Andrea Brillantes teases her mysterious role in ‘Laya’
Andrea Brillantes opened up about what audiences can expect from her character Sab in her upcoming movie Laya, sharing how the role challenged her to step outside her comfort zone as an actress.
“[Si Sab] very private siya, full of mysteries. Hindi mo talaga mababasa kung ano ba ‘yung gusto niyang gawin, ano ba ‘yung nasa utak niya,” she shared. “Siya ‘yung tipo ng taong kailangan mo talagang basahin. And you need to be very careful of her kasi hindi mo alam kung ano ‘yung binabalak niya. Dami siyang baggage.”
Andrea also spoke about the challenges of portraying Sab, particularly how she had to tone down her naturally expressive and bubbly personality to bring the character to life.
“Na-challenge ako kasi hindi ako pwedeng maging bibo. Hindi ako pwedeng maging bida-bida. The usual na ako. Hindi ako pwedeng maging kikay. Although, sinabi ko kay direk (Sigrid Bernardo) na I had a phase na parang may dalawang sides kasi. Meron akong parang Andrea Brillantes, and meron akong mas edgy na side in terms of styling, aesthetic, ganyan, nakaka-relate naman ako kay Sab,” she said.
While she found certain aspects of herself in Sab, Andrea admitted that their personalities were quite different, which required her to be more subtle and restrained in her performance.
“Medyo magkalayo din talaga ‘yung personality namin. So medyo doon ako na-challenge na kailangan ‘yung nuance ko. Kasi very expressive ako magsalita, very animated din ako magsalita. Si direk, binawasan niya ‘yun. Medyo na-challenge ako. Pero gusto ko naman ‘yun kasi I really love challenges. Gusto ko ‘yung talagang pini-push ako ng director ko,” she highlighted.
Meanwhile, Andrea also shared her experience working with co-stars JC Santos and Anthony Jennings, recalling the fun moments they shared on set.
The actress revealed that Anthony’s sense of humor and knack for improvisation often made her laugh on set.
“Grabe, nakakatawa si Anthony. Hindi ko in-expect ‘yun. Sobrang siyang nakakatawa. Medyo nahirapan ako kasi ‘yun nga, sobrang seryoso ‘yung character ko. Tapos sa bawat tingin ko kay Anthony, natatawa talaga ako sa kanya,” Andrea recounted.
She went on: “Ang hirap-hirap kasi grabe siyang mag-adlib. Nakakatuwa siya, actually. Natuwa ako sa kanya. Ang galing niya umarte. Ang taba ng utak niya sa mga adlib niya. Medyo hindi ko lang in-expect. So minsan, may mga times na dadayain ko ‘yung pagtingin ko sa kanya kasi hindi ko talaga kaya. Natatawa talaga ako sa kanya. Pero ayun, goods naman. Naging okay naman ‘yung relationship namin sa pagtrabaho. Madali naman siya katrabaho.”
Andrea shared that she learned a lot from JC and became close friends with both of her co-stars during filming.
“Si Kuya JC, ang dami kong natutunan sa kanya. Ano ‘yun eh, parang two weeks nga na naka-isolate ako, sila lang din ‘yung naging friends ko. Parang naging tropa ko sila. Kasi ako lang din ‘yung only girl doon, so parang meron akong bros noong time na ‘yun. Dami naming kuwentuhan, dami naming tawanan. Very laid-back kasi, very chill ‘yung dalawa eh. So nahawa ako sa vibe nila na,” she said.