Photos: CONTRIBUTED, Apple TV
LOS ANGELES – Dolly de Leon has barely set foot in Manila since returning from Hollywood, and now she’s flying again. This time, she’s bound for Australia to film her new Netflix series, “Feral.”
When we had a catch-up interview with the Filipina actress at The London Hotel in West Hollywood, hours before the LA premiere of “Forgotten Island,” where she voiced the delightful, spunky Lola, she shared, “I’m doing a project in October. It’s an Australian series.”
‘Feral’
That turned out to be “Feral,” Netflix’s new comedic drama series. The streaming giant recently made it official – it has announced that de Leon is joining the seven-episode series as a character named Elena.
Netflix’s announcement revealed that de Leon is in quite good company of actresses – Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Jessica Gunning (“Baby Reindeer”), Genevieve O’Reilly (“Andor”) and Phillipa Northeast (“My Brilliant Career”).
The announcement further stated, “What happens when you put four wildly different women together on one tropical island? Find out in ‘Feral,’ a thrilling and darkly funny series from writer and executive producer Jude Mack.
“The recently greenlit series is based on Shirley Conran’s bestselling novel ‘Savages’ and is being produced by Hera Pictures in association with Warner Bros. International Television Production. The story of adventure and survival begins when four women accompany their mining executive husbands on a corporate holiday to a beautiful but lethal island.”
‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ season 2
Dolly de Leon and Jon Michael Hill in ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ | Photo from Apple TV
De Leon also just got the good news that “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,” where she co-stars as the sharp Detective Gonzalez with Tatiana Maslany, has been renewed for season 2 by Apple TV. The cast and the darkly comedic thriller have earned critical praise.
“She’s not the stereotypical detective,” de Leon described her detective Sofia Gonzalez. “And she’s also not a stereotypical Filipina. She could actually be played by any ethnicity. There’s no need for her to be played by any specific ethnicity. And that’s what I think makes her special.
“Because you still see the Filipino in her. You can tell that she’s Filipina. By the way she talks. And it’s also brought up by another character in the series.
Dolly de Leon and Tatiana Maslany in ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed | Photo from Apple TV
“So for me, it’s very important because usually people like us, we play victims or we play the weak ones in a situation. But this time, she’s the one in control.
“She’s the boss, she’s in command and she knows what she’s doing. She’s a professional. It was very important for me to be able to play someone like that for a change.”
“She is a dream to work with,” de Leon said of Maslany, who leads the show as Paula Saunders. “She is fun. She knows how to have fun on set. She knows how to play on set.
Dolly de Leon and Tatiana Maslany on a break on the set of ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed,’ recently renewed for season 2. Photo from dollyedeleon/Instagram
“And she’s very in the moment. You don’t see her watching you because sometimes actors do that. They watch you perform. You can see that she is really being the character and she’s living the scene with me. And that really helps me. So I love working with her. She’s the best.”
Stephen King so loved “Maximum…” that he wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “ ‘Widow’s Bay’ is good. ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ is even better. It’s like Hitchcock came back to do it one more time.”
Asked to comment on the King of Horror’s praise, de Leon answered, “That’s a bit contentious because some would argue that ‘Widow’s Bay’ is a really great show. And I’m a huge fan of that show. I love that show.
“But Stephen King is also my favorite author of all time. So for him to say that, I’ll take it. Thank you, sir. I love that he saw it and he loved it, especially because he has a very particular taste.”
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
On also being part of seasons 2 and 3 of Netflix’s live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” she replied, “That was great. We shot that in Vancouver. Jon Jon Briones is also in it. He’s going to be in season three.
“It’s my first time playing twins (Lo and Li). I had a body double. She is also a Filipina, Eileen Cruz, who’s based in Vancouver. That was a wonderful experience.”
In film, the trailblazing Pinay actress is also in great company in India Donaldson’s crime comedy drama, “The Chaperones.” She stars with Alfred Molina, Paul Dano, Danielle Deadwyler and Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman).
No less than Brad Pitt and Robert Pattinson are among the producers of this A24 release.
“We shot that last year in Santa Fe, New Mexico,” Dolly pointed out. “And that was so much fun. I loved doing that film. I think it’s set to be released next year.
“My character’s name is Cece,” she said of her character. “She’s definitely Filipino. Married to an American. And they have Filipino American children. And she plays the stepmom of the lead character.”
