Mylene Dizon admitted she was hesitant before she accepted the role in the acclaimed Cinemalaya May-December-themed film Belle Douleur (Beautiful Pain).

In fact, she even talked to her partner of six years, Jason Webb, before accepting the role of Elizabeth.

“To be honest, in the beginning, I wasn’t sure because of the love scenes. I wasn’t sure if I was up to it. But I spoke to my partner Jason [Webb] and he kind of encouraged me to accept the project. Still, when we were shooting the film, I wasn’t sure because I wasn’t sure of how it’s going to be ‘cause we’re talking about big time love scenes that I’ve never done before,” she said during a presscon held at ABS-CBN on Tuesday, August 6.

According to Dizon, it was not an easy journey for her—especially with all the challenging scenes she had to do with Kit Thompson who happens to be 23 years younger than her.

“The whole journey—from the time it was offered to me up to shooting it up to last Saturday’s gala, it was scary. It was nerve-wracking. Ang sakit-sakit ng batok ko,” she stated. “Ito na ‘yun. Parang pagkatapos nito, uwi na ako. Ayoko na. Intense ‘to. Said to hanggang buto,” she added.

While she previously did steamy scenes with actor TJ Trinidad for the 2008 Cinemalaya entry 100, it was nothing compared to the things she did for Belle Douleur, according to the actress.

“Ang hirap kasi talaga eh. Even when I did 100, ano ba naman ‘yun. That was one scene of me and TJ. We didn’t do anything close to what I did for this one. This is also one of the things I told Jason after I saw the film. I said she [Direk Joji Alonso] has a dream and somebody has to fulfill it. And she’s not going to take no for an answer. And I said if I’m going to to do one big thing na lang, let this be it. Before I turn into a farmer of some sort. I wanted to do contribute in realizing her dream,” she said.

Dizon also made it clear that she will no longer do films which requires her to do heavy love scenes in the future.

“Di ko na yata kakayanin. Parang wala na akong maibibigay. Binigay ko na lahat dito,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dizon admitted that she was already on the verge of quitting showbiz as she got emotionally drained from the projects that came her way.

“I did. Before shooting this film, I was almost on my way out. That was ten months. My last was The Good Son. That was last year, March. Kasi I did soaps and dere-derechong ganyan. It was just emotionally draining. Hindi ko naman kasi dinadaya ‘yung trabaho eh. Tapos napagod ako,” she said.

“It’s just that the family, the kids, my partner. It’s not easy because they’re growing up and I’m missing out. Medyo tumodo ulit ako eh,” she explained.

The 45-year-old actress, who currently runs a farm, wants to take her hobby into something more serious.

“And nag-eenjoy talaga ako dun. And talagang parang seryoso na rin naman si Jason na ituloy namin ‘to - which is something that I would very much like to do,” she said.

Watch the trailer below:

Belle Douleur is set to open in cinemas nationwide on August 14.