. Maria does not revel in.

With a laugh, Sta. Maria dodged a question that centered on her and Calzado upstaging each other in “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin” (What’s yours is mine), their latest teleserye to premiere Aug. 17 on the Kapamilya Channel.

The actresses portray friends turned foes in love, wealth and more in the drama series.

Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin
Jodi Sta. Maria and Iza Calzado lead the teleserye “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin”. Image: Instagram/@jodistamaria

“Parang siguro wala naman sa amin ‘yon na parang magpagalingan pa,” Sta. Maria said in a mediacon via Zoom last Friday, Aug. 7. “Ako, personally, wala ako sa ganoong klaseng space. Ang gusto ko lang is makapag-deliver nang tama.”

(I think maybe it is not in us to compete. Me, personally, I am not in that kind of space. I just want to deliver what is right [in terms of acting].)

Jodi Sta. Maria (second from L) is held by Maricel Soriano as she faces off against Iza Calzado and Sam Milby in the teleserye “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin”. Image: Instagram/@jodistamaria

Sta. Maria stressed that there is no such scenario where they try to upstage each other as lead stars of the soap opera.

“Hindi pupuwede ang sapawan. Ang kailangan dito (ay) magtulungan. Kailangan group effort, collaborative,” she said.

(Eclipsing each other is not the norm here. What is needed is helping each other. It needs to be a group effort and collaborative.)

The actress is happy that she has “generous” co-stars who share with her their “techniques and skills.”

She went on to cite an incident where Maricel Soriano, who plays her mom in the series, unselfishly shared her acting technique.

“There was one time, if I may share, si Nanay Marya (Maricel Soriano), meron siyang ginawa sa isang eksena na napanganga ako. Sabi ko, ”Nay, paano mo ginawa ‘yon?’ Sabi ko, ‘Turuan mo naman ako,'” she recalled.

(There was one time, if I may share, Nanay Marya did something jaw-dropping in a scene. I said, “‘Nay, how did you do that?” I said, “Teach me please.”)

She said she was able to use the Diamond Star’s technique in certain sequences and is grateful to her for it.

Sta. Maria related, “Walang madamot; lahat generous lang para sa ikagaganda ng programa.” (No one is selfish; everyone is generous for the good of the program.) NVG

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