In the drama comedy series It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, actor Louise Abuel plays the role of Kai, a patient recovering from alcohol abuse who falls for Bella, another patient in the facility, played by Bianca De Vera. Their scenes together were actually shot before Bianca entered the Pinoy Big Brother house last March as part of this year’s Celebrity Collab Edition.
During the show’s finale presscon, Louise shared his experience working closely with Bianca. HIs co-star was not present at the event.
“Actually, sayang wala si Biancs ngayon no, pero naalala ko that day nung shinu-shoot namin ‘yun. Last day na talaga ni Bianca nun kasi papasok na siya sa PBB at that time. Kaya yung paalaman scene namin, naging mas totoo siya, kasi alam ko na last time ko na siyang makikita for that role. As someone na in a way gumagamit din ng method acting, ginamit ko talaga ‘yun. Nilagay ko sa isip ko na this was the last time na makikita ko si Bianca. At matagal na naming pinag-uusapan yung scene na yun na mahirap gawin. Kaya sinabi namin sa isa’t isa na kailangan natin i-perfect kasi ito yung magpapakita sa tao kung sino yung characters namin outside the hospital,” he recalled.
Louise admitted to being mesmerized by Bianca’s acting during their scenes together because of how effective she was in her role.
“I’m just really happy and very lucky na si Bianca ang kasama ko at that time. Hindi kasi ako sanay gumawa ng ganung klaseng eksena, especially pagdating sa love, pero nadadala niya ako. Sobrang grateful ako kasi kahit sa mga moments na siya lang ang nakatutok sa camera, ako mismo naiiyak na rin. May magic talaga si Bianca na nadadala niya ang co-actors niya,” he shared.
The former child actor also shared how it felt shooting his first breakup scene in a series. “Mahirap pala siya. Mahirap pala maging vocal. Actually, hindi naman siya breakup scene eh. Mas tumatak sa akin yung linya ko doon na, ‘Tayong dalawa, magpagaling muna tayo. At pag nagkita ulit tayo, aalagaan kita habang buhay,” he added.
The It’s Okay To Not Be Okay actor also gave a warm message to the fans of the show before the end of the presscon. “Maraming, maraming salamat sa pag suporta sa It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and sana na-inspire kayo sa nire-represent ng bawat character na nandito sa project na ito and sana patuloy niyo kaming suportahan hanggang dulo,” he said.
Louise started out in showbiz as a child actor and commercial model. He was initially seen in ABS-CBN series like 100 Days To Heaven and Princess and I. He has already received nominations for his acting in award-giving bodies like the Gawad Urian and Luna Awards.
In 2020, he won his first international Best Actor award at the Dhaka International Film Festival held in in Bangladesh for his role in director Thop Nazareno’s coming-of-age drama Edward. The film was initially screened in 2019 as part of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
Watch Louise Abuel and Bianca De Vera in It’s Okay To Not Be Okay, airing weeknights at 8:45 p.m. on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5. Watch it in advance on Netflix and iWant.