MANILA — Seven months after she left ABS-CBN’s long-running primetime series, FPJ’s “Ang Probinsiyano,” where she essayed the role of Alyana, the journalist-wife of Cardo Dalisay (Coco Martin), 26-year-old actress Yassi Pressman does not deny her excitement now that Julia Montes has joined the series.
Montes made her debut on Monday’s episode to highlight the sixth anniversary of “Ang Probinsyano.”
“When I saw Julia joining ‘Ang Probinsyano,’ I said that is definitely a great move,” Pressman told ABS-CBN News.
“Sigurado ako na-miss ng mga tao si Julia. Ang tagal niyang nagpahinga. I don’t know what she did, but it was definitely great for her. For her to be coming back and be seen in ‘Ang Probinsyano’ will make so many people happy. I just wish them the best.
“Alam ko na kahit ano’ng gawin ng ‘Ang Probinsyano’ family, it’s always worked on hard at laging pinag-isipan ng mabuti.”
Pressman started in showbiz in 2009 when she was only 14. She was signed up by Viva Artists Agency (VAA) and started as a dancer when she was first launched.
“I didn’t start acting until later on,” Pressman disclosed. “It has been such a great relationship, me and Viva. They helped me grow into the actress, the woman or the performer that I am now by giving me advice when I was way younger.
“Now, I’m very happy where I am going and I’m excited to see where our relationship takes us. It has been amazing. I’m very thankful to Viva.”
Admittedly, Pressman has been feeling a lot of pressure now that she is about to start filming again. The last time she was seen on the big screen was in Ivan Andrew Payawal’s romantic-comedy, “Ang Pambansang Third Wheel” (2018), where she was paired with Sam Milby.
After the lockdown, Pressman is set to start filming the drama adaptation, “More Than Blue,” where she will be joined by leading men JC Santos and Marco Gumabao, with Nuel Naval at the helm.
“I don’t want to disappoint,” Pressman said. “There are a lot of expectations, as well. I just want to focus on our piece. Malaking-malaki po ang tiwala ko kay direct Nuel Naval. Sigurado ako, hindi niya kami pababayaan. I’m excited. I’ll just do my best.”
On her laptop, Pressman has two previous versions of “More Than Blue” — the 2009 South Korean drama and the 2018 Taiwanese version.
“I want to create this version with direct Nuel without any thoughts about how others did it,” Pressman insisted. “I want to be as pure and as natural as a regular human being. Ayokong ma-pressure kung paano nila ginawa.
“Ayoko din gayahin anything previously done by the other actors. I feel a lot more with reading the script. It’s my way of doing it also in ‘Ang Probinsyano.’ Our script there, on the spot. That’s how I release my emotions in the most raw way.
Pressman can’t wait to work again. “The reason I’m so excited to do ‘More Than Blue,’ the script is really beautiful,” Pressman said. “I read the script many times and each time I do, I cry.
“I feel for the different characters, as well. May pag-ibig silang kaka-iba and it’s very complicated. Minsan, ang pag-ibig, kapag complicated, mas maraming sacrifice at mas mahirap. Pero at the end of the day kung mahal mo, talagang ipaglalaban mo.”
Pressman went to the US and Canada recently for her oral hygiene company, Wavee. “We successfully found work partners and I’m very excited about that,” she said.
She was joined by her sister, Issa, and that gave them time to bond longer. “I had never been to Los Angeles and Las Vegas,” Pressman said. “We visited Joshua Tree [National Park]. We saw a lot of friends and we had a lot of fun. They were all amazing places with amazing people.”
One of the highlights of Pressman’s US trip was meeting NBA superstar Damian Lillard in Los Angeles. Pressman and Lillard have known each other for a long time now, but they only got to meet last July.
“I called him after I learned about what happened to the PGH [Philippine General Hospital] last May,” disclosed Pressman. “I know he’s one person who’s always willing to help many charities.
“In fact, when I called him for PGH, I told him, ‘Hi, there’s a fire. I want to help them. You also want to help?’ He said, ‘No problem.’ Right then and there, he gave an amount.”
When Pressman met Lillard personally, they had lunch and spent time together. “What he is on TV, he’s like that in person,” Pressman said about the NBA cager. “He’s very humble, normal and very down to earth.
“They were supposed to come here to Manila after Japan, but they couldn’t get a flight. He has been here before and he really wants to come back.”
Lillard has visited the Philippines previously, first in 2014 for the charity basketball event the “Last Home Stand” and in 2016 for his summer tour.
Recently, Pressman also invested her earnings in a property in Canada, at Lake Scugog, near Ontario. Not that she is planning to migrate there in the near future. “I have been looking at property investments and Canada was one of the places,” she explained.
“Some of my partners are there. Canada ang unang natapos and they are able to build and run Air B&B there.”
While Pressman has started to explore her entrepreneurial skills, she assured her fans that she will remain in showbiz.
“My bread and butter for my family are acting, hosting and performing,” Pressman said. “But I’m opening Presidential Paws, the Philippines’ first dog park at BGC (Bonifacio Global City). We are opening another one at The Farm in San Benito.”
