Katrina Halili says it wasn’t her dream to be an actress
Katrina Halili | Image: @katrina_halili IG
As Katrina Halili celebrated her 20 years in showbiz, she revealed that it wasn’t her dream to be an actress as she looked back on how she ended up as one of the talents in “StarStruck.”
In an appearance on the Surprise Guest podcast with Pia Arcangel, Halili shared that entering the entertainment industry wasn’t part of her plans as she was a shy girl growing up.
“Never, hindi ko siya dream. Hindi dahil hindi ko siya type, kundi feeling ko hindi ko talaga siya kaya. Kasi mahiyain ako, pero ako lang nakakaalam,” she said.
Despite fond memories of acting by herself, the 37-year-old said that in her wildest dreams she would never see herself being watched on the screen.
“Pero mahilig ako manood ng movies, may mga ginagaya akong lines. Claudine Barretto, mga movie niya before favorite ko. Pero never ko imagine ‘yung sarili ko na papanoorin kasi mahiyain nga ako,” she shared.
Halili revealed that she did not audition to be part of one of the biggest reality talent shows, “StarStruck”; instead, she was cast while eating in a restaurant.
“At hindi po ako nag-audition nakuha ako sa roving, ‘yung kumakain lang sa restaurant tapos sabi pasok nako sa Top 100 ng Starstruck,” she revealed.
‘Maldita’ facade
The actress shared that her ‘maldita’ persona was born out of her shyness, which made her not participate in certain activities when she was starting in the business.
“Ang tingin sakin sa StarStruck maldita, pero hindi ko lang talaga ginagawa ‘yung task kasi nahihiya ako. Actually, wala ngang alam, ‘yung family ko na nasa Starstruck ako, nakita na lang nila ako sa TV. Ayoko kasi may makakita sakin, nahihiya ako,” she said.
While the first ‘StarStruck’ batch remained close to each other up to now, Halili shared she was initially drawn to just two artists who also shared the same “bad boy, bad girl” image in the talent search.
“Ang pinaka naging close ko unang-una si Cristine Reyes, tapos Mark Herras, silang dalawa. Kasi mga bad boy and bad girl. Mga hindi rin nagpaparticipate. Napasama ako sa kanila kaya naging mukhang bad girl rin ako.”
This image would later on earn Halili the moniker “Primera Kontrabida,” after assuming several antagonist roles, starting with “Majika,” “Marimar,” and “Darna.” She also top-billed the series “Magdusa Ka.”
She was the first StarStruck contestant to top the FHM Philippines’ 100 Sexiest list and the first Filipina celebrity to have won the title twice in a row.
