Liza Soberano. Image: screengrab from YouTube/GMA Network
Liza Soberano — who is one-half of the popular LizQuen pairing — has spoken up about the love team culture in showbiz, claiming that it’s the “only way” for aspiring actors to gain recognition in the Philippines.
Soberano made the remark during her “Get Real” podcast interview with South Korean singers Ashley Choi and BTOB’s Peniel last April 28, where she described love teams as a phenomenon that guarantees a ticket to widespread success in local showbiz.
The actress rose to fame after working with her Enrique Gil, in several teleseryes and films as a reel-to-real life couple.
“[A loveteam] is when they put two actors together,” she began, as she compared it to Hollywood ex-partners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. “They ship the two of you and there’s a [reel and real scenario] where we’re supposed to be a real couple on and off cam and we only work with each other for our whole career.”
The “Forevermore” star then echoed her controversial “This is Me” vlog, as she shared that she is “expected” to be with just one person throughout her “career and personal life.”
“If you look at my previous movies and TV shows, I mainly worked with one co-actor and love teams. You’re expected to be that just one person throughout your career and your personal life, and people don’t wanna see you aside with another male actor or any other male in general,” she said.
During the interview, a shocked Choi then asked if Soberano ever had the chance to choose which actor she would like to be paired with.
“It’s not that they choose it for you. What happens in the beginning of your career is they kind of test you, they put you in a project together where you guys are not necessarily the leads and it’s kind of a chemistry test,” she said in response.
Soberano and Gil first shared the spotlight in the film “Must Be… Love” in 2013, where they shared a brief romantic moment during the final scene. They also worked together in the Mae Czarina Cruz-Alviar-helmed project “She’s The One” with Dingdong Dantes and Bea Alonzo prior to “Forevermore” the following year.
Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano. Image: Instagram/@enriquegil17
“If it becomes popular among the viewers, then they put you in your own movie or TV show. If that really takes off, then you’ll become a love team and you get shipped really hard. And then once you’re in a love team, you guys start [to work in] project after project together,” she said.
During the podcast, Choi, who still remained shocked over the topic, then asked Soberano what happens to love teams if they are “not dating in real life.”
“Some love teams don’t actually date in real life, but you’re not allowed to say that. The thing is, in the beginning of loveteam, you’re not allowed to say that you are dating because you want to keep the fans kind of hungry [with your relationship status], and it helps with the project because they [the fans] are always excited,” she said in response.
“Whenever we do interviews [to promote the project], they always ask if we’re dating already or officially dating or not, so [the loveteam] becomes the whole thing [which makes your] career and personal life. It kind of blurs the line between the two, and they just don’t know what reality is,” she further explained.
The “Bagani” star also shared that love teams have been a common practice in local showbiz “for a long time” since the 1970s and 1980s.
“It’s been going on in the Philippines for a long time since in the 80s [or] 70s. And in the Philippines, the only way to become a really big star really, if you’re not a singer, is to become a love team,” she said, as she admitted that actors involved in love teams can choose their own partners “until very late” in their careers.
“I would say it’s actually good but they don’t do it until very late in your career,” she added.
Soberano starred in a series of popular teleseryes and films with Gil including “Forevermore,” “Bagani,” “Dolce Amore,” “Make It With You,” “Alone Together,” and “My Ex and Whys,” among others.
The actress, who signed a contract with James Reid’s Careless in June 2022, is set to appear in the Zelda Williams-helmed flick “Lisa Frankenstein” with Cole Sprouse and Jenna Davis. EDV
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