MANILA, Philippines — Loisa Andalio couldn’t be any happier for being part of the ABS-CBN primetime drama The Good Son. You see, among the three young female leads including Elisse Joson and Alexa Ilacad, Loisa gets the most number of acting scenes with male leads Jerome Ponce, Joshua Garcia and Jeric Raval whose respective characters are closely connected to her character Hazel which, Loisa revealed, was not originally intended for her.
“The role wasn’t initially meant for me, may ibang artista na para dito but I am happy that Dreamscape entrusted it to me. For me, there is no big or small role. What matters is you can do the job. Playing Hazel gives me the opportunity to display my talent not just in acting but in singing as well,” said Loisa during a set visit at the clubhouse of Tivoli Royale. “It is seldom for an actor to get a project where singing is also a requirement, isn’t it? That’s why, I’m grateful for this.”
But this is not to say that Loisa feels at ease all the time. Her face turns red every time her character has to sing “because all eyes are on you lalo na ‘yung camera men, hahaha.” Add to that was the awkward feeling when she began working with Joshua during the earlier part of the soap.
Loisa shared, “Actually, it was tough, especially ‘pag may mga yakapan but as days went by, we somehow became comfortable with each other. There’s no awkwardness anymore and it feels good to work without you avoiding someone.” It helped that the production team called their attention after their uneasiness became too visible onscreen.
Perhaps, curious minds are eager to know the reason behind it. Well, Loisa and Joshua were initially introduced as a loveteam right after their stint in Pinoy Big Brother: All In four years ago. But, later on, they were paired up with other young stars. Joshua is now the other half of JoshLia loveteam with Julia Barretto, while Loisa was once partnered with Jerome and at present, she is “lovey-dovey” with Ronnie Alonte.
According to Loisa, they both put priority on their work and so they could no longer keep in touch with each other. “Siguro, dati tampo-tampo lang pero wala naman galit, di maiiwasan ‘yung tampuhan. It was me who was first paired with another actor and that time we were still okay. It just so happened that we both became too busy.”
It’s only in The Good Son that Loisa and Joshua have been able to work together again after quite some time. At present, Loisa said that everything is well between her and Joshua.
“We talk, especially when we need to practice for a scene. Nag thro-throw lines kami pero pag wala, tahimik lang kami. We go to the same work but we do our own thing on the set during tapings.”
Apparently, observers were impressed with the two stars’ professionalism as they appear naturally sweet onscreen. “Kinikilig ba kayo?” asked Loisa. “We need to do our roles convincingly because if not, matatalakan kami, baka sabunin kami. Besides, I have already gotten used to doing scenes with him. That’s why everything comes out naturally.”
In a separate interview, Joshua said he doesn’t see any problem working with Loisa, except of course, at the start of their taping where they both felt uncomfortable.
“Yes, the production team did talk to us and after that, I think naging mas maganda yung pagsasama namin because we didn’t allow our work to be affected by our past. We talk and I can say that Loisa and I are friends in real life.”
Perhaps, Loisa said, it also helps that they both have their own onscreen partners. “Having new partners make both of us happier at work. That’s why everything turns out wonderful. Sobrang ganda ng nangyayari sa buhay namin.”
Meanwhile, the guessing game continues in The Good Son as to who is responsible for the mysterious death of Victor Buenavidez (Albert Martinez). With the revelation of another secret last Friday, televiewers were only taken to more unexpected turns. It can be recalled that each character was deemed to be the culprit yet no one is proven guilty of the crime.
With only a few more weeks left to its final episode in April, who do you think is the real perpetrator and who among the four lead characters, played by Joshua, Jerome, McCoy de Leon and Nash Aguas, is the good son? You have to watch it until the end.
(The Good Son airs weeknights after Bagani.)