This episode aired on ALLTV last January 26, 2023.

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Nice to see you again.

Hello!

She's a versatile, award-winning actress

mga paintabladungan o TV

who made a name for herself

at a very young age.

Samahan niyo po ako na makinig sa kwento

ng buhay ni Miss Chris Villionco.

Hi, Chris!

Hi! This is a major challenge, ha?

I'm not gonna lie.

Pero kasi si Chris,

bata pa lang ako, kilala na kita.

Eh, syempre, diba?

Bata pa lang kumakanta ka na sa TV.

Yes.

Pero ang pinakavivid memory ko sa'yo, Chris,

yung sa commercial na kumanta ka.

Oo.

Medyo yun yung mga, ano ko eh,

child singing sensation days.

Yes. Ilang taong ka nun,

yung child singing sensation?

Nagsimula na yun, siguro mga eleven na ako.

I started sa teatro, nine.

Pero kinukuha na ako for commercials.

Mga ten, eleven na ako.

Kasi yung lola niya ay si Miss Armida Sigonreina.

My mother is actually a TV producer.

So lumaki ka talaga?

Lumaki sa set,

lumaki ka na nakakasama mo, nakakasalamuha mo people in the industry.

Oo. Not as a performer though,

or an actor, pero alam ko na kung paano.

Pero yung unang-unang sabak mo

in front of the camera?

I was five or six.

Nag-guesting ako sa Ryan Ryan musikahan.

Oo, yan ang mga naalala natin.

Nagpa-piano, tapos gabi, diba?

So, doon ako, dinagay ng mommy ko.

So, kanta-kanta lang ako.

And then, parang that time, natuwa si Mr. C

nung nanood siya, nung recital.

Sabi niya,

Sige, lahat kayo ilalagay ko sa show.

So, ako,

nakaupo ako sa piano niya.

Five years old? Wow!

Kasi kumakanta ako ng Part of Your World.

So, parang nakatapis lang ako.

So, that's my first sabak.

My grandmother didn't even pay attention to me.

Yung mga pinapakingga mo na nun?

Broadway. Broadway lang. Broadway baby ako.

West End Broadway.

And then, kaya yun yung influence talaga.

So, the first time I went to New York,

siguro mga, naanun, nine years old ako nun.

Nung New York?

When we got to New York, sabi niya, okay, may top three ka.

Itong mga pupuntahan natin.

La Miserab, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera.

Pinapanood sa'yo.

Kasi she knew na, okay, this is, at that time,

siyempre, malaki ni si Lea nun, and all of that.

So, idol ko siya.

So, I had to watch it, even if I didn't understand

what it was about, right?

So, nine years old,

una mong na-witness yung mga plays.

Yes.

Tapos, in New York pa.

In New York.

Anong naramdaman mo nung nanood ka?

I loved it.

Pero, as a spectator ba?

As a person, as a viewer.

Hindi naman as a performer.

Pero, na-fascinate ka na sa mundo ng theater

nung time na yun?

Na parang nasabi mo sa sarili mo na,

ay, ito ang nakikita kong gustong gawin.

Ah, hindi mo na isipin?

I am, I've always, always been

a reluctant performer.

More so,

celebrity, if whatever

status I had at that time.

Dahil?

Kasi, I'm sobrang shy ko

na tao.

Sobrang introvert.

Ngayon ko lang na-notice yun.

Pero, nung umuwi kami,

my sister said, uy, may auditions para sa

Lemisaram, and bukas yung auditions

para sa mga bata.

And today is the last day of auditions.

Tapos sabi ko,

Sa William J. Shaw Theater

sa Shangri-La Mall.

Yay!

Ganyan nga, dyan nga ako.

Audition din ako dyan, Repertory Philippines.

So, dun yun.

And then, she brought me there.

It's the first time I saw lines of people.

Parang audition talaga.

So, nandun ako, and then

lines and lines of people,

lines and lines of children

memorizing Lemisaram.

Siguro mga, we were about a hundred kids.

We went in,

and if now,

kung nakikita natin mga auditions, diba?

Tipong, nasa studio kayo, kakanta ka,

may panel. Ito hindi.

Pupunta ka sa teatro.

Tapos, puno yung teatro.

Parang talaga may nanonood sa inyong audience.

