Marela Torre was admittedly starstruck when she met the big stars of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, although she lives with one at home, her award-winning actor dad and also an ex-cast member Joel Torre. Join her as she talks about working with esteemed thespians and the important advice she got from her father in this episode of Kapamilya Chat.

In case you’re wondering, Marela is Thalia, the ‘astig’ bodyguard of Don Ignacio (Tommy Abuel) in the long-running action-drama series. She mentioned that her character is an ex-military member, thus the badass personality and combat skills. Behind her ‘loyalty’ to her boss, Thalia also has personal ambitions to fulfill. She wants to be successful and give her family a comfortable life, even if it means using the ‘Don’ for power and privilege.

Although she’s into sports like boxing in real life, Marela is much softer than her onscreen character, which actually makes it easier to portray. “’Yung paghubog ko sa karakter ni Thalia is completely opposite sa akin. Sinadya ko talaga ‘yun na matigas siya, stiff siya, snappy ang galawan. Naging advantage sa akin na opposite ko si Thalia kasi mas may fine line between Marela and Thalia so hindi siya masyadong nakakagulo ng utak,” shared the up-and-coming actress.

Some may assume that she easily grabbed the role, thanks to being Joel Torre’s daughter. But she went through the audition process. After receiving an invite and the script, she sent her audition tape since face-to-face gatherings were still limited at the time. The truth is she tried out for a different role but the creatives thought she’d be more perfect as Thalia.

As Don Ignacio’s security head, Marela shares a lot of scenes with Tommy Abuel. She used to be scared of him, “Kasi batang ‘90s ako, eh. Napanood ko lahat ng masasamang roles niya.” Then, she got more comfortable and realized that the veteran actor is a funny man in real life, a contrast to his image in films and teleseryes.

On Geoff Eigenman playing the Black Ops’ Major Albert de Vela, she said their similar interests like sports helped build their chemistry.

Talking about Julia Montes, whom she had intense fight scenes with in the recent episodes, Marela expressed admiration for the leading lady’s burning commitment to her craft, “Bawat step, bawat sagang, inaaral niya talaga count by count kaya never siyang nawawala. Ang sipag niyang mag-aral.” She also reacted to fans’ observation that they look alike, “Nakakataba po ng puso, siyempre, ang ganda-ganda ni Julia.”

Marela is yet to share scenes with Coco Martin but she’s seen him work as a director. “’Yung pagka-hardworking niya, sobrang ibang level,” she said of the Primetime King.

Aside from Coco, she also looks forward to acting opposite Lorna Tolentino, whom she was completely starstruck with. For Marela, to be part of the show is a dream come true. “Nakakamangha na ‘yung mga napapanood ko lang before, imagine “Moral,” sobrang legend ng movie na ‘yun, tapos si Ms. Lorna nakakatrabaho ko na ngayon, surreal as in,” she said pertaining to Lorna’s iconic 1982 film.

She noted how all cast members including the veterans are very warm. But of course, her dad taught her to approach them and introduce herself, “Welcoming po talaga sila pero tinuruan ako ng Tatay ko na magpakilala ka. So naging trait ko na po talaga ‘yun.”

Get to know the actress playing Thalia in this video from Kapamilya Chat!