Liza Soberano reveals challenges of starting over in Hollywood
MANILA, Philippines — Former Kapamilya actress Liza Soberano has spoken out about the hardships and sacrifices she has endured since leaving her career in the Philippines.
Liza admitted that she was very hurt when people called her "laos" when she went to the US to pursue her Hollywood dream.
The actress gave up and sacrificed a lot when she decided to leave the Philippine showbiz to pursue her dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
Liza shared on the “Painfully Human Podcast” hosted by Edward Barber the events that took place in her life and career when she moved to Los Angeles in 2024.
Edward asked Liza what things she had to sacrifice when she left her beautiful showbiz career in the Philippines.
“Money,” Liza answered. “For the longest time, this is something that I’ve realized about myself after stepping away from showbiz and kind of the Philippines in general."
“I don’t mean disrespect by this, but like I was so afraid of looking poor… It’s not like I look down on poor people, I definitely don’t. I was poor growing up. I remember when I joined showbiz, everybody was always saying like ‘Oh, don’t talk too much about your personal life’ that’s why nobody knows much of my upbringing," Liza said.
She recalled how people often assumed she came from a wealthy background because she was half-American and mestiza, but said that was far from reality.
“In order to not distract people from the brand that we were carefully curating, I never really went in-depth about my story. But now that I’ve moved to LA, obviously, money is the biggest thing that I’ve sacrificed because I could be here in the Philippines doing the same thing I’ve been doing since I was 12, making lots of money,” the actress said.
Liza shared that she felt like she was just doing the same thing over and over again in showbiz and that everything had become "auto-pilot" for her.
"I could be easily just doing that and still making the same amount of money that I used to, but now I don’t. That’s what I sacrificed to be living in LA and discomfort," she said.
However, she chose to start over in the US, where she described herself as a new artist learning the industry from the beginning.
Soberano said it hurt when people called her “laos” and questioned her career after she started appearing in smaller projects.
“I have to do all these little gigs every now and then because that’s how I pay my bills. That’s the price that I’m paying so that I can fulfill this ambition or dream of mine,” she said. “Money and just the comfort of not having to put in the effort to grow.”
Liza also said that she spends money on acting workshops and vocal lessons.
“In America, I do three to four auditions a week and I get rejected constantly. But I’m loving it now because I’m learning and growing so much. All these different roles which is fun, but then I still get rejected because I’m doing the thing I said I wanted to do,” she said.
After her Hollywood debut in the 2024 horror-comedy film “Lisa Frankenstein,” alongside Kathryn Newton, she landed another international project as one of the lead voice actors of “Forgotten Island.”
This is the upcoming animated feature from DreamWorks Animation. She will be joined by Filipino and international artists such as H.E.R., Lea Salonga, Manny Jacinto, Dave Franco and Jenny Slate.
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