Eisel Serrano sees her transfer to Viva Artists Agency (VAA) as a new opportunity to discover more of what else she can do as an actress.
The 24-year-old Tarlac native has recently signed a management deal with VAA after leaving Star Magic, which launched her acting career in 2019, along with Belle Mariano and Charlie Dizon.
During the virtual media conference, Eisel shared that she attended several acting workshops with Star Magic and got to essay roles in the drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK) as well as clinching supporting roles in movies Anak ng Macho Dancer and Kontrabida, topbilled by Nora Aunor. Her biggest role to date was as female lead character in the first Summer Metro Manila Film Festival entry Love You Long Time opposite Carlo Aquino last April.
Eisel would like to make it clear that she amicably parted ways with Star Magic.
“There’s interval between my leaving Star Magic and my transfer here in Viva. It’s my personal decision to leave because I felt I was not growing anymore. So, I had to take the risk na umalis po muna at hanapin kung ano ang para sa akin at kung meron pa bang para sa akin,” explained Eisel.
However, she did not expect that she would find a new home in Viva.
“Honestly, I never expected that I would be with Viva but I’m thankful, of course, especially for their trust. They’re so welcoming and I can truly feel their love for me,” she said.
Her makeup artist paved the way for her to meet Viva exec Veronique del Rosario-Corpus. Their meeting, Eisel said, turned out to be a fruitful one. She never denied that prior to the meeting, she questioned herself why stardom seemed to be so elusive to her.
“I’m very thankful to Star Magic because they opened a lot of opportunities but since the pandemic, I felt that I was not growing anymore and I was starting to doubt myself because I was not anymore given new projects after those that had been lined up for me got cancelled when the pandemic (lockdown) hit. So, I wanted to take that risk to go out and look for something that I want na puwede ko pong gawin,” said Eisel in response to The STAR question.
“I’m very thankful that I did not lose hope. I still believe in myself,” added Eisel who graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Travel Management from University of Santo Tomas.
At present, Eisel has several projects lined up for her but nothing is definite yet as to what exactly are the roles that she will tackle and what genres she will do.
“I trust Viva when it comes to taking care of their artists. I expect a lot of learnings, a lot of experiences. I want to grow and I want to explore what else I can offer as an actress. Alam ko nag-sisimula pa lang ako at marami pa ang pwede kong gawin.”
Asked if she is ready to shed her sweet image for a role, Eisel replied, “As of now, I’m not yet ready for anything mature. As much as possible, I want to remain wholesome in all the films that I will make. But if ever it is really necessary for a film, then I would do it.”
What Eisel is looking forward to happening soon is to work alongside some of Viva’s contract stars like Matteo Guidicelli, Xian Lim, Sarah Geronimo, Nadine Lustre, Anne Curtis, Yassi Pressman and Julia Barretto. “I really look up to them because they are all excellent actors.”
As for directors, Eisel hopes to work with direk Jason Paul Laxamana “because we already met in 2019 and we got along very well, plus we’re both Kapampangan.”
Many people have been saying that Eisel has a close resemblance to Janine Gutierrez and Jane de Leon. Does she consider it as an advantage or a disadvantage?
“I think it is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Advantage because both of them are really beautiful and talented. It’s flattering na maka-mukha sila. But at one point, it’s also a disadvantage because it will be hard for me to make my own mark in the industry. I want to have my own identity and my own image,” she concluded.