Lauren Young steps out of sis Megan’s shadow

Lauren Young

During the yearlong hiatus she took after 2016’s “Marimar,” the last GMA 7 drama series she starred in, Lauren Young made herself busy by working in a production outfit with her friends from school.

She helped craft digital campaigns, provided content for agencies, and did a bit of directing.

Doing behind-the-scenes work was a “refreshing change,” she related. It also allowed her to look back and reflect on her work ethic as an actress.

“While I didn’t have an attitude—I had never walked out, shouted at someone or did anything crazy—I could have had a better mindset toward work. I could have done things differently,” the 23-year-old actress said at a press conference for the GMA 7 afternoon drama series, “Legally Blind.”

Now that she has experienced what it’s like behind the camera, Lauren makes it a point not to give people around her unnecessary work. “I’m chill on the set nowadays—I memorize my lines, I’m on call and ready any time they need me. Production people have a lot to do, and I don’t want to burden them even more,” she said.

“I don’t want to be that person,” added Lauren, who plays Charity, who’s forced to quit school after her parents decided to invest their money in her elder sister Grace’s (Janine Gutierrez) law studies.

The break had left her acting skills rusty. But there’s an upside. “Because I haven’t acted in so long, all the pent-up emotions are there, and I want to take advantage of that,” she pointed out.

With her role in “Legally,” Lauren said she hopes to show people that she’s capable of turning in good performances. “When I was younger, I let a lot of things get the better of me—the pressure, heartbreak, etc. I may have taken my work for granted; now I put more value in it,” she said.

“I’ll make sure that whatever ups and downs I encounter from now on, I will always choose to be grateful,” added Lauren, who no longer minds being compared with her elder sister, actress-beauty queen Megan Young.

Megan Young

“Being in Megan’s shadow” was almost an inevitability for Lauren, being the little sister of Miss World 2013. For a while, she resented it. But not anymore.

“It’s my reality. When Megan won Miss World, I remember asking myself, ‘Where do I go now?’ But seeing all the effort Megan put into her career eventually made me realize that I, too, have to work just as hard—if not twice as hard,” Lauren stressed. “If the viewers take notice of me, then great. If not, it’s OK. I’ll just have to carve my own path.”