Behind the chaos: ‘What Lies Beneath’ cast on their gut-wrenching roles

What Lies Beneath blends elements of mystery, suspense and drama. Which of these genres did you find the most challenging or the most rewarding to perform, and why?

Jake Cuenca: It is really rewarding to shoot What Lies Beneath because you really feel that the industry is really levelling up in terms of cinematography, in terms of sound, in terms of acting, even. We are all very proud of the show, because it is all built with hard work. Everyone’s objective on the set, every department is excellent. You see the camera work. You see the audio. It really is a level up in the entertainment industry, and I hope people notice that as well when they watch the show.

Sue Ramirez: For me, the challenging and rewarding scenes that I do for the show are my scenes with Jameson Blake. [They] are difficult to execute, but I really enjoy working with him. I worked with him a couple of times before, but in this series, Jameson is a totally different person. 

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Given the high stakes and suspenseful nature of the show, how different was the preparation for the series compared to your previous projects? Did you do any special lessons or training?

Jake Cuenca: I saw the role of Edong as an opportunity to experience something that I have never experienced in my life. I went on an immersion in Mandaluyong City Jail for ten months. I had my designated jail cell. I had my own corner. The inmates started to become my friends, and in this journey, I got to interview a lot of real inmates, and I incorporated it into the performance. So for me, it is really building a life for this guy, because it was so different from the life that I have lived, coming from the family that I came from, being an actor since I was a child. So, I had to change my perspective. I had to really get in the thick of it with this character because he went to jail for 14 years.

Kaila Estrada: For me, I watched a lot of hearings and documentaries also to get how lawyers talk in litigation and also in regular conversation, because they tend to present themselves quite differently. They have a very strong aura, and they speak with such command and authority, even in a regular conversation. So I think that is what I kind of did to prepare for Erica, especially because I had a lot of lines that were lawyer-speak. I wanted to prepare my tongue for that.

What was the most physically or mentally demanding scene you shot for What Lies Beneath?

Sue Ramirez: I think I have a lot of physically demanding scenes, especially with Jameson. As hard as these scenes are made of, I still enjoy them, but I do get real bruises. I really have to mentally, emotionally and physically prepare for them. It is not anyone’s fault. We talk it out. It is a respectful working environment. We are all willing to do the job and actually be there and make something great out of it. And so that is the little sacrifices that we have to make, to show that the series is truly good.

Charlie Dizon: With Beth, the scenes that are out now show her being irritating or perhaps goofy, but the ones we are taking recently are emotionally draining because we are nearing the ending. So I cannot say yet, but we are at the point where each character is struggling greatly with the situation.

Janella Salvador: For me, it is primarily [my role] as Alice. I, as a person, am accustomed to internal emotion. When I cry, I am accustomed to quiet crying; it is more internal. With Alice she holds it in. She is always quiet and at the back when something huge is happening. But when she bursts, like when she has her outbursts, it is very external. She shakes; she has those moments. So that was the adjustment for me, when she really has her loud outbursts. That was challenging.

If you could swap roles with one other cast member, who would it be and why?

Sue Ramirez: I would love to do Beth. I absolutely love to do Beth. I want to be hated by people. I want to be talked about on Reddit, come on.

JM De Guzman: Edong. But after I watched what Jake did, I do not want to anymore. (Laughs)

Kaila Estrada: I feel like I want to be Alice. I want to see if I am capable. The role of Alice is interesting. It is internal, but at the same time, you have those outbursts. It is constant tension, always shaking.

Janella Salvador: I actually want to be Erica. She has grit. I like those quiet nuances. I like those kinds of scenes.

Charlie Dizon: Mel is too fashionable for me, too sassy for me. Perhaps Erica as well. My only issue with Erica is the difficulty of the lawyer lines. That is my real concern. But I also want to be right. Because Beth is always wrong, I want to be right for once.

Jake Cuenca: I cannot really imagine doing another role. But something that interested me in the show is what Renshi de Guzman did with the young Edong. If I were younger, and if I could do that role, what he did and how well he did it, that is something that I would be very proud of him for, too. 

What Lies Beneath is now streaming on Netflix.

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