How TV’s archenemies Mercedes and Cherry Pie bond amid slapping, hair-pulling scenes

Actress Mercedes Cabral, who is now more popular as the mean girl Lena in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” humbly admitted that most of the dialogue in the show that were turned into memes were suggested by her coactor Cherry Pie Picache, who plays her nemesis Marites.

In the series, Mercedes and Cherry Pie are rivals for the love and attention of Rigor, played by John Estrada. As in most productions headed by Coco Martin, the cast members are kept on their toes because they are not given scripts. They are only handed bullet points during takes “in order to give them complete freedom in creating their characters.”

“I really enjoy working with Ms. Pie. She’s very generous. She’s really an A-list actor. She’s very intelligent and witty, and picks up quickly. While I appreciate working with our writers on the set, most of our lines that became memes and have trended were from Ms Pie. They were her ideas,” Mercedes told Inquirer Entertainment during the media gathering to promote their first big-screen project together, Joel Lamangan’s “Fatherland.”

‘Risk’

“I’m excited for this project. It’s my first time working with Direk Joel as my director. I’m also looking forward to working with the rest of the cast,” said Mercedes. Also part of the film are Iñigo Pascual, Richard Yap, Allen Dizon, Angel Aquino, Ara Mina, Max Eigenmann and Jim Pebanco.

“I’m thankful to Direk Joel for always keeping me in mind,” said Cherry Pie. “It’s a good feeling to know that there are producers who are willing to take the risk on this film, or on any Filipino film. We all know that it’s not easy to produce these days.”

“Fatherland” is written by Roy Iglesias and coproduced by BenTria Productions and Heaven’s Best Entertainment.

‘Role reversal’

At the time of the interview, the two actresses had not read the script yet, so Joel had to explain to them what they were supposed to do. “Roda will take revenge on them,” said Joel, referring to his character in “Batang Quiapo.” “Seriously, I included them in the cast because I know they are good actors. I know how cooperative they are. I saw how progressive their minds are, that’s why I said I will direct these two, but I want a role reversal—Mercedes will be the good girl, while Cherry Pie will be bad.”

Joel said Cherry Pie will play a town mayor, who has Filipino Chinese blood. She is married to a Chinese character played by Richard Yap.

“She didn’t grow up in a farm, but in a fishing village,” said Joel, who seemed to be alluding to statements made by controversial provincial mayor Alice Guo. “Mercedes is Cherry Pie’s vice mayor. She will expose all of Cherry Pie’s illegal dealings.”

Cherry Pie and Mercedes are often seen bickering on their TV show, with the occasional face-slapping and hair-pulling. This is why we asked them to describe what it’s like for them to work on the set.

“First of all, we have a very good working relationship. I’m excited because we will be seen in a different platform through this project. I always tell Cheds (Mercedes’ nickname) that I’m jealous of her role because, for me, acting as a good girl eventually becomes boring. If you’re the antagonist, your character is always colorful. You can play with it. It has more layers. It’s more challenging. Now that I’m playing the bad one here, I say, ‘I love it!’”

Different dynamics

Cherry Pie continued: “The dynamics are also different because we will be working with Roda as our director. He is very friendly in the TV show, but when he’s the one directing, everything will be different. I grew up working with Direk Joel. He is one of the few directors I respect and admire. He’s an old-school director. I’ve also shared with Cheds that she has to come to the set prepared, she has to be quick-witted and alert.”

She added: “Cheds and I, we’re both actors and we both love our craft. We always work for the scene. We have great respect for each other as actors. We always collaborate. We always ask each other, ‘Is it OK to do this? Is it OK to say that?’ We’re given dialogue to deliver, but we improvise. We discuss how to best reply to a line. We try to work things out. I don’t know what to expect because I’ve not read the script yet, but I’m looking forward to it because we will be playing different roles. I’m looking forward to what I will be able to create with Cheds here, also with Direk Joel, who will no longer be our coactor but our director.”

Mercedes added: “What’s my plan? When I arrive on the set, I will simply let my emotions flow and allow it to guide me.”