Liza Soberano shares ‘best experience’ of her life amid career redirection
Liza Soberano recently recalled the time and place she began dreaming of working in Hollywood.
“I’m not sure if I’ve ever talked about it before, but being able to work in Hollywood is something I’ve dreamt of. I aspired for change,” Liza told The STAR in an interview on Monday about her career redirection in 2022, which has since landed her the debut Hollywood film Lisa Frankenstein.
“It happened a little bit before the pandemic. Around 2019, I was in the States for quite some time because of the accident I had with my finger and I had surgery there. I met a lot of amazing people, amazing creatives, people that worked behind the scenes and in Hollywood. That was what really kind of inspired me to work there.”
Family and self-improvement are two other reasons giving her the drive to pursue the international acting route under her new management, James Reid’s Careless team, albeit “terrifying” and “anxiety-filled,” to borrow her words from her latest vlog, with the road possibly paved with both support and “backlash.”
Apart from wanting to be closer to her US-based family, she said, “I feel like I wanna challenge myself. I want to grow my talent and hone my craft and what better place than Hollywood.”
Liza stars alongside Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse in Lisa Frankenstein, to be directed by Zelda Williams (daughter of the late comedian Robin Williams) from a script written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody.
“My first Hollywood movie experience was the best experience of my life, I would say! It pushed me to come out of my shell. I was really shy going into it and very intimidated because it was a new environment for me,” she said.
“I was surrounded by American (film people) and their culture is much more different. Even their working culture is very much different. I learned to communicate better with them on that level, and to find new confidence in myself and my capabilities because my co-actors, my director, empower me.”
She appreciated certain practices on the US set, which she’d like to share here. “What I did enjoy during my filming there is with every take, they allow us to try different things. That is the thing here. But the way they went about trying something different each and every time was so drastic. They would start off with simple acting and would go harder and more intense with each take.
“The way the environment on the set was great because here in the Philippines, especially with actors, we mainly, only get to talk to directors, producers and the glam team honestly on set.
“There, I was able to get closer and talk to the lighting director, director of photography and build a relationship with each and every department on set, which was fun because everyone saw each other as equals. They didn’t see actors as unreachable. Everybody was pantay-pantay lang there. That’s what I really enjoyed about it.
“It actually makes me want to bring that culture here in the Philippines, where everybody is given as much creative freedom and power, and the same respect as well.”
It hasn’t just been a taste of Hollywood though. Liza got to live her K-pop fangirl dreams after being spotted with K-pop idols like her favorite Blackpink, doing TikTok and Instagram collaborations with Jay Park, iKON’s Donghyuk and WINNER’s Seunghoon, and guesting in the Korean show MBN’s Not Hocance But Scance.
“They’re on a different level of professionalism because they have to train for so many years. They are just so used to the fast-paced life, everything is kind of automatic to them. How do I explain this?... They’re always alert, I noticed that with them, they’re always very aware of their surroundings and what’s going on around them,” she observed.
“Everything is calculated, I would say. Even when I got to meet Blackpink, it was during a certain time and environment. They had to make sure who was coming and stuff like that. They’re well-taken cared of. And the artists themselves are just very hardworking and professional.”
Endorser & chief advocacy officer
The STAR spoke to Liza about the recent goings-on in her life shortly after her launch as brand ambassador and chief advocacy officer (CAO) of the digital banking app and all-in-one money platform Maya.
As CAO, the main non-profit organization she and Maya will be working with is Save the Children. She has been connected with the organization since 2016, first by sponsoring the schooling of three children in Uganda and then working with them for programs in the Philippines as official ambassador in 2021. These include supporting the passage of the bill raising age of consent to 16 to help protect minors from rape and abuse.
“We have such a big platform that we’re able to reach to so many different people, especially our supporters. With somebody who has a huge fandom, it will be a waste if you don’t use it to encourage positive change or to lend a helping hand to other people,” Liza said on why celebrity advocacies are important.
“Ever since the pandemic happened, I made a point to constantly lend my voice to those who feel like they don’t have one. That’s why I joined Save the Children because children are the next generation of leaders and people who are going to bring positive change to our country.
“They’re the ones who should be most protected and helped throughout their growing years so that when they go older, they too can bring meaningful change to our country. Save the Children is a great organization to be working with because not only do they work for children, they work closely with children. They have the insight on what their specific needs are.”
The My Money. My Bank. My Way event began with a Ted Talks vibe that featured Liza discussing the ad she did for the company. Besides starring in it, she also co-wrote and co-directed the shortfilm.
“A bank and a fintech company that allows their ambassador to co-create the ad is unheard of before Maya. Having the chance to bring in some input on the creative process makes this collab so much more different than anything I’ve ever done before,” she said.
“We’re breaking the mold of traditional celebrity endorsements as we change the game of marketing financial services.”
The event caused an online stir and saw Liza trending, owing partly to the actress’ social media moves that preceded the endorsement reveal. Days prior, she wiped her social media clean, which fans initially speculated to be a hacking incident. Then, she dropped a 14-minute “life update” titled This Is Me on her YouTube channel that drew over 2.5 million views and mixed reactions.
In the video, the 25-year-old spoke about past sacrifices she made in her 13-year showbiz career. While she was “so grateful” for “everything I’ve experienced in life professionally and personally,” she believed she “earned the right to finally be me, to finally be able to do things as Hope Soberano,” referring to her real name.
The vlog and subsequent Maya ad teaser on her Instagram invited various perspectives, such as she wanted a name change. (She told this paper to still call her Liza because that’s how she’s more known at work.) In a way, it also spotlighted her as someone asserting independence — and adulting. Whether she was doing it right or not in the public eye, it also seemed that nothing was going to stop her from going after her plans on her own terms.
This was somehow validated by James whom The STAR talked to on the sidelines of the event. He said of Careless’ vision for Liza: “One of the things we spoke to Liza about when we first asked her to sign on was that we wanted to know what her vision was.
“I think that’s the difference of Careless. We really just want to support what her vision is for herself, the same thing I did for myself. I had a vision of what I wanted for my career. That’s why we built Careless in the first place.
“And with Hope, it’s really focusing on her advocacies, moving into production. She wants to be a producer and work on her own films. She just knocked down her first Hollywood role and she’s already auditioned for a lot more. We’re excited to see what comes next for her.”
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