And then, nandun si Zenaida.

Yun yung mga nag-audition, yung nakaupo.

Yung nakaupo, yung nag-audition nasa orchestra.

Yung lahat nasa balcony.

Yung mga nanay, lahat.

Lahat nandyan nanonood.

Yes, ganun yung auditions sa theater noon.

Yes, and then, parang kang ano,

what do you call this?

You're lined up, siguro sampu kayo on stage.

And then, step forward, step forward.

Yes!

And then, so I was there, step forward.

Anong kananta mo?

Kasalo na cloud na. As in, wala nang paligoy-ligoy pa.

Kasalo na cloud.

And then, they said,

Ana Cristina, I never put Cris or whatever.

It's Ana Cristina Siganrena Villanco.

How are you related?

And naka-mic yan na ah.

So parang, wala kang makausap.

Hindi mo alam ko sino kinakausap mo.

She's my lola. Ganun. Ah, okay.

At the back of my head now, I think,

well, maybe that was my foot in the door.

Kasi nga, apo ako.

Pero they didn't really know to what extent I would be talented.

And then, that was the beginning of my theater career.

And then, that was the beginning of my theater career.

Theater career?

At the age of 9.

Pero ang question ko, ano nauna?

Theater or yung mga commercial paglabas mo sa TV?

Theater.

Ah, theater nauna.

Tapos, finally, pinansin na ako ng lola ko.

Sabi niya, ah, marunong ko parang kumanta.

O sige, mag-aawitan kita ka na.

Yes, aawitan kita.

O, yan ko na. Doon ko na natutunan ng camera 1 and camera 2.

And then, after that,

siguro mga 10 na ako noon, 11.

As in, recording ako ng recording sa

aawitan kita.

So, whatever is left

of the way I speak,

yung enunciation ko,

doon ko talaga natutunan sa lola ko.

Parang yun yung training.

Kasi, diba, like a lot of people, they say,

alam nila na Inglesera ako and whatever.

Pero, kapag magsalita ako

and I have to learn a script,

wala akong, wala akong accent.

Wala.

Wala akong, ano, kasi talagang

pinapauwi ako ng lola ko kung hindi correct.

Yung puso. Puso.

Puso. Puso.

Puso. Lahat yan,

inano niya talaga, inisa-isa niya

yan sa recording studio.

Kaya, kahit ako ngayon, thank you,

mahal. As in,

yung tenga ko talaga, kapag may narinig akong

off sa the pronunciation,

naalala akong lola ko.

Kasi, grabe siya.

As in, nobody thought

na papauwiin niya ako

sa recording.

Nobody thought na papahiyain niya ako

to the people. Or she'll fire me.

She fired me in one show.

Hindi nga. Oo.

Sinabi niya sa face mo?

Sarap na maraming tao? Go home.

Ba't kanya pinauwi? Anong ginawa mo?

I cut my hair.

Eh, ito yung beginning ng hair kong ganito.

So, mas matanda na ako noon, ha.

As in, adult na ako noon, ha.

Nainis siya. Nainis siya kasi

maiklina yung buho ko. Tapos,

eh, di ba pag-aawitan kita, kailangan dalagang

Pilipina. Eh, di na mukhang dalagang Pilipina to.

Pero sinumatnong ko siya nang,

eh, bakit ikaw, nang

aawitan kita, bakit ganito din yung buho ko noon, ha.

Pinauwi ako.

Sabi niya sa'yo?

No one to talk to yung

mga nanon ako. So, I said, okay.

As in, nag-aawit talaga kami ng bongga.

And then, syempre in the end, I'm going to

say sorry, cry, whatever.

So, ayun. I mean, that was

a relationship. I think

my other cousins enjoyed a more

Lola?

relationship. But because early on,

I was already yung parang

tinututu ka niya na, ah, okay,

baka ito naman ang kakanta at

magsasobis and going to

continue a career in the performing arts.

Kailangan, kailangan ayusin ko to.

Saka, di ba ang tawag na rin sa'yo, you were

like the young Lea Salonga?

Yeah, that was major pressure on my part

because I did not sound like her.

And my voice did not evolve

that way. Ibang iba.

Paano mo siya na meet, si Miss Lea?

Si Lea, alam na niya, well,

my grandmother was also a fan.

