JM Ibarra, Fyang Smith take bigger stops on the acting front

Newbies that they still are, Pinoy Big Brother housemates Fyang Smith and JM Ibarra are arming themselves with acting workshops as they take on more acting assignments.

“Parehas kami naglalaan ng oras sa workshops kasi kailangan iyon para mas matimpla yung performance, yung acting sa specific na project kasi iba-iba naman siya (We both dedicate time to workshops because they are necessary to fine-tune the performance and acting for the specific project — since every project is different),” Ibarra said in an exclusive interview.

Smith is mighty proud of Ibarra’s determination to improve his craft in preparation for One for the Road, where he gets to act with Elijah Canlas, Emilio Daez and Gian Bernardino.

“Grabe siya mag-workshop, as in grabe niya paghandaan yung ‘One For The Road.’ Grabe siya, sila mag-workshop, mag-build ng relationship kasi yung mga roles nila magtotropa since childhood. Nakakaproud (They really went all out in their workshops — the way they prepared for ‘One For The Road’ was incredible. They put so much effort into the workshops and into building their rapport, since their characters are supposed to be childhood friends. It makes me so proud),” Smith said.

After coming out of the Pinoy Big Brother House, Smith and Ibarra were kept busy with three consecutive acting projects: “Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins”, “Ghosting” and “Almost Us.”

Almost Us is still streaming on Netflix, something Smith is particularly proud of.

“Masaya, super saya. Actually, hindi namin ine-expect na mag-number one sa Netflix. Kahit papaano, tumambay (yung film) kahit mabilis. Napakalaki na achievement. At least kapag tinanong kami, naranasan na namin mag-number one sa Netflix (It’s a happy feeling — super happy. Actually, we didn’t expect to hit number one on Netflix. It managed to stay in the rankings for a while, even if it was brief. It’s a huge achievement. At the very least, if we’re ever asked, we can say we’ve experienced hitting number one on Netflix),” Smith said.

Coming almost on the heels of their Netflix success is their microdrama Will You Fake Marry Me on iWant, which is now on its second season.

“Happy kami kasi hindi namin ine-expect na magiging hit project namin and excited din kami na mapanood nila yung season 2 kasi mas doble yung saya, yung tawa. Sobrang excited lang kami i-share (We’re happy because we didn’t expect our project to be a hit, and we’re also excited for everyone to watch Season 2 because the fun and the laughter are doubled. We’re just so excited to share it),” Ibarra said.

Along their acting journey, the two have also discovered new things about themselves.

Patience, Ibarra said, is something they have both developed.

“Kahit sunod-sunod yung work, happy naman kami, kasi gusto naman namin ito and yung discoveries namin sa each other, siguro ay patience (Even though the work has been non-stop, we’re happy because we enjoy what we do; as for what we’ve discovered about each other — it’s probably patience),” the former housemate said, noting that Smith has improved considerably.

“Iba yung patience niya. Since then nung tapos na yung PBB, ganoon pa rin hanggang ngayon, puno ng work, sunod-sunod yung trabaho at hindi ko siya nakikita na sasabayan ng init ng ulo, na sasabayan ng stress (Her patience is on another level. Ever since PBB ended, she has remained the same — juggling a packed schedule and back-to-back work — yet I never see her lose her temper or let the stress get to her),” he shared.