Liza Soberano: We got our wish

ENRIQUE Gil and Liza Soberano starred in the recently concluded “Forevermore.” ABS-CBN

I used to be hated by people. It makes me happy that they are now showing more love,” said teen star Liza Soberano, who added that she used to be the “third wheel” to the on-screen teamup of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (KathNiel) in “Got to Believe.”

The success of her love team with Enrique Gil in the drama series “Forevermore,” which ended recently, has changed everything for Liza.

“This takes a lot of getting used to. Before, it was just KathNiel who were getting all the attention. Now, I’m in their shoes.”

“I’m happy for her. I’ve been part of several love teams, but I think LizQuen (Liza-Enrique) is really something special,” said Enrique, who will soon be seen with Liza in the Theodore Boborol romantic comedy “Just the Way You Are,” which opens in cinemas on June 17.

Asked what kind of love team they think is effective, Enrique said “It’s really hard to tell. ‘Forevermore’ was our first project together. We were in the mountains and had no clue about the audience’s reaction. We became close there. We became family. The audience appreciated the truth of our relationship.” The show was partly shot in Tuba, Benguet.

Sincerity

Liza thought her tandem with Enrique was effective because “viewers saw that we’re both sincere. It was just us in the mountains and we had to get along. What we wanted in the beginning was simply to have a great show and be happy—that’s exactly what happened. People caught on with the show’s happiness.”

Boborol, who was also part of the “Forevermore” production team, said LizQuen worked “because they have natural chemistry. You can’t fake that. Plus, of course, they are good actors.”

With the movie project, Boborol said he made sure that LizQuen would show something totally different from what was seen in the TV series. “We started working on this movie before ‘Forevermore.’ We had workshops with Direk Olive (Lamasan). LizQuen helped form the characters Drake and Sophia. We got input from them about their lives and incorporated these tidbits in the movie. This helped them portray their characters more truthfully.”

“We want to present them as a very versatile love team—that they can do well both in drama and romantic comedy,” Boborol added. “The movie is lighter, but it is still a story of love, family and friendship, elements that are typical in Filipino stories.”

Drake and Sophia are similar to each other in the sense that they both have unresolved issues with their dads, explained Enrique. “Drake is a playboy and behaves like a hotshot in school, but this is just his defense and his way to release the anger he feels toward his dad. Sophia opts to keep it inside. These are different people with similar problems, who cross paths because of a bet. That’s where it all begins,” he added.

Expressive

Liza said she found Sophia equally challenging as Agnes, her character in “Forevermore.” She pointed out: “Agnes is more expressive, while Sophia keeps what she feels to herself and prefers to handle things on her own. She has nobody to share her feelings with. In real life, I find it hard to be expressive. Sophia is difficult to play because she has many layers. She is quiet, but has a lot going on in her mind.”

Boborol said the big-screen project was more mature, with five kilig (thrilling) scenes. “There’ll be no kissing scenes. I’m only 17. But Quen will go topless in several scenes,” Liza related. The teen actress said she felt self-conscious while doing scenes with the half-naked Enrique, 23. “His body is OK, sometimes—minsan kasi busog siya (he’s well-fed sometimes),” she quipped.

“Just the Way You Are” is written by Ceres Helga Barrios and Maan Dimaculangan-Fampulme, based on the Wattpad story “The Bet” by Kimberly Joy Villanueva. It also stars Yayo Aguila, Alex Diaz, Jon Lucas, Chienna Filomeno, Marco Gumabao, Myrtle Sarrosa, Kyra Custodio, Miguel Vergara, Yves Flores, Sue Ramirez and Erin Ocampo, with the special participation of Tonton Gutierrez and Sunshine Cruz.

([email protected])