“And they’re just another stumbling block that the characters encounter on their way to a destination. I can’t reveal what that is but I’m the stepmom.”
Likely to shoot next year is the much-awaited “The Heidi Fleiss Story,” a biographical crime drama on the LA madam who ran an upscale prostitution ring in the early 90s.
IMDb lists that de Leon will play another Beverly Hills madam. “The legendary Madam Alex Adams,” de Leon commented. “Yes, I’m looking forward to playing her.”
Wiki reports that Madam Alex was born in Manila and that she had Filipino, German and Spanish heritage.
‘Forgotten Island’
As the voice of the Lola in ‘Forgotten Island,’ Dolly de Leon has earned praise. Photo from DreamWorks
In the meantime, before she plays a convicted madam, de Leon won hearts for voicing the unconventional Lola in Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s “Forgotten Island.”
The diminutive talent revealed that the two directors were with her in New York when she recorded her voice for the highly praised DreamWorks animated film.
“They just let me (voice the Lola),” she said of the filmmakers. “The voice and the way I approached her was a combination of both (directors and her approach). And also, I was inspired by the Filipina Lola that we have today, not from the olden times because they were very conservative.
“She’s very progressive. She’s a combination of my own Lolas who are conservative. And also the Lolas of today and probably the Lola that I will become when I become one someday.”
Dolly de Leon voices Lola with H.E.R.’s Jo and Liza Soberano’s Raissa in ‘Forgotten Island.’ Photo from DreamWorks
“This is a very important project for all of us Filipinos,” de Leon touted the film that tapped Philippine folklore and mythology and cast Filipino American actors, led by H.E.R and Liza Soberano. “I think 2026 is our year. It’s about time that we’re represented because this is the very first time that our culture has been represented on this scale.
“It’s about time because we’re all over the place. We’re in every single country that you go to. We’re there. Our stories are now being told from the lens of someone who is really Filipino and who’s lived that culture.
“And I love that we’re sharing our humor with the world because we’re so funny. I love that humor. Very unique. So I’m so happy that we’re sharing that with the world. This is everything. And this is just the beginning.”
De Leon also did stellar work in voice acting in “The Missing (Iti Mapukpukaw),” Carl Joseph Papa’s 2023 animated film, which harvested a slew of awards.
“I played the mother of Carlo Aquino’s character,” she said. “And I played a Kapampangan so I wasn’t even speaking Filipino there. So that was a very different challenge. I had to learn a new language.”
More projects are coming de Leon’s way. “There is other stuff in the pipeline,” she said. “They’re still being discussed.”
De Leon has been so busy that in our conversation, she admitted, “I want to go home now. I’m looking forward to going home. I’ve been away now for six weeks.”
Away since September, de Leon said she misses her family.
Amid all these breaks, de Leon remains very grateful to director Ruben Ostlund for her breakthrough role as Abigail in “Triangle of Sadness.”
Becoming the first Filipina to earn a Golden Globe best supporting actress nomination was among the honors de Leon received as a result of her portrayal of a luxury yacht cleaning lady who becomes the de facto leader after a shipwreck.
“Every time I think about where I came from, how I was struggling to find work,” she opened up. “And now, I’m getting to do what I love and I’m working for me – that’s the greatest reward.
“I’m just happy I’m still working and I’m still able to work because this profession matters a lot to me. It’s close to my heart and it means a lot.
“So I’m just so fortunate that because of what happened four years ago, I’m able to do something like ‘Forgotten Island.’ So, just that it’s an honor. And I’ll always be forever grateful to him (Ruben). This is all he’s doing.”
De Leon also thanked other people for helping her break the mold in mainstream entertainment. But she also did it through sheer talent.
“I’m not doing this alone,” she stressed. “It takes a bunch of people to help you go through this. I don’t think I’d be here if not for my representation, Fusion Entertainment and Gersh. Without them and my lawyer, I wouldn’t be getting jobs. So they’ve really been working hard to make sure that I’m continuously working.”
Ruben V. Nepales is an LA-based journalist whose honors include nine first prizes from the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards and the Los Angeles Press Club’s Southern California Journalism Awards. He authored “Through a Writer’s Lens,” which won first prize in nonfiction at the 2020-2021 National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. In 2004, he became the first Filipino voter of the Golden Globe Awards. He is a member of the Golden Globe Foundation, one of Hollywood’s biggest philanthropic organizations.
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