Kapamilya Chat had the privilege to talk with globally acclaimed actress Dolly de Leon about her upcoming film with Star Cinema titled “A Very Good Girl.” And it was a very good conversation that we had, as Dolly shared what happened before and during their filming, plus what she loves about everybody’s favorite girl and her co-star, Kathryn Bernardo.

To kick off the episode, she was asked what she feels about the rave comments on “A Very Good Girl” since the unveiling of its teaser poster until the recent media conference. She replied, “Hindi ako makapaniwala, actually. Kasi minsan hinuhuli ko pa rin ‘yung sarili ko sa mga ganyan . Nakaka-overwhelm lang ‘yung feeling.”

She described the film as a story of two women who are empowered in their own right – strong but with feelings and struggles that arise as consequences of their actions.

One element that’s worth noting in the two-minute-long trailer is the perfect concoction of dark drama and chemistry delivered by Dolly and Kathryn. It turns out that the more senior actress was impressed by Kathryn’s performance. As a matter of fact, Kathryn was one reason why she accepted the project right away.

Dolly mentioned that she first heard about this movie ‘collab’ through rumors. Of course, she was thrilled by the idea of working with Asia’s Superstar, though she didn’t want to assume. So, she was in awe when, finally, the project was confirmed via Zoom meeting.

“Nu’ng binanggit na talaga nila ‘yung name ni Kath, grabe, talagang I was so excited. Gusto ko nang umoo agad at that moment kahit hindi ko pa nababasa ‘yung script,” she recounted. “Kasi knowing the type of actress that she is, she takes her job seriously. Siya talaga ay isang true artist for me kasi she takes the craft seriously. She really wants to do her best and she does everything that she can para talagang she will tell a story by her character in the most truthful way,” she lauded Kathryn, whom she admittedly finds herself fangirling with.

She further praised Kathryn’s generosity as an actress and detailed how they worked as a tandem. According to Dolly, Kathryn gives appropriate emotions even when she’s not on-cam to help her co-actors deliver the requirements.

Truthfulness is a crucial element in Dolly’s style of acting. She rarely follows specific techniques, such as the commonly used "method acting," but she focuses on natural and truthful delivery. A part of that is building the character’s backstory and nuances, which she considers as more of an actor’s than the director’s job.

“I want to be able to make my decisions pagdating sa characterization,” she underscored, thus Director Petersen Vargas’ method suited her well. “Hindi naman niya kami pinabayaan. Pero ang focus kasi ni [Direk Petersen] is intention. ‘Yun ang keyword sa kanya, laging may intention ang character. So, as long as lagi niyang pinapaalala kung ano’ng intention mo, okay na ako.”

How does she define a very good girl? For Dolly, even a good girl has flaws but she does her best to overcome things that might stop her from being good. This actually reminds us of her fighting spirit, of her grit that shoved her to greater heights despite failures and rejections in the past.

When she was younger, Dolly would feel bad about not bagging a role. Now, she has come to understand that fate shall make things happen accordingly. With this mindset, she goes to auditions more relaxed and with less expectation. In fact, she didn’t expect to bag the role of Abigail in the award-winning international film “Triangle of Sadness.” She just enjoyed the process and did her job right.

“Hindi ko inisip na, ‘Kailangan ko makakuha ng trabaho, kailangan ko makakuha ng pera.’ It was really more of just being true to the script and being loyal to the story,” she imparted. So to those who would like to follow her path, the only advice Dolly can share is to be truthful and do it not for fame but for the love of acting.

Dolly and Kathryn are ready to showcase their electrifying performances of revenge seeker Philo and the filthy rich Mother Molly in Star Cinema’s 30th anniversary kick-off film, “A Very Good Girl,” showing in cinemas nationwide starting September 27 (Wednesday).