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Shanaia Gomez reveals the challenges in portraying Selene in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo 

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Liezel dela Cruz

In conquering the world of acting, Shania Gomez dares to come out of her comfort zone. Some of us might know her as the sweet and pretty <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/pbbs10">Pinoy Big Brother</a> housemate and online host, but she’s more than what you expect. And she’s proving so by her impressive ‘kontrabida’ performance in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/batangquiapo">FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.</a> The 21-year-old actress wants nothing more than to push her talent to its very limits. On her days off, she practices her Tagalog, dancing, and acting skills for her role as Selene in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/batangquiapo">FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,</a> without neglecting proper rest.The hard work likely comes from the fact that she wanted to join the show so bad and almost didn’t. According to Shanaia, she auditioned during the teleserye’s pre-production, specifically for Coco Martin and Lovi Poe’s love triangle, but didn’t get a call until months later. We can only imagine how elated she felt when she was finally given the role of Selene, though she was a bit hesitant as well. She said that Selene is her first big role and she doubted that she can pull off the sexy dance scenes. “I’m only 21 years old, so medyo baby pa ako. I’m scared of being sexualized by so many out there.”“It is kind of difficult kasi this is a role that I’ve never done before. I’ve never met a club dancer before. I don’t know kung paano ‘yung personality, how they act. That’s also something that I’m learning by watching shows and stuff like that,” she shared.Eager to prove her acting prowess, she signed up for the challenge, trusting the management’s word that she’d be guided in her scenes. She was told to speak up once she feels uncomfortable.“I wanted to take this opportunity to show na actress talaga ako, na kahit anong role ang ibigay sa akin kakayanin ko. Lalaban ako kahit anong role,” expressed Shanaia, who feels lucky that Coco saw her potential. “He really gave me this opportunity. Parang, in a way, he really asked me to try for this role.”She admitted to also struggling with the Tagalog dialogues, which she remedies through practice and listening to the creatives and her co-stars. She mentioned that even Toni Fowler helps her plot her line breaks.“They try to guide me, to help me find words na mas less ang slang. Let’s say may isang word na rinig na rinig talaga ‘yung slang, tutulungan nila ako maghanap ng ibang word na mas okay.” She added, “I’m so lucky na they really give time and effort to help me. Minsan they even give me feedback pa.”She knows that a great role comes with bigger challenges. But she allows herself to just enjoy the process that enables her to learn more about herself. Being immersed in a bigger production, she has learned that it’s important for an actress to keep in touch with her individuality. She keeps on saying that she’s only playing Selene, and they are two different people.She acts with Lovi Poe in most of her scenes as they play rivals in the story. And she couldn’t help but be stunned the first time she saw Lovi in person. “First day, nasa holding area ako kasi ‘yung set is talagang bar. Nakatulog ako kasi medyo maaga pa tapos biglang may pumasok sa kwarto, si Lovi Poe! Ang bait! Sabi niya, share-share daw ng dressing room,” she flashbacked.“Ang bait talaga ni Ate Lovi. Hindi siya maarte in any way. Hindi siya OA kasi minsan iisipin mo ’pag ikaw ‘yung bida, gusto mo ng sarili mong holding area, pero siya, hindi. Whoever she’s talking to, sobrang mabait,” revealed Shanaia, who also had good words about Toni Fowler.The Kapamilya beauty is certainly built for going after the things that scare her. She recalled swallowing the jitters during her first scene because a star dancer must look fierce instead of scared. “The more I did it, the more comfortable I got, the more I learned how my body moved,” adding that they are guided by real dance teachers on the set.Asked her message to her followers, she said, “Thank you to everyone that’s supporting the show, supporting me, and supporting ‘Batang Quiapo’ in general.” She acknowledged netizens’ comments about her performance, both the positive and negative, and said that she’s open to constructive criticism.The best thing about Shanaia is that she doesn’t conceal her flaws. Instead, she works on them for the love of her craft. Her only request is that people may learn to be more empathetic in giving their opinions. “Tao lang din naman ako. What you’re saying, it really does have an effect. So, if you have an opinion, okay lang ‘yan basta mas maayos ang pagkakasabi n’yo, kinder words,” she smiled.This girl is so determined that it’s exciting to imagine where her passion could take her from here. Support Shanaia in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/batangquiapo">FPJ’s Batang Quiapo</a>, shown weeknights, on <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/kapamilya-channel-livestream-12685">Kapamilya Channel, </a><a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-news/kapamilya-online-live-12710">Kapamilya Online Live</a>, TV5, and A2Z.

In this episode of Kapamilya Chat, Shanaia Gomez talks about her biggest teleserye role to date! 