Photo from Drag You & Me trailer
MANILA – She had been closely watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race” long before, so when a series about drag queens was pitched to her, Andrea Brillantes did not hesitate to accept it.
In an interview on Thursday, Brillantes proudly shared that she is an avid fan of drag queens, making it easy for her to take on the iWantTFC series “Drag You & Me,” which highlights the country's colorful drag scene.
“Bakit naman ako hihindi e tingin ko naman na kaya ko. Sana mabigyan ko ng justice para sa drag community. Bilang artista gusto ko talaga 'yung mga role na nabibigay sa 'kin ay 'yung nacha-challenge ako,” the Kapamilya star said.
“Mahilig talaga ako manood ng mga drag queens and I find them very fascinating. Na-excite ako na ako. First time ko lang na nakarinig ng ganitong concept dito sa Philippines.”
Brillantes is bannering “Drag Me & You” with JC Alcantara and Christian Bables. It is set to stream starting June 2 on iWantTFC.
In the series, she plays Betty who transforms into drag queen Valentine Royale as she tries to help her family.
Brillantes took with her the ideas she got from watching “Drag Race” episodes, including the hours of putting on makeup and sewing her own clothes.
It also helped that she is used to walk in high heels and perform in front of an audience.
However, Brillantes admitted feeling pressured when she had to do the famous lip-sync battle in a drag competition.
“Dun ko na realize na iba talaga siya. Ginagawa ko dati 'yung lip-sync sa Dubsmash, sa TikTok, sanay na 'ko dun. Mahilig na ako kumanta,” she revealed.
Luckily, Brillantes was guided by real-life drag queens who are also part of the cast, including Precious Paula Nicole, the first "Drag Race Philippines" winner.
“Pero sabi ko kay Mama Precious, iba pala talaga after nun. Maaano ka sa regret na sana ito pala 'yung ginawa ko. I should have done more. Gusto mo siya ulit-ulitin,” she shared.
“Kaya sabi sa 'kin ni Mama Precious, ‘kaya dapat lagi kang ready. Laging ibigay mo na ang lahat. Front feet forward talaga.’ Nung nagkaroon pa ako ng isa pang lip-sync, binigay ko talaga lahat.”
The trailer shows how Betty gets entangled with the characters of Alcantara and Bables. Their three characters will be part of the drag competition Manila Queen Supreme.
Towards the end, the character of Bables can be seen exposing Betty's real identity.
"Drag You & Me" also stars KaladKaren, and real-life drag queens Brigiding and Viñas Deluxe.
Under Dreamscape Entertainment production, the series directed by JP Habac and written by Nathan Arciaga, also includes Ice Seguerra, Romnick Sarmenta, Jon Santos, Lance Carr, PJ Endrinal, Jeric Raval, Amy Nobleza, Yves Flores, Noel Comia Jr., and Xilhouete.
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