Despite not feeling well that night, a glowing Jane De Leon graced the set of TWBA to talk about her humble beginnings in the industry and what has changed since bagging the highly-coveted Darna role. There’s a lot on Jane’s plate at the moment and she can’t afford getting more sick, hence, the wish for a good health as she blew her birthday candle.
Jane’s showbiz story is that of a typical dreamer’s. She used to line up for auditions, with 8 to 10 hours being the longest time in queue. If she’s lucky enough, Jane would get small roles to portray, sometimes without even a short dialogue to utter such as when she played as a cheerleader in a LizQuen movie, “Just the Way You Are.” But, on unfortunate days, she would receive a straightforward rejection telling her she’s not good or pretty enough.
Hearing such remarks marred Jane’s self-confidence to the point of wanting to give up. “Kakayanin ko pa ba ‘to? May opportunity pa ba para sa’kin?” she used to tell herself during those depressing times. Yet, just a little encouragement from her mother would push Jane to try once more.|
As she patiently waits for her time, Jane started moving nearer the spotlight until she finally got the biggest break in her showbiz career. Jane could still clearly remember how she drowned in mixed emotions upon winning the Darna role. “Kulang na lang sampalin ako para magising ako,” she described that surreal moment. The ABS-CBN Network’s big bosses then embraced her but Jane was too overwhelmed and she quite struggled to let the good news sink in.
Jane reminisced on her memories with her late father, saying he could have been extremely proud of her. But, as much as there are people happy for Jane’s success, it can’t be denied that there are also doubtful bashers trying to demerit her qualities as the modern-day Darna. “Watch out!” Jane told the haters. The actress looked fierce and determined to prove the detractors wrong. Besides, she doesn’t want to disappoint the ABS-CBN management for trusting her. To those calling her ‘maldita’, Jane clarified that there is no truth to this impression.
Jane played the Fast Talk Challenge. She believes that a pure heart makes someone a true hero. If she could fly like a true Darna, Jane would go to Korea to fangirl over the K-Pop group BTS. Jane failed to drop any name when asked about Darna’s possible leading man. She mentioned Jericho Rosales, Elisse Joson, and Maja Salvador as her three closest showbiz friends. “I am Jane De Leon and I am not gonna stop chasing my dreams,” said the millennial Darna as the interview ends.