Since she started acting at the age of eight, Alexa Ilacad has quite literally grown up in front of the camera, from being one of the child stars in Goin’ Bulilit to starring in various series, including her new iWant series Miss Behave. The show stars Alexa as high school queen bee Maria, the leader of a group of five smart girls who decide to come together and plot revenge against the male students whom they believe leaked their nude photos.
Talking about her role at the Miss Behave media con held last June 1 at the Bonifacio High Street Central Square cinema, Alexa offered more insight into her character.
“We are five girls [who] all sent their nude photos or explicit photos to the boys that they love. So they plot their revenge and how they can claim their power back against the perpetrators who did them wrong. I am Miss Perfect. Marla is literally perfect. She’s a straight-A student. She excels in everything that she does. She is a genius. Well everyone who goes to school there is a genius. So may mga kanya-kanya kaming mga amats and everything. But si Marla, her biggest weakness is her boyfriend, si Cole. Kumbaga, matalino siya sa lahat pero sa pag-ibig medyo tanga siya,” she said.
Apart from tackling more mature issues that teenagers face in and outside of school, Alexa shares that Miss Behave is also going to be an unforgettable project for her because it marks a milestone in her career, having to do a kissing scene with co-star JC Alcantara, who plays her boyfriend Cole in the show.
“Honestly, it as my first ever kissing scene po talaga. So admittedly, I was feeling very, very nervous and I was very scared. To be completely honest, I’m sure it was great, but I was so numb, I was not there. Yung kaluluwa ko wasn’t really in the moment. Kinakabahan talaga. But I’m also really lucky because si direk (Ivan Andrew Payawal), talagang kinausap niya kami. He would remind us, he would tell us about the shots, kung kelan lang namin gawin. Sobrang maalaga talaga si direk. Everything had consent. We talked about each and every step. Everything was consensual,” she recalled.
The Miss Behave star also shared why she thinks her new leading man was the perfect actor to join the cast.
“And I’m also very lucky kasi my first kissing scene was with such a great guy, which is si JC. Maalaga siya. Ito talaga yung binigay ni Lord. Sabi ko, ‘Lord, ito talaga yung first ko, ibibigay ko na ang lahat-lahat ko dito sa Miss Behave so go, gawin na natin ito!’ Kaya for me, perfect talaga si JC kasi he was such a very gentle partner, very hands on din siya, very maalaga. So I think it went well, naman, but then again, I was so out of it (laughs). But I think it was good,” she added.
Alexa also shared with the press during the media con that she really gave her best for her latest project with iWant.
“One thing about me na I think people can tell naman na is palaban naman po talaga ako. At bukod sa palaban, ang word of my life ngayon ay matapang na ako. So that’s what I had to channel for Miss Behave, kailangan ko siya tapangan. Kung gagawin ko ‘to, it’s all in or nothing at all. So ayun,” she said.
Miss Behave stars Alexa Ilacad, Xyriel Manabat, JC Alcantara, Akira Morishita, Raven Rigor, LA Santos, Zach Castaneda, Reign Parani, Andi Abaya, Rans Rifol, and Zach Guerrero. Directed by Ivan Andrew Payawal. Watch Episode 1 online for free starting on June 3, Wednesday, only on iWant.