Liza Soberano revealed that her Hollywood dream is in limbo due to the ongoing actors’ strike in the United States.
Soberano said that she is a member of the SAG-Aftra.
Members of the Screen Actor’s Guild and American Federation of Radio and TV Artists began on July 14 demanding for an increase in pay.
“I just want to make that clear. I don’t want my fans to think I’m not going to act anymore. I can’t take on any projects legally until the strike is over. Technically, I can act in indie films, but to show unity and solidarity with the rest of the SAG members, it’s just best not to do anything until then. That’s kind of why I’m so quiet about my acting career,” she said in an interview with the Inquirer.
“I think that what the actors and writers are fighting for is something that they genuinely deserve. I can’t say that I’m very knowledgeable about it. I haven’t been acting in Hollywood for that long so I don’t have a complete grasp of the situation. As far as I know, they just want to be compensated fairly and I’m all for that,” she added.
Soberano is a cast member of the upcoming American horror comedy film by Zelda Williams, titled “Lisa Frankenstein.”
“What makes me sad is that a lot of people, including those who I have been working with, have not had work in months. It feels like the pandemic all over again where everybody is just hungry to start working again. Some are literally hungry because they need to put food on their tables, but they don’t have jobs. It’s affecting not just the actors and production people, but even other industries connected to entertainment,” she said.
“The film was supposed to come out this year, but the producers put that on pause. There were two projects I auditioned for that I was supposed to get a call back for but then the strike happened, and so that was also put on hold,” she added.
Soberano said she is now shifting her attention to becoming a producer and explore opportunities in Korea.
“I personally see Korea as next to Hollywood. I’m starting to create my own production company and my coproducer is based in Korea. That’s why I come back here often. It’s just a little bit limiting that I can’t speak Korean yet,” she said.
“I’ve met with a lot of production companies and agencies here, and they said, ‘You want to work here? Please learn a little of the language so we can get you a proper job.’ I can’t say that I’m seriously doing it because I haven’t hired a teacher yet, but I try to do Duolingo,” she added.
