Julie Anne San Jose revisits love for acting via ‘SLAY’

Viewers are accustomed watching Julie Anne San Jose perform on a weekend variety show or host a reality talent competition program. However, at this particular point in her career, the Sparkle GMA artist again revisits acting via “SLAY,” a collaboration between GMA and Viu, airing Mondays to Thursdays at 9:25 p.m.

In it, she takes on the role of a strong and empowered woman named Liv or Olivia Baltazar. The latter is characterized as a loving daughter and a loyal girlfriend to coach Zach or Z (played by actor Derrick Monasterio). Given her romantic connection to the most popular fitness influencer in the “SLAY” narrative, Liv has been questioned to get a clearer picture of Z’s hot and scorching ending.

Julie Anne’s Liv is in stark contrast to previous characters such as Heart Fulgencio in “Heartful Café” and Maria Clara in “Maria Clara at Ibarra.”

“Actually, (siya) yung pinaka-matanda sa kanilang apat (she’s the oldest among the four girls). Liv is very whole as a person,” Julie Anne gave the preliminary information about her character in a recent press conference. “Siya yung parang pinaka-aware sa lahat ng mga nangyayari sa paligid niya (she’s the most aware of what’s going in her immediate environment and situation).”

The other three women dramatis personae are Amelie, Sugar and Yana and portrayed by Gabbi Garcia, Mikee Quintos and Ysabel Ortega, respectively.

“She has this mysterious side in a way, but she’s also very charismatic, very loving as a daughter and as a friend,” added Julie Anne. “Meron lang siyang mga secrets na hindi nalalaman ng mga friends niya (she has secrets that her friends are not privy to).”

The singer-songwriter-host-and-actress further explored how the character was written by saying that “with her (relationship) dynamics with the other girls, she’s really caring as a person. As for her dynamics with her mom, played by Ms. Matet (de Leon), they have a very cool family… lumaki (siya) na ang nanay (niya) lang ang nagpalaki sa (kanya) (her mom single-handedly raised her).”

“So, (through that) one will really see her sense of empowerment and independence as a person and then, of course, lots of secrets about her will unfold and more (information) about her (will be known),” added she.

From there, viewers will make sense of Liv’s real intention as a person and involvement in the conflict. “Is she a lover or a killer?” was the question being posed in the pilot episode.

“Kailangan ninyong abangan kung siya ba talaga yung pumatay kay Zach or kung sino ba sa kanila (you need to look forward to if she’s the killer of Zach or who among the women in his life),” Julie Anne piqued one’s attention. “As the story progresses, talaga marami pang mga malalaman, marami pang mga pasabog na kailangan abangan (lots of things to be learned and many twists and turns will be revealed).”

During the press interview, Julie Anne also gave one a glimpse into her preparation to play Liv, a woman who is on a hot seat.

“Well, actually, when I was thinking about what would be the character sketch (for her), we (me and my fellow stars) also discussed (each character) with the director, and of course, with Sir RJ and the rest of the creatives. We’re very hands-on when it comes to the roles and characters we play,” said Julie Anne.

By the way, the director is Rod Marmol, while RJ Nuevas, also the show’s creative consultant, originally conceptualized the series with John Kenneth de Leon.

“And I’m thankful because it’s my first time to have been given such a kind of role,” shared Julie Anne. “So, abangan ninyo kung ano pa yung magiging character development dito ni Liv hanggang sa matapos yung buong show (watch out for her character development until the end of the show).”

In another media event, Julie Anne said that she got initially curious when she heard that the story was murder mystery and through the show, she also wanted to explore acting more and discover for herself what else she could offer in that craft.

What one could also glean from her answers was that she loves to collaborate with the talented and passionate creatives on the set, and it is such a nice feeling for her to know that “we’re creating something that is really, really good.”

Watch the engaging narrative of “Slay” on GMA Prime and follow the personal story of Liv.