Rans Rifol started out singing and dancing on stage. These days, she is better known for the roles she takes on screen. So does she still see herself joining another girl group?
Asked about it at the Miss Behave finale viewing party, the actress told PUSH ABS-CBN that she is not ruling anything out – but acting is where her attention is at the moment.
"Never say never for me. Never say never. But for now, I'm really focusing on my acting career," she said.
Rans said her love for performing has not gone anywhere. It is simply a question of where she wants to put her energy at this stage of her career.
"Hindi pa rin naman kasi mawawala na gusto [at] love ko talaga ang pagsasayaw at pagkanta. Pero as I get older, parang feeling ko I need to focus on one craft talaga. So never say never. Pero ayan muna focus ko," she said.
Rans was part of the first generation of MNL48, joining the P-Pop idol group in 2018 and graduating from it in 2020. The group, one of the pioneers of the local idol scene and a sister group of Japan's AKB48, announced its disbandment in May 2026 after eight years, with management citing concerns over the sustainability of its operations.
Since leaving the group, Rans has steadily built an acting resume. She played Stella in Dirty Linen, Ria Cristobal in Senior High and High Street, and nurse Claire Alegre in the Kapamilya action drama Roja. She also won Best Supporting Actress at the 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival for Kun Maupay Man It Panahon.
In Miss Behave, she plays Daphne Baldemor, one of five high school students whose lives are turned upside down when their private photos are leaked. It is her latest turn in a string of heavy, emotionally demanding projects – and she said she is ready to go even further.
Her next goal, she said, is to play a straight-up villain.
"Gusto ko maging like full-blown kontrabida – like talagang kontrabida. Well, kasi lagi naman tayong nasa mga projects na talagang intense, di ba?" she said.
"Minsan parang semi-kontrabida din ako. Minsan nakakainis din ako talaga, pero gusto ko talaga 'yung full-blown, 'yung talagang maninira ng buhay, ganern," she added.
For Rans, it is less about the villain label and more about pushing herself into territory she has not tried yet.
"Kasi syempre, I think it's different sa mga na-pi-play ko na mga character and gusto kong mag-dive into that kasi gusto kong i-challenge din 'yung sarili ko," she said.
She also said she hopes to do a psychological thriller someday, naming Mia Goth – the British actress known for unsettling roles in films like X, Pearl, and Suspiria – as one of her favorites.
Beyond genre, Rans said there are people she would like to share the screen with again. She named Tessie Tomas, her co-star in Dirty Linen, and Joel Torre, whom she worked with on Roja.
—By Paolo Lim