Veteran actress Sylvia Sanchez has reminisced about her early days as an artist—including that one time when she was held from starring in the now-classic Filipino film Anak.

The 2000 film of Star Cinema is one of Sylvia’s heartbreaks—as revealed in her heart-to-heart talk with daughter Gela Atayde for Jeepney TV’s Stars on Stars.

The mother and daughter duo had a lengthy talk—spiced by some of the questions they never dared ask personally. One question from Gela goes: “Anong role yung in-audition mo na hindi ka nakuha ay sobrang nalungkot ka?”

Sylvia recalls, “Meron akong hanggang ngayon, hindi ko talaga pinapanood na movie. Alam mo yun ‘di ba? Di mo pa alam? Ikukwento ko sa’yo—Anak ni Ms. Vilma Santos.

According to Sylvia, she was first given a heads-up about the project by the late talent manager Cornelia Lee, more known in the industry as Tita Angge.

In the words of Sylvia, she was informed that the shooting date of the “magandang pelikula” was slated immediately next week—and that they are Hong Kong-bound already.

At that time, Sylvia was not getting any acting gigs for over a year already, and Anak would be her first role in a while. Neck-deep in frustration, Slyvia had decided to cut her hair out of loathing.

Sylvia shares, “Matagal na pala niyang alam, hindi niya sinasabi sa akin. One year na akong walang show. One year na akong walang trabaho so, nasa point ako na, ‘Hindi ba ako marunong umarte? Bakit walang kumukuha sa akin? Bakit ganito?’

“So nagse-self-pity na ako. Mahaba ang buhok ko, ang ginawa ko, pinutulan ko yung buhok ko—as in maiksi talaga sa frustration, sa depression.”

What seemed like a harmless move turned out to be a huge mistake when Tita Angge paid her a visit.

Sylvia recalls, “Tapos ang nangyari, pumunta siya dun sa bahay tapos tiningnan ang buhok ko. Sabi niya, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God, Oh my God! Sylvia, bakit mo ginawa? Hindi ka nagpaalam sa akin.”

Without any reason to do so, Sylvia says that her reply went: “Bakit ako magpapaalam sa’yo isang taon na akong walang show. Walang ganito, e, pikon na pikon na ako. Nagse-self-pity na ako kaya cinut ko yung hair ko.”

Bothered by Sylvia’s surprising haircut, Tita Angge has phoned the director Rory Quintos—who prompted the actress to visit Star Cinema the same day, only for her to reject Sylvia right then and there.

“Nung araw na yun, pinatakbo ako sa Star Cinema tapos pagpasok ko sa pintuan pa lang, sabi ni Rory, ‘Sylvia I love you, you know how much I love you, but I’m sorry, you’re out.'”

It was later found out that Sylvia’s termination from the role was mainly because she shared the same hairstyle that Vilma had for the lead role. In that case, they could never be on one screen anymore.

Sylvia also recalls having to bargain for the role, pleading that they could do some wigs just to hide the haircut. But the director’s decision was final and Sylvia went on to accept it as, “Hindi talaga para sa akin.”