Hailey Mendes, one of the Philippines’ rising teenage stars, spoke on January 12 about her early days as a Kapuso star before jumping to stardom.
At the media conference for Underage, which LionhearTV covered, Mendes narrated her experience when she first began her career on GMA Network in 2017.
Mendes narrated,“Nag-start po ako, 2017 po, Artist Center pa po ang tawag noon, hindi pa po Sparkle. Galing po talaga ako ng probinsya, Placer, Masbate po ako, so pumunta po ako dito para i-push ‘yung dreams ko na mag-artista po, at the same time, dito na rin po ako nag-high school. ‘Yung pumasok po talaga ako, talagang wala po akong alam dito sa Maynila, talagang probinsyana girl po, na ignorante po.”
She then recalled how she unexpectedly landed one of the lead roles in ‘Underage’.
The rising star remarked, “Ano naman po, nag-improve na rin naman po din ‘yung looks ko siguro from before po. Ngayong magpa-five years na po ako, akala ko po matatapos na po ‘yung contract ko this year, dapat po actually–bigla po nila akong pinatawag sa audition na, ‘Hailey, may audition ka for Underage.’ So ako naman po, sige po. Ginawa ko po, hindi po ako umasa na parang matatanggap ko ‘yung role, kasi bida role po eh.”
She then thanked the team behind the Kapuso series for trusting her with the role.
“Ang tagal ko rin po na parang wala po sa eksena. Kumbaga nagulat po ako na bigla po nila akong binigyan ng ganitong kalaking opportunidad po. Sabi ko po, si Direk Rechie po talaga ang nag-push sa akin kasi naka-trabaho ko po siya sa First Yaya once. And siya po ‘yung nagsabi sa akin na, ‘Hindi, kaya kita kinuha dito kasi gusto ko ‘yung pagiging jologs mo. ‘Yung pagiging hyper mo, ilabas mo ‘yan’…nagpapasalamat po ako sa lahat ng nagtiwala sa akin, hanggang ngayon po, maraming maraming salamat po.”
As for the series, Mendes stars in the Kapuso afternoon series ‘Underage’ with Lexi Gonzales and Elijah Alejo.
The teleserye also features Sunshine Cruz, Snooky Serna, Gil Cuerva, Nikki Co, Yayo Aguila, Maey Bautista, Smokey Manaloto, Jean Saburit, Christian Vasquez, Jome Silayan, and Vince Crisostomo.
‘Underage’ is directed by Rechie del Carmen and premieres this January 16 on GMA Afternoon Prime.
