Maria Ozawa reveals why she left the adult film industry

By BIANCA ROSE DABU, GMA News

Published June 23, 2015 6:48pm

It has been a good five years since Japanese actress Maria Ozawa quit the adult film industry. Since then, she has focused on more PG-friendly films, programs and projects in her native Japan as well as in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

"It's been a while since I quit and it's not like I was forced to do it. But I had a dream and I wanted to do it...I wanted to change my career. I got my goal in Japan and for the next step, I had to quit the industry. It was hard for me to do everything at the same time," she told reporters on Tuesday.

Ozawa is in the Philippines to promote her first mainstream Filipino film, "Nilalang." The horror movie also stars Robin Padilla and will start filming in August. "Nilalang" will be part of the Metro Manila Film Festival roster in December and will also be shown in Japan, said Haunted Towers Pictures producer Andre Urbina.

Stigma

Ozawa does not deny that there is a stigma attached to her former career. But it is a stigma she hopes to overcome.

"In Japan, they know me everywhere because I've been working there for 10 years. [But] when I go overseas, there are a lot of characteristics that people think about me—when they see me in magazines, for example. But when I go there, they find out I'm actually different. It's surprising for them, and it's surprising for me, too. I didn't know that they have these different images of me," she said.

Ozawa said she has many bashers, especially on social media, since she quit the adult film industry. But the actress is determined not to let misconceptions and negative perceptions bother her.

"You can't be liked by everybody, but it doesn't bother me at all. I'm doing what I want to do and it's my dream come true. So what's bad about it?" she said.

"When I just debuted in this industry, it really broke my heart. But now, I realized that the more they talk bad stuff about me, the more I'm getting attention from everybody. They could say whatever they want. They're only saying that because they care about me, they're thinking about me. Hate is a feeling, so you have a feeling for me, so thank you."

Maria also admitted to actually being shy about doing simple love scenes in films and programs.

"The moment I quit that industry, I was so shy. Everything was just very intense, all kinds of filming. Even comedy with some love [scenes], it's new to me. I'm supposed to be used to it, but it's so different," she said. — BM, GMA News@gmanews.tv>

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