And my grandmother, actually, yung

Lola ko had aawitan kita videos

of her before Miss Saigon

pa, okay? And then,

nung nagbukas ang Miss Saigon,

talagang lumipad yung Lola ko

to London para panuorin siya.

So, there was a relationship there.

She knew

I was a fan, but I don't think she knew

that I was somebody that people

were grooming to follow in her

steps. E din nakakapresure. Oo,

kasi hindi ko naman plane yun. I think that was

also a way na parang sabihin lang ng mga tao

na ano kaya siya. Di ba, kailangan may title

lagi. So, I think that was it.

Oo nga dito sa bansa natin. Kailangan,

ano kayang title pwede siya? Kailangan natin ng title.

So, child singing sensation lang.

As if I'll come up with the title

at that age. Oo.

Hindi, kasi yun ang expectation ng public

sa'yo because nga of the success

you received at a very young

age. Yes. So, parang they're

expecting na talagang, ah, ito yung

batang tututukan namin kasi ito yung

parang career path na susundan nyo.

And ganoon din ang mga network noon at that

point. But, ayoko

e. Anong ayaw mo? At that point,

lumalabas na sina Brittany

at that point. Christina Aguilera. Oo.

At that point. Oo, early 2000.

Yes. And then at that point

also, may mga lumalabas na rin

na other talented

kids of celebrities

and also a whole. New breed.

Onslaught of new breed. Diba?

It was the, it was the days of

TGIS, tabing ilog.

It was there. Okay?

And I wasn't fitting in anything.

Kinausap na ako ng mami ko, sabi niya,

this is your chance. Kung gusto mong

mag-US at mag-college,

pumunta ka na. Kasi laos ka na e.

It's so many words.

Kaka-straightforward. My mom's gonna

blame me. She's gonna say, why do you always make me look

like the bad guy sa mga interview mo?

Hindi siya bad guy, okay? It's just

in so many words, sinabi na niya e.

Straightforward lang. Sabi niya, look, everybody is

promising you the world, pero wala

namang dumarating. May talisery

ka ba? Wala. May show ka ba?

Wala. Ginagano na talaga.

Ilang taong ka niyan? 16,

17. So this

is your chance. If you wanna go, go.

And have something that

you can fall back on. Maghanap ka na ng

fallback. Kasi hindi natin alam kung tatagal

to. And I'm

grateful ah. I'm super grateful that she did

that. I mean, it's harsh. But

ayoko din yung, ah, okay, sige.

Sige, tingnan ko kung mayro'n naman pala kung

ibang maibubuga, diba, rather than singing.

So I decided to go abroad.

And then, I did 4 years there.

I refused

to perform. I refused to take

anything to do with performing arts.

Instead, kasi parang

I wanted to forget na rin. Parang I wanted to

change my life talaga.

I thought it was going to be a change.

Kakalimutan mo yung pagkanta. Oo.

Boses mo, itatago mo. Sobrang

ganun mo. No, but what I did was

nag-music ako. As in, kasi

sa school namin, walang mga degree.

May mga concentrations.

Maggagraduate ka,

liberal arts degree. Yun lang yun.

Pero may concentrations ka. So ang concentration

ko, I started to do music. Music

theory, music production,

um, voice. Talagang

I went into classical

for a while. I went into jazz.

Dun ko na-discover lahat yun.

I mean, I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying

I can do it now. But I'm just saying, at least

naging mas well-rounded yung pagkakaalam ko

sa music, rather than yung

trabaho ko lang.

Kamusta yung life mo in New York for four years? Quiet.

Away from the limelight. Quiet.

Away from everything. And I had no money. Like, I was

relying for the first time. Well,

I was relying on allowance.

That's it. I was relying

on allowance and whatever my dad gave me. So normal life

talaga lahat? Normal.

Normal. So enjoy mo?

I did. I did kasi for the

first time, naramdaman ko yung

mga kaibigan na

gusto ka lang for you.

Wala silang alam sa buhay mo. Wala silang

wala. This is premium.

Di nila alam yung Chris Milion ko sa Pilipinas? Oo.

Like, they only found out siguro

three to six months later. Tawag nila

sa'yo Anna? Anna.

Ayaw mo ng Chris? Ayaw ko ng Chris. Actually, up to now.

