pikadaily

After the media launch of her upcoming teleserye Prima Donnas in the Kapuso network, Aiko Melendez was asked how she handles working with young actors who are certified “primadonnas” on set.

“Napansin ko [na] ’yong mga bata ngayon, hindi na sila ganun ka-mindful doon sa mga senior actors,” the former child actress said. “[Hindi na sila bumabati ng] ‘Hi! Good evening po!’ ‘Yong iintayin nila na sila ‘yong unang papansinin. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba sa training na nahihiya sila na sila ’yong mauna?”

“Kaya minsan ako tuloy, para lang just to break the ice, ako ’yung unang [bumabati] ng ‘Hi! Ako po si Aiko Melendez! Ka-work niyo ko!’” she added.

Melendez says she does that to young actors , not as an act of insult, but to imbibe a lesson that they should have a sense of respect towards their senior colleagues.

She then adds that she is not referring to actors from one channel, but presses that both have actors who fail to show respect.

“May sarili silang mundo,” she said. “Hindi lang sa GMA and sa ABS. Both. Both channels maraming may ganyan. May amnesia factor. Kasi kami nakagawian namin, kung napapansin niyo, obligasyon ng writers na isulat kayo pero kasi kami, ’pag nababasa namin, nagpapasalamat pa rin kami. Unlike ’yong ibang mga artista, kapag sinulat sila, [sasabihin nila] ‘Bat ako mag-tha-thank you? Hello? Kailangan niyo naman kami i-sulat?!’”

When asked if there are a lot of primadonna actors in the industry, Melendez could not agree more. However, does she ever feel insulted when they do not pay their respects?

“Deadma ako, di ba?” she said. “Basta ako, trabaho lang ako. Good vibes lang ako. Kung hindi mo ko mapansin, edi hinde.”

She then recalls of a time she worked with a certain young star she worked with who just passes by her whenever she sees her.

Melendez then makes it a point to befriend the young actors to make them feel at ease, talking to them in their respective social media accounts.

“Minsan bina-bakla ko para maging komportable sila sa [amin]. You know, eventually, it works kasi mas nagiging humble sila. Mas nahihiya sila,” she says.