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Mae Cruz-Alviar praises Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino for ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’: ‘I’m so blessed with the cast I have for this show’

Article (news)

Nikka Avegail Sabio

Push Team

<p>Film and television director Mae Cruz Alviar had nothing but praises for the cast of the Philippine adaptation of <em>It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.</em></p><p>During the media conference for the upcoming series under Star Creatives, Direk Mae commended the dedication and passion of each cast member in embodying their characters and in working closely as a team throughout the production.</p><p>“I’m so blessed with the cast I have for this show kasi makikita mo yung dedication and passion,” Direk Mae said.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1752281516854Thumb - 2025-07-12T085211.611.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Direk Mae particularly praised the three lead stars—Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino—for how deeply they immersed themselves in their roles as Mia, Patrick (Patpat), and Mathew (Matmat) respectively.</p><p>For Joshua, who plays the local version of Kim Soo-hyun’s character Moon Gang-tae, Direk Mae noted his intense focus and commitment during their lock-in taping.</p><p>“It helped that we were locked in because he was really focused and in fact even after pagbalik sa hotel he was studying and focused on getting into character, understanding the journey,” Direk Mae described Joshua’s portrayal. “Ipinasok niya talaga yung character. With him, ipinapasok niya kung ano yung journey, ano yung nararamdaman ng character.</p><p>“He was focused throughout kasi noong sa lock in nag-aaral talaga siya, yung script niya may notes. He was into it. It was not like a role na dumaan sa kaniya,” she added.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLwgz81yuLZ/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A1531103%2C%22ls%22%3A1381233%2C%22le%22%3A1381681.8999999762%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="865" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Joshua also expressed how much he related to his character, Patrick Gonzales, a devoted brother and psychiatric ward caretaker.</p><p>“Nakarelate ako sa kaniya kasi parehas kami mapagmahal na kapatid tapos parehas kami nangulila sa nanay. Doon palang ang laki na nakarelate ko,” Joshua said.</p><p>He added, “Na-appreciate ko rin si Direk kasi sa set kinakausap niya kami as characters namin na nakakatulong sa amin [as] actors.”</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLj9a0_y6AD/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A1507239.3999999762%2C%22ls%22%3A1381233%2C%22le%22%3A1381681.8999999762%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="847" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>For Anne, who portrays Mia, the Filipino version of Ko Moon-young, a children’s book author with antisocial personality disorder, Direk Mae appreciated how collaborative she was throughout the project, especially as a fan of the original Korean series.</p><p>“Si Anne kahit hatinggabi kapag mayroon siya ma-isip sa character niya kahit saang lupalop siya all over the world, magtetext siya sa akin (ng ideas niya),” Direk Mae shared.</p><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABcFK8J81C7zeJ9D"></script><p>As for Carlo, who plays Mathew Gonzales (Matmat), the local counterpart of Moon Sang-tae, Gang-tae’s older brother who is on the autism spectrum, Direk Mae revealed that the actor chose not to watch the original portrayal by Oh Jung-se in order to avoid imitating it.</p><p>“Si Carlo did not watch the original para wag siya ma-influence na gagayahin niya lang kasi alam niya na everyone is raving about the performance doon sa original,” Direk Mae said. </p><p>She went on: “Si Carlo, ayaw niya mabahiran na parang ginagaya niya lang kasi may influence siya so siya hindi niya papanoorin pero in terms of creating it, it’s the interpretation based on our interpretation, based on our immersion, based on our research. Hindi siya parang kathang isip.”</p><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABcGV4Xc02My5wQo"></script><p>Direk Mae gave full credit to Carlo for going through immersion and carefully crafting a respectful and authentic portrayal.</p><p>“Kudos talaga to Carlo kasi noong pinasok niya iyon, kinuha iyon from different real people with autism na inobserve, kinasalamuha niya and kasama na talaga namang nabuo niya yung character based on all that,” Direk Mae said.</p><p>“Hindi siya nagkopya lang and that’s what we want to do. We don’t want to just copy. We created it on our own too,” she continued. </p><p>Carlo also shared details about his preparation for the role. He underwent immersion in a special school and took acting workshops to better understand the character.</p><p>“Pinag-three days nila ako na immersion sa special school sa may Banaue. Sinamahan ako ni Joshua and iba pang staff. Pina-observe sa akin yung mga high functioning and yung hindi masyado. After that, pinagworkshop ako with Ms. Ana Feleo,” Carlo recalled.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DLXCFmfy_Wy/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=768&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1381799%2C%22ls%22%3A1381233%2C%22le%22%3A1381681.8999999762%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="847" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>“Sa tulong din ni Direk Mae, kasama ko si Noel, yung younger version ni Matmat sa series, binuo namin kung paano gumalaw (yung character ko).”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2025/7/10/direk-mae-cruz-alviar-and-anne-curtis-on-the-ph-adaptation-of-it-s-okay-to-not-be-okay-1513"><strong><u>READ: Direk Mae Cruz-Alviar and Anne Curtis on the PH Adaptation of ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay’: &#x27;It will be faithful to the core&#x27;</u></strong></a></div><p><em>It’s Okay To Not Be Okay</em> is set to premiere on July 21 on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5, airing weeknights at 8:45 p.m. Advance streaming begins July 18 on Netflix and July 19 on iWant.</p>

<p>Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino bring impressive performances in the PH adaptation of ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.'</p>

Anne Curtis, Joshua Garcia, and Carlo Aquino bring impressive performances in the PH adaptation of ‘It’s Okay To Not Be Okay.'