PINKY AMADOR GETS mother roles ?all the time,? despite being childless in real life. This pattern began in the ?90s, when the actress first played mother to 13-year-old Antoinette Taus in the soap ?Anna Karenina.?

But Amador is thankful that she continues to portray moms, martyrs, home-wreckers and a variety of other roles in movies, teleseryes and stage plays.

Over two decades ago, she appeared in films such as ?Balweg,? ?Magdusa Ka? and ?Anak ng Lupa,? among others, but soon left for the UK and enrolled at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. While in England, she auditioned for and got a part in ?Miss Saigon.? She was in the musical for two and a half years.

After her stint as the scheming Agatha in the GMA 7 soap ?Saan Darating ang Umaga,? Amador is grateful that she?s now on her 26th year of acting.

How do you feel about getting and playing mother roles?

I?ve been really blessed na I really get along with all the people who have played my sons and daughters off-cam. It?s easy.

Have you thought about real motherhood?

Motherhood has only been in my mind in the last year, only because the window of opportunity may be closing. I have also considered adoption, but maybe when I decide to live here or to go back to the UK. But I?ve never been a woman who has really defined her person as having children.

How difficult does playing a villain get in your show?

I come home in pain because I?ve had a struggling scene. Like when I got whacked crazy by Yasmien (Kurdi, in ?Saan Darating ang Umaga?). Hindi namin na-rehearse. Yung slap ko sa kanya fake. Sapaw naman ng camera, hindi kita. Pagsampal niya, nag-180 ako, natanggal ?yung mukha ko sa frame. Panga, pisngi, tenga, leeg! Hindi naman niya talaga sinasadya. They?re waiting for me to cut. Iniisip ko, kung ika-cut ko, take two na naman.

What are your dream roles?

On stage there are still roles I wanna do, like Edith Piaf. There?s a musical called ?Piaf,? about the life story of the French singer who sang ?La Vie En Rose.? We did that play in Repertory Philippines about 22 years ago. I was the nurse. Now I?m old enough to play Edith. I?ve been studying French for two years.

Describe your fitness regimen.

Eat properly. Exercise a lot. But most of it, I think, is just outlook. You have to remain positive. You just always have to make the best of every situation. Luckily, I got blessed with kinda good genes. How do I stay young? Having a younger boyfriend. Joke.

How do you stay focused on different aspects of your career?

A lot of discipline I owe to Repertory and my aunt, Zeneida Amador. Most of my training I really got from her. She wasn?t only a disciplinarian; she had the great gift of inspiring people, of bringing out the best in them.