The fresh tandem of Gerald Anderson and Gigi de Lana will be joined by Alyssa Muhlach playing Helga in the feel-good digital series “Hello, Heart.” Alyssa gushed about working with Gerald, her favorite actor to watch when she was in high school, and had the sweetest words to say about the rest of the cast as well.
“Noong lumalaki ako, siya na pinapanood ko,” Alyssa said of Gerald in an episode of Kapamilya Chat. Her cute anecdotes helped break the ice between them and Gerald thought it was flattering and funny at the same time. She mimicked his reaction: “Parang ang tanda ko naman!”
Working with Gerald for the first time, Alyssa thought he’d be intimidating but the actor turned out to be warm and pleasant. “Wala talaga siyang ere at all. You wouldn’t think that he’s a star. He is what he is. He’s very humble and very kind. Gentleman siya sa lahat ng tao,” she described him.
Talking about the other cast members, Alyssa revealed Gigi makes the set happier by giving them free song performances. “She’s so fun to be with! She’s always singing kasi love niya talaga kumanta. It’s so easy to work with her.”
Even veteran diva Celeste Legaspi was very welcoming, “Sobrang character din ng personality niya in real life. She has so much wisdom to share.” Alyssa also bonded with Alora Sasam, her aunt Arlene Muhlach’s co-actor in the Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla starrer “The House Arrest of Us.”
In “Hello Heart,” Alyssa plays the strong independent Helga, a lawyer in Saul (Gerald)’s company. She didn’t want to give away much about her character but she hinted at Helga’s intriguing connection to Saul.
Asked how she resonates with her character, Alyssa mentioned that they’re similar in some ways. “She’s a very strong and independent woman, so I feel like we’re similar in that sense. Although baka sa dulo ibahin niya, pero sobrang strong niya. Hindi naman ako ganu’n, a little bit similar lang.”
When tasked with a new role, Alyssa makes sure to align her portrayal with the creatives’ outline. Besides looking for pegs, she also consulted director Raz Dela Torre before their lock-in taping, “He told me ‘yung vision niya about Helga and at the same time he allowed me to give input kung paano ko gusto i-atake yung character ni Helga.”
“Hello Heart” tells the story of two people from different worlds. Saul, a businessman, is forced to play a fake husband to Heart (Gigi), the nanny of her dementia-stricken grandma. Adding more charm to the plot is Heart and Saul’s love-hate relationship.
Asked if she believes in the old saying ‘the more you hate, the more you love,’ Alyssa related it to puppy love when a guy or girl acts mean toward a crush. But as an adult, she thinks it would look weird that cute, “Ayoko namna ng ganu’n, na he hates me pero sa utak niya, mahal niya ako.”
Then again, love is limitless and full of surprises. So, is there a possibility of a little hate between a perky ‘raketera’ and an emotionless businessman turning into a romance? Find out the answer in the rom-com series “Hello, Heart” starting December 15 on iQiyi.