Many were surprised with Julia Barretto’s daring transformation for her latest film “Expensive Candy” as seen on social media.
She wasn’t.
According to the actress, it was a calculated effort to serve the need given to her role in the film.
In “Expensive Candy,” Julia plays a lovable sex worker who gets romantically entangled with Carlo Aquino’s slight dweeby professor.
Cute as the premise may be, the whole experience proved challenging for Julia.
She said, “This movie really challenged me in a very physical way, mentally and emotionally.”
Not that she wasn’t ready for it. Julia has long been open to taking on more challenging roles even those that some might consider shocking.
“It’s always about the character for me,” she told us. “If it offers something that I consider exciting, different, then I’m open to it. I want to continue growing as an actress and I cannot do that by simply rehashing past roles.”
Asked about the love scenes she did with Carlo for the movie, Julia smiled. Apparently, she enjoyed it. Professionally speaking, of course.
“It helped that I knew Carlo from way back. So, the trust is there already. I felt safe, comfortable with him,” she said.
No, she didn’t impose limitations.
She said, “Everything they asked me, I did without hesitation. I don’t want to be a burden to the cast, the crew, to our director. When I accepted the role, I was prepared.”
Expectations are high.
Many believe the daughter of Marjorie Barretto and Dennis Padilla will be even more daring in future projects.
True or not, Julia’s mum about it.
“I don’t like to box myself,” she said. “At the same time I don’t wan’t people to expect certain things from me. I am simply enjoying my journey as it comes with a lot of new discoveries, learning.”
According to Julia, she learned a lot playing Candy, among them the difference between being sexy and being seductive.
“Doing this film, I realized being sexy and having to seduce someone are two very different things. Iba ‘yung sexy ka sa nang-aakit ka.”
To know exactly what Julia means, catch “Expensive Candy” in cinemas nationwide Sept. 14.