Dolly de Leon on her Hollywood films, doing 'Nine Perfect Strangers' in Germany

It must be so wonderful to be Dolly de Leon these days.

The former Golden Globe nominee, the first Filipina actor to achieve that feat, is finding herself realizing all her Hollywood dreams come true.

She has two Hollywood movies in Sundance; she is a producer in one; she is working with Nicole Kidman in "Nine Perfect Strangers" in Germany; and she has more projects and films lined up.

The world is her oyster.

We are happy for Dolly whom we first met in Cannes when she did her now iconic role as Abigail, the toilet manager-turned-captain in Ruben Ostlund's award-winning "Triangle of Sadness."

We were able to chat by phone with Dolly in between her breaks while filming "Nine Perfect Strangers" in Munich. Below are excerpts of that conversation.

Congratulations on your two very good Hollywood movies, "Ghostlight" and "Between the Temples." Talk about why you decided to do these two movies.

For "Ghostlight", it's very close to my heart because it's about mental health. It's about surviving the loss of someone who has taken their own life, without spoiling it. Losing a family member to that and then finding healing through theater. I'm a theater practitioner, so it was very close to my heart because it's something that I dearly love. And of course, the script written by Kelly O'Sullivan, which is a really beautiful script. I could not say no to playing Rita in that way with such a talented group of actors who are from Chicago, from the theater scene in Chicago. I felt like I was right at home with them.

For "Between the Temples," it was really interesting for me to play a Jewish convert. So, I wanted to do something different, something that I don't usually do. Judith is a very different character from all the ones I've played in the past. She's very unique. And it tells the story of how a man is finding his way again through loss and how his family supports him that way. And to work with Jason Schwartzman, and Carol Kane.

Tell me more about working with both of them. I know they're both very talented actors.

They're very, very giving because we had to improvise one scene. That was the Shabbat scene, the dinner scene. And they had a lot of ideas and they were very generous with sharing those ideas to make the scene work. So, to work with, I mean, especially, Carol Kane, who's been around for a long time. At first, I was a bit intimidated by her, but she's so kind. And then Jason, who's such a warm, friendly fellow, and super nice, and so talented. It's always fun to work with talented people.

So, the dinner scene is improvised?

It's improvised. Yeah, we were just given lines to work with. We tried it with the lines. And then on the second day, we tried doing it improvised. So, our director, Nathan Silver, combined both versions, the improvised and the scripted.

And how did you prepare for your character as an offbeat, pushy realtor who sang and started singing and praying?

My classmate from high school has an aunt who migrated to the States in her 30s, a Filipina. She met a Jewish man, fell in love and migrated. Aunt Bernadette was basically my peg for Judaism. We had a long talk and I asked her a lot of questions. And she was more than happy to answer all of my questions.

And in "Ghostlight," you were an acting teacher?

Not really an acting teacher. But more of a community theater production company actor.

How was it working with a cast from different races?

It was the best. They are the nicest people. We have the same passion for theater and it felt so good to be working among people like that who feel exactly the same way I do about theater. So, I was in the best company in "Ghostlight."

Were you reminded of your acting days when you started doing workshops?

Yes, it was also an inspiration for doing Rita because I was like her a few years ago, so I really get her.

How was that working with Keith Kupferer, his wife Tara Mallen Kupferer and their daughter Katherine Mallen Kupferer?

They're the best. They're such a talented family. They made me feel very welcome in their hometown. They made me feel right at home and they made me feel very welcome. I felt that I was part of a big family. We were like one big happy family. They're wonderful people, and Katherine's such a talented young lady. So, you to be able to see the dynamic between them as a family was funny. It was mostly funny for me because I would see how they would always tell Katherine how to do things, giving her pointers, and they were coaching each other. So that was a lot of fun.

So, you were also the Juliet of Keith here. Did you ever perform Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" in school?

I did actually. I performed Juliet but not the full play, just the excerpt, the balcony scene. I did that when I was a sophomore at UP. We joined the British Council Speech Contest and that was our entry. And we won that. And another actor, Dean Alfaro.

You've been getting a lot of good reviews for both movies. Hollywood Reporter says you had a deliciously tart turn. And it works for the movies.

Wow! That's so good! You know, if you're surrounded by talented writers like Kelly O'Sullivan (for "Ghostlight") and Chris Mason-Wells, who was a writer for "Between the Temples," and Nathan Silver ("Between the Temples"), your job becomes easy. It takes an entire team to make anything work. And if you're supported by a group of talented and dedicated people, you can't go wrong, how can you? I'm lucky that I was working with such wonderful people. I feel so good that I got to do it.

This is your first time working with Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson. They were in Cannes, right? For "Saint Frances."

They were there for "Saint Frances," but I had only met them while doing "Ghostlight."

You and your manager, Adam Kersh, are the producers of this film. What made you decide on taking this role and how challenging is it to be a producer?

Well, eventually that is the goal for me as an actor. I want to be able to produce my own work because it's not just the acting part that I love about my job, it's the whole production process. Everything that goes through a production is something that interests me. So, this was a nice way for me to start, through this film, and it's something that I want to do in the long term."

And now you're filming "Nine Perfect Strangers" with Nicole Kidman in Munich. How's that experience going?

It's great. I'm with our producers Hulu, so it's wonderful here. I'm working with a fantastic cast. All of them are great. I love them all. We've just been here for a week, but we've already started work. We've been working for a week already. And our director, Jonathan Levine, he's so supportive, he's such a great captain of the ship. And our writer Rachel Shukert. It's wonderful and I'm gonna be here for six months so it's gonna be a totally new and exciting journey for me because I've never been away from home for this long.

So, what are your kids saying?

They're happy for me. But my youngest, who's 11, always asks me every time I call the house, "Mom, has it been one month already? Has it been one month?" And I'm like, "No, not yet. It's just been one week." So, yeah, that's a bit of a challenge, raising a little girl from afar. But at least I have my other kids to keep her company.

You mentioned in one of your interviews, that it's so hard to say goodbye to your Abigail character. Why did you say that?

Because she was such a big part of me for such a long time. She was a part of me for two years. Before we even started filming, I already had the script with me. I already had her with me, planning how to play her and all that and you know working on the film for six months almost because we were shooting in March. I took a break. But we had to continue again in September so I wasn't even aware that I was carrying her along with me throughout this entire time. But now I'm fine. She's doing her own thing now and being her own person.

I am one of the co-founders of the Manila International Film Festival and one of the movies that is featured in the festival is "Becky and Badette." I enjoyed watching it especially that scene where actress Eugene Domingo did a homage to your Abigail character in "Triangle of Sadness." Have you seen it?

Of course! I was at their premiere because Eugene is a very good friend of mine. So yeah, I was laughing and laughing and laughing when I saw that part.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News