A New and Different Amy Austria Stars in "Tanikala: Ang Ikaapat na Yugto" this Holy Week

On Maundy Thursday, catch veteran actress Amy Austria-Ventura in one of her rare appearances on TV in the Holy Week Special Tanikala: Ang Ikaapat ng Yugto. In her notable performance and unique role as Lupe in the episode entitled "Unos", Amy plays the life of a loving mother who performs witchcraft to support her family.

She shares, “I play the role of Lupe here, a loving mother to her children. But since her husband is unable to support the family, she also does witchcraft which she learned from her ancestors so she could earn money...but she is a good person. For the family, for her children…she’ll do anything whatever it takes.”

When asked if she was challenged with the role, the actress admitted that she felt a little uncomfortable with some of the scenes, despite her being a distinguished and experienced actress. The reason – Amy now “chooses” her roles with conviction. And this happened after she experienced a life-changing encounter.

“As much as possible, I don’t like to do horror films. I would, maybe, before when I wasn’t a Christian yet. But eversince I got to know the Lord, I don’t accept those kinds of roles anymore. I even have to do chants and rituals here because of my role as babaylan which makes it really uncomfortable for me,” explains Amy.

She adds, “I accepted this project because this is my commitment to the Lord, I believe this is my chance to share the gospel to the people. Plus the fact that they will really learn a lot from the story of Lupe.”

To prepare for the heavy scenes, Amy’s preparation requires more than just the physical and the technical aspects. She never forgets the most important preparation – Prayer. “I always pray for God’s protection and guidance. I even asked my friends to cover me with prayers because of the chantings and rituals that I had to do for the story.”

Amy also shares how she relates with her character, Lupe. As a mother, she knows how it is to love and to love unselfishly, especially when it comes to her son. According to her, her love grew even more when she met the one who really loves her unconditionally. In addition, she discovered the true purpose of her life and of her special gift in acting.

“Before, I act just for the sake of acting as my job. I have to act because I am the breadwinner of our family. When I became a Christian, as much as possible, I do it for the glory of God.”




"Unos" also stars actors Alden Richards and Mike Lloren. Watch "Unos" episode of Tanikala: Ang Ikaapat ng Yugto on April 5 (Maundy Thursday) 5:00 p.m. on GMA 7. Written by Gin Sardea and directed by John Tan.



Tanikala: Ang Ikaapat na Yugto is the Holy Week special of CBN Asia, the producer of weeknight inspirational TV program The 700 Club Asia. “LIKE” its official Facebook Fanpage www.facebook.com/tanikala4 for regular updates on Tanikala.