SHE feels blessed to have good looks and a sweet disposition, but Diana Danielle has for years struggled to be taken seriously as an actress.
Winning Best Supporting Actress for a gritty role in Hanyut, directed by U-Wei Saari, at the Anugerah Skrin 2017 (ASK 2017) has boosted her confidence, and finally made cinemagoers recognise her talent, which she has been honing over the last 15 years.
“Being cast in Hanyut, a period drama with an unfamiliar story, took me way out of my comfort zone of the ‘girl-next-door’ types.
“I’m grateful to director U-Wei and the main actress, Datin Sofia Jane, for guiding me in this challenging role of an European trader’s estranged daughter,” said Diana after receiving her award at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
Diana, 25, described her involvement in Hanyut as a “maturing process” because her character, Nina, was “from another time and place” and thus, it was not easy to get into her shoes.
“Nina, like her father, Almayer, is a complex character, and it took time for me to understand her. U-Wei was encouraging — at first (during filming) I wasn’t confident, but he always believed in me, and as a result, I nailed it!”
Diana’s portrayal of Nina also earned her the Best Supporting Actress award at the 29th Malaysian Film Festival (FFM29) two months ago.
Her husband, actor Farid Kamil, is delighted that she won, and described it as her “strongest and most mature” role to date.
“Farid believed that I could do it even from the beginning. He even said I could win ASK 2017!” said Diana.
“He’s always been my biggest fan, and my biggest ‘thank you’ will always go to him.”
Diana hopes to collaborate with U-Wei again, and would also like to work with more award-winning directors in thought-provoking films.
“Hanyut has toughened me up physically and mentally. While I have acted in films with a lot of physical action — for example Jiwa Taiko — nothing beats U-Wei’s masterpiece.”
Diana does not think one needs to be a villainous, psychotic or “heavily made-up character” to win film awards.
“All one needs to do is to play a multi-faceted character, and work with a good director and strong cast — throw in some great cinematography and a solid script, and you might be nominated to win!”
At ASK2017, Hanyut also won the Best Film award, while U-Wei won Best Director. Khalid Salleh won the Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor awards.