Did you know that the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time, "Hello, Love, Goodbye," starring Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, was originally offered to actress Liza Soberano and her reel and real partner, Enrique Gil?
Liza opened up about it in an interview with Bea Alonzo.
There, Bea asked Liza if she thought that career opportunities came far and few for her because she was in a love team.
The 25-year-old star gave an affirmative response.
Then she went on to share how she wanted to do the 2019 Cathy Garcia-Molina movie "so bad."
But management surprised her by offering it to other people.
That time, they were doing the drama fantasy series "Bagani."
She was also supposed to do the film adaptation of "Darna."
"Hello, Love, Goodbye" went to Kathryn and Enrique.
And that scared Liza.
"I was like: 'Why did they do that?' I asked them to save the project for me and Quen. Parang: 'Please wait for us.' Cause they told us din, nu'ng pinitch sa amin na hindi pa pwedeng gawin agad kasi they have to develop it more. And so I was like: 'We'll wait for it. Please hold it for us.' And then nalaman ko na lang bigla na they were offering it to Quen still, but with Kathryn. And I was scared that, like, after 'Bagani' and then when I do 'Darna' wala na yung LizQuen. For me, I didn't want to do that to the fans but also Quen was my comfort zone," she shared.
"It wasn't 'till later that I realized 'Oh my God. Ang dami kong di nagawa sa career ko. And that's why everybody thinks I take for granted my talent or acting capabilities.'"
There, Liza also opened up about being pressured as part of LizQuen as people keep on comparing them to other love teams including KathNiel (Kathryn and Daniel Padilla) and JaDine (James Reid and Nadine Lustre).
Liza felt it was unhealthy.
"It became like a competition of who could make more hits, I guess especially with movies," was how she put it.
So does it bother her when fandoms keep pitting them against one another via social media?
Well, she doesn't read their comments anymore.
She revealed that prior she was addicted to doing so, particularly the negative ones.
"I would try to fix myself to accommodate them. It's like hindi ako nasa-sad. It helps me fix myself and become what they want me to become," she said, agreeing with Bea when asked if she was searching for validation at that time.
But now, Liza has changed. And she likes herself better.
"It's upsetting to me sometimes that change is seen as only negative when there's a positive change," she related.
Does she agree with allegations she became arrogant, greedy, or too proud or "lumaki yung ulo?"
Not really.
However, she remembered a director actually telling her that.
The young star admitted it "hurt" and "crushed my soul."
"There was something that happened on the set na na-disappoint siya. But it was mainly a misunderstanding tapos sabi niya: 'Out of everyone, hindi ko akalain ikaw yung lalaki yung ulo.' So I said sorry and then, I think, it was because of the toxicity of the set so we didn't become like super okay until after the show, I would say."
Speaking of the director, Liza also shared being scolded by yet another one.
She noted how she still feels anxious whenever she sees that director.
"Nanginginig ako," she said.
According to her, it happened when she was just 12 years old and in front of so many people.
"Tapos sabi niya: 'Ito ba, ito ba yung artista? Hindi ako mabigyan ng isang take' - cause, I couldn't speak Tagalog yet. And I couldn't say my lines properly."
Anyway, it is all in the past now.
If ever, Liza is just hopeful that she'll be able to carve a name for herself in Hollywood.
She is hopeful that more producers and directors abroad will see her potential based on her performance in "Liza Frankenstein."
But then, she doesn't know how as to how her audience in the Philippines will take it as it's different from the things she has done in the past.
"It's a little more... I would say, it's not less wholesome," she said.
Liza also explained why she hasn't been posting anything about her and Enrique.
"So, like, it's hard because everything that I try to do now as solo artist isn't being taken seriously or like isn't being respected and it's seen as something negative. They think I'm, like, some type of wild child now just because I'm not in a love team or I'm not seen around the same man constantly when that isn't actually normal, to be honest," she said.
"Love teams are only a phenomenon created in the Philippines, only existing in the Philippines. And to box a woman like that is so dangerous, actually, for their mental health; and also for their growth - not just as a professional but as an individual," she added. "So I stay away from that."
Liza also cleared it's not because something romantic is brewing between her and her new manager, James Reid.
She reiterated that they never had a thing.
Meanwhile, she assured her Filipino fans that she is not abandoning her career in the Philippines.
"I'm not abandoning it totally. So I still want to be able to do stuff here by leveraging my, you know, what I've achieved as an actress here. But for the next few years focus ko talaga is in Hollywood because there's a lot of work to be done. I'm a nobody there so I still have to work hard, put in a lot of time and effort. And I can't do that if I'm maintaining a career over here," she explained.
"But I still want to keep in touch with my fan base here and then siguro this is why I'm doing this with you because this is a way of me letting them know that I'm still here. That I still care about them and that I still care about, like, my career in the Philippines and everything pero iba na lang focus," she added.
Liza explained her "rebranding move," wiping out posts from her social media accounts recently.
"I wanted a fresh start to everything. And so I archived all my posts - I didn't delete them don't worry. And I'll bring them back eventually when I'm ready," she said. "I think it's time that people see me in a different light."
How about the backlash she received from joining a young management team?
"Careless is a new and upcoming company but it doesn't mean that they're not taking care of me," she cleared. "They probably don't know how showbiz is supposed to be or how to handle a talent like me because they've never experienced it, but there's no harm in trying to learn throughout the process."
"But one thing is for sure, they do take good care of me."
Liza also shared her thoughts about being tagged as a "clout-chaser."
"There's no harm. Like, there's no shame in clout-chasing," she said. "That's what the industry is, especially. That's what I don't get actually, about the Philippines, everybody's so afraid of social climbing or clout chasing but our industry is all about exposure and collaboration."
And that's what she loves about Hollywood.
According to Liza, people there don't see it as a bad thing.
"They see it as you getting the bag, they see it as you working hard to achieve your goals. Being proactive with your career," she said. "So if yes; I'm meeting with these international celebrities. Yes, I'm doing that because I want to gain knowledge through them. I want to gain collaborations, more fans. Hopefully, they like what I do. If they don't like what I do, that's okay too. Yes, I do use fair clout to help myself and that's how it should be in entertainment, I think."