Hindi nga. Hindi ka talaga gusto.

Kasi I associate it with

kailangan on ako.

Kailangan, Chris Milion ko ako.

Kaya ayaw na ayaw ko pag may tunatakot sa akin,

Chris Milion ko ako. Kasi

parang, ah okay, so I need to put it on.

Feeling ko, ano ka yun? It's your

persona. Parang Sasha Fierce.

Ganon. It's the persona.

So paano kang bumalik sa theater?

Tinawagan ko yung tao sa

Repertory Philippines noon. I said,

I don't care. Magsisimula akong ensemble.

Basta gusto ko lang

sumabak. And talagang kung okay ako

doon, then maybe I'll work

my way into theater.

So that's what I did. I auditioned

in front of Baby Baredo

again. Drabe siya pa rin. Full circle.

I'm in front of her and

her eyes lit up

and then she goes. And I was

auditioning for Children's Theater pa nga noon.

So Children's Theater is like araw-araw

five in the morning, papasok ka sa

theater, magsishow ka ng seven,

eleven, three, five.

She said, okay,

you're my Cinderella. Yan yung

ano, the show. And then

there. And then that year, I got

like three or four

of the lead roles

at that time.

Parang doon ka talaga, no? Oo.

You're meant to be on stage. Yeah.

And that's where I kind of, that's where I was.

And then nakapag-Disney pa ako

sa Hong Kong. Nagtabaho pa ako doon.

Anong minahal mo sa theater,

sa performing on stage?

Again, it's the discipline and

that I never had to perform as

Chris Villonco.

I always had to perform as

another character.

And that made me very comfortable in my

skin. That I could be somebody

else.

For just two hours. How did

motherhood change you?

I'm nicer.

I think I'm more patient.

I've become a little bit still more manic.

And I had to learn over

that year na parang

talks ka lang. Nandyan lang siya.

Kaya niya yan. How does it feel holding your

child for the first time? By the time

we got home and by the time I was looking

at him, actually I

feel it more now. Now

that parang buong-buo na

sa ano niya, sa isip niya na

nanay ka, nanay mo.

Is he two or three? One.

He's one? He's one. Oo yun ang cute

na stage. Yeah.

Nagsasalita, malambe. And he's still

blonde. It's a little weird.

Mas ngayon nagsisink in

yung pagiging nanay. Oo.

Chochong-chocho pa rin siya sa akin.

So, you know, that's it.

Anong nagustuhan mo sa pagiging nanay?

I think yung

sobrang nagustuhan ko is knowing

what I want

and what I don't want for the

child. I think we were

very, very particular

about the way he was

going to be raised. We did

not like the fact na

there were all these names already

being associated

with him. Ayokong

any semblance na special

siya. Dahil? Dahil

Special in a way ng special treatment.

Special treatment. And also kasi

nakita ko yun with me.

Gusto mo siyang lumaki as a normal

kid? Yes. Because I didn't have that.

I wasn't normal.

Nine years old,

I was already dealing with

are they gonna like me? Are they gonna capture me?

Are they going to love me?

I already had an audience. Kasi bata ka palang

nasa limelight ka na,

exposed ka na sa public opinion.

Public figure ka na at a very young

age. Yes. Eh that's the time

na dapat hinahanap mo palang yung sarili mo.

Exactly. Inaalam mo palang

kung sino ka, minamanuever mo palang

yung mundo na, saan ba ako pupunta?

Tapos nakalatag na lahat sa'yo. Correct.

Or even in your personal relationships,

di ba, do you like me for me?

Or do you like me for everything that comes

with me? May ganon?

May ganon, oo. Di ba?

What did you learn in life, looking back?

I think when I look

back at all of that,

I cannot blame

anyone. I cannot blame

any circumstances for whatever

I am today.

But all I know is that

as long as I keep

working on myself,

and the way I want to

treat other people, and the way

I want to show my son,

and possibly whoever comes

after that, how

we deal with a world

like this, I cannot hide

anything anymore. My life

has always, always been an open book.

Also because my family has

chosen to be very open

about their situations

in life. And

no matter how private,

people wanna know.

And people will judge, and

people will do all of that.

But for me, I go along, I go

with my rules, my values,

based on what I learned from the

past. And it took a while for me

to decide on my own

that this is what I'm happy with.