Darna is one of the iconic roles that female actresses in the country sought to portray as this Pinay heroine has been a part of Philippine culture and the legacy has continued to pass from generation to generation.
Mars Ravelo’s Darna is about to take a new flight with a new ABS-CBN drama to air in August. Aside from Iza Calzado and Jane De Leon, who will play the roles of old and new Darna, check out these fierce Filipina actresses who did not back down but rather embodied the role and gave life to the most popular Filipina superheroine despite the intense and unforgiving training the role requires.
1. Rosa Del Rosario
The late actress Rosa del Rosario was the first ever actress to play the role of Darna way back in 1951. The great actress and Manila’s movie queen has the honor of playing the role in “Darna” and “Darna at Ang Babaing Lawin” written by Mars Ravelo himself. Ravelo also noted that del Rosario was the perfect Darna as she had this majestic presence called for by the role.
2. Liza Moreno
Eleven years later, came another film version of Darna. “Darna at ang Impakta” produced by People’s Pictures, Inc., starred Liza Moreno in 1963. In the same year, Moreno starred again in another Darna movie, in Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions’ “Isputnik Vs. Darna.” Here she was pitted against another superhero named Isputnik, played by Nida Blanca. Moreno was the first actress to play the dual roles of Narda and Darna in “Sputnik vs. Darna.”
3. Eva Montes
Eva Montes is the third actress who played the role of Darna in the 1965 film “Darna at ang Babaing Tuod.” It was directed by Cirio H. Santiago and was the first Darna in full color.
4. Gina Pareño
In 1969, VP & Sampaguita Productions released “Si Sampaguita at ang Planetman.” Actress Gina Pareño played the role of Darna under the direction of Marcelino D. Navarro. She also broke the iconic red bikini costume as she wore a blue bikini with red stars in her portrayal of the role.
5. Lorna Tolentino
Darna made its way to local television in 1977, and actress Lorna Tolentino played the role. “Darna! The TV Series” was directed by Kitchie Benedicto. Tolentino was only 14 years old when her portrayal of the role wore the iconic red costume in a one-piece suit instead of the usual bikini.
6. Vilma Santos
The Star For All Season Vilma Santos did not only play Darna once or twice but four times in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1980. She was the one who popularized the “Ding, Ang Bato!” catchphrase and her portrayal in the 1980 film “Darna at Ding” was deemed as the biggest, boldest, and best of the Darna series. Her character was also said to influence the Pinay heroine we know today.
7. Rio Locsin
In 1979, MBM Productions released its own version of Darna, played by actress Rio Locsin in “Bira, Darna, Bira!” movie directed by Tito Sanchez. Her character introduced an embellished choker, a new accessory for the heroine.
8. Sharon Cuneta
In a cameo role, Megastar Sharon Cuneta also played the role and wore the prominent red bikini in “Captain Barbell” in 1986, starring Herbert Bautista and Edu Manzano.
9. Nanette Medved
Under Viva Film Production, actress Nanette Medved played the lead role in the movie “Darna” directed by Joel Lamangan. Her portrayal of Darna was iconic and different as she had the ability to deflect bullets with her bracelets, a sort of counterpart to Wonder Woman.
10. Anjanette Abayari
Actress Anjanette Abayari played in the last Darna film so far. In 1994, she was handpicked to star in “Darna! Ang Pagbabalik” directed by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes. She also had a cameo role in “Pedro Penduko” by Janno Gibs.
11. Regine Velasquez
In 2003, another cameo role of Darna was played by none other than Asia’s Songbird Regine Valasquez in the remake of Captain Barbell, starring Ogie Alcasid and Bong Revilla.
12. Angel Locsin
The most phenomenal portrayal of Darna, even creating TV history with a registered TV rating of 51.1%, was portrayed by none other than actress Angel Locsin. Now dubbed as the ‘real-life Darna’, she brought Darna after not seeing the superheroine on screen for more than a decade as she played the role for the primetime series on GMA in 2005. She also even got to work with the three former Darna actresses like Gina Pareño, Rio Locsin, and Lorna Tolentino.
Locsin was also supposed to do a Darna movie but got canceled due to her health condition that prevented her from fully embodying the iconic role.
13. Marian Rivera
In 2009, four years after Locsin’s portrayal of the role, GMA revived the iconic superheroine character through Kapuso Primetime Queen Marian Rivera. The famous “Narda” songs of Kamikazee was also made as the opening for the said series.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/marsravelosdarna
