In a conversation with MEGA Entertainment, the actress reveals the extent of her dedication to her most challenging role and first action series to date: Lavender Fields
Few actors have made their mark on Philippine entertainment like Jodi Sta. Maria has done. With a career marked by transformative roles, the artist has made a profound impact on the country’s cinematic and television landscape. In building her remarkably prolific resumé, Sta. Maria submits herself completely to the part and delivers consistent, unparalleled, indomitable performances, earning her the sobriquet “Silent Superstar.” She does not need loud voices. Her quieter moments on screen—of grief, of creeping dread, of solitary frustration—register just as potently.
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From the vengeful Amor Powers, the charming and cheerful Maya Dela Rosa, the fierce Marissa Pineda; to the love-filled, complex Rose Jacinto, there’s no shortage of characters to keep Sta. Maria’s lifework at a high altitude. With a comeback to ABS-CBN Primetime Bida, the award-winning actress makes a move to her first action-drama role in Lavender Fields, the powerhouse series of 2024.
Stepping Into the Shoes of Lavender Fields
In Sta. Maria’s blockbuster filmography, the comparatively highbrow Lavender Fields is something of an outlier. For one, it’s her first time dipping her toes in a completely different genre, one that demands a healthy dose of both physical and verbal agility. But Sta. Maria has never said “no” to roles that make her doubt herself. “Shifting to another genre allows me to explore different aspects of my craft,” she tells MEGA Entertainment. “It allows me to challenge myself with the physical demands that are required and also take on new character complexities. I have done several projects in the past, and Lavender Fields feels refreshing and engaging for the audiences.”
There’s no denying that Sta. Maria’s turn in The Broken Marriage Vow, for which she won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her notable portrayal of Dr. Jill Ilustre, was one of the most assured performances of her career. Her talent in accessing emotion and transferring her feelings to the audience fast-tracked her to leading lady status—with her cut-glass delivery and upcoming first action role, the star is equally comfortable on-screen in a love triangle, as a cheated family woman, and now—in the role of a fighting heroine. But still, Lavender Fields was a tough hill to climb for the actress.
Making a Strong Leading Lady
In 2022, Sta. Maria revealed to MEGA Entertainment that The Broken Marriage Vow was so emotionally taxing, she considered quitting show business. But Sta. Maria has been famous for more years than she hasn’t, and is well acquainted with gravitating towards characters that she can make dimensional and nuanced. Her approach to depicting their lives is thoughtful, considered, and honest. The audience can expect no less in Lavender Fields.
“The role involves understanding the character, the story, and the relationship with other characters,” she shares with MEGA Entertainment. “There’s a huge physical demand, too. I did stamina and endurance training, strength and conditioning, weight training, and had to learn Filipino Martial Arts. We work closely with our stunt directors for choreography for the fight scenes. Preparing for the role was no easy task.”
In action films, there’s a habit with ‘strong female characters’ to flatten them by taking an overly literal approach to the ‘strong’ element and providing little depth of character elsewhere. But Sta. Maria’s character isn’t just an action facsimile or a gender-swapped male character, but a “layered personality with conflicting desires and unconventional reactions.”
Making a Fearless Pursuit
With her degree in psychology, Sta. Maria’s background in the study of human behavior contributed to creating her characters. The award-winning actress seeks greater ownership of her work by emotionally engaging with art that pulls no punches in exploring love, vulnerability, trust, and betrayal. Sta. Maria has moved elegantly between the stories of the characters she’s told: in great romances—tales of enchantment and desire and heartbreak; in dramas with stakes so high and turns so twisty; and in demon-possessed, enigmatic, rising-from-the-ashes, and kontrabida roles. She’s navigated all of these with the grace and skill of turning fiction into her area of expertise. But while Sta. Maria is many things on-screen, running the full gamut of human emotion in her characters, the intimacy of her lifecraft is front and center.
“Doing complex roles is both challenging and rewarding. You break stereotypes and clichés,” she explains. “Playing layered personalities is doing a deep dive into human psychology, and these roles, I believe, resonate with audiences on a deeper level. They are more relatable and engaging.”
In an age of increasingly curated and performed selfhood, the actress understands that any step away from authenticity will erode what a person has to offer as an artist. She is committed to the steeper path of taking on challenges—she puts her heart and her backbone into growing and committing to the part. For Unbreak My Heart, it’s taking a certificate course in cooking and baking at the Center of Asian Culinary Studies for Rose, a chef. For Lavender Fields, it’s venturing into the physical aspects of training and action.
It’s a testament to Sta. Maria’s decade-spanning stardom, then, that she is interested in joyfully and consciously doing her work. She does not hide and she is not afraid of the unfamiliar.
As an actor, complex roles allow me to grow and transform and explore the different facets of my craft.
– Jodi Sta. Maria
With candid warmth and moments of unrelenting vivaciousness woven through, Sta. Maria conveys thoughtful explorations of her character with unyielding conviction and deep emotion.
Acting in Action as Jodi
The series has reliably provided the genre-defining Sta. Maria the room to share the screen with a star-studded cast: Jericho Rosales, Janine Gutierrez, Jolina Magdangal, Albert Martinez, Edu Manzano, and Maricel Soriano. The artist is more poised now than ever to step up her acting game more than it already is: “Being on set with a talented pool of actors not only inspires me, but also motivates me to elevate my performance. I learn from my co-actors—how they approach their characters, their processes in character building—because these are all valuable insights that I take home with me,” she declares.
These learning opportunities, as well as her own character study, make for a Lavender Fields that is “Headstrong. Dual. Committed.” Her weakness? According to Sta. Maria: “Being reckless and impulsive. But her strength, on the other hand, is her heart.”
Sta. Maria is known to be particularly arresting due to her dedication of rare introspection towards her character. Every story, whether it’s a thrilling drama or a heartwarming romantic comedy, is made captivating by the star’s ability to imbue the character with a roiling intensity, refreshing sincerity, and earnest tenderness.
Venturing Into the Next Role
After the series, one wonders if Sta. Maria will ever again feel the pull toward Primetime Bida as physically demanding as Lavender Fields, or if she will continue to reserve her dramatic chops for other projects on the silver screen. But the artist is currently focused on maintaining her art in action career, giving her hundred percent to the powerhouse series: “Right now, I just want to focus on finishing this project and then take a break. It’s been an intense journey and I could really use some downtime.”
With her filming schedule and physically demanding training sessions, it’s a mystery how the actress makes time for herself. When asked, she answers, “Whenever I can, I rest and relax by doing yoga, eating right, and going on some afternoon runs. I am also big on alone time and spending valuable time with my loved ones: with Thirdy and his siblings, Naia, Lily, and Zandro,” she laughs, referring to her son and her fur family.
Meanwhile, in maintaining her timeless beauty, Jodi Sta. Maria considers her age as not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength. She does this by “listening to my body, meditation, and hydration. Maintaining a balanced inner disposition and a lot of filtering in all aspects…and of course, by continuing in this profession with a heart filled with gratitude.”
