Fans of young star Bianca Umali are going to see a different side of her as she plays the role of an energetic office assistant in the Kapuso network's primetime series ''Mano Po: Her Big Boss."
We last saw Bianca in GMA's grand family saga 'Legal Wives' and we must say it's a stark contrast to the latest Mano Po adaptation which is a romantic comedy that many members of the Gen Z and millennials can relate to.
The 22 -year old Bianca is the first to admit that she had some sort of culture shock, digging deep into the character of Irene Pacheco who is bubbly, energetic, and the life of every party.
"My character of Irene in Mano Po is restless, energetic, always happy and smiling. It's my first time to play this kind of role. It took so much focus out of me, since am not like this in real life. I'm reserved and quite the opposite of Irene," she narrated.
After going into the role of Irene, Bianca realized one thing: if doing drama is hard, acting in a comedy role is just as challenging.
"Akala ko ang comedy, basta nakangiti ka, 'yon na 'yon. Basta tumatawa ka on screen, 'yon na 'yon. 'Di po pala. Ibang klase rin siya ng hirap, challenge, and it's not less of an effort sa pag-arte," declared the actress who started her showbiz career at the tender age of two.
"Comedy is a different animal altogether. It's something else. Siguro na-underestimate ko ang meaning ng comedy. 'Di siya pahinga from drama. It's as good as doing a heavy drama series," Bianca added.
In ''Mano Po: Her Big Boss," Bianca works together for the first time with Kelvin Miranda who plays her boyfriend Nestor in the series and Ken Chan as Richard, her Filipino-Chinese boss. The young actress has not had an onscreen partner ever since her loveteam with Miguel Tanfelix was dissolved.
She has stated that a love team is not essential to the growth of her career, as "being independent allows me to explore more roles and work with other people."