Liza Soberano went from skipping auditions in PH to starting over in Hollywood

Liza Soberano calls auditioning her biggest adjustment after transitioning from Philippine showbiz to Hollywood.

For years, Liza Soberano was one of Philippine showbiz’s most recognizable leading ladies. In Hollywood, she had to learn how to audition again.

In her “1ON1” interview with Karen Davila, Soberano opened up about navigating Hollywood’s audition process and how different it was from her experience in the Philippines.

“You need to put yourself out there, you need to work hard, but it’s just a lot different because when I was here [in the Philippines], all modesty, I wouldn’t have to audition and that was the biggest adjustment,” she said.

For an actor who had already spent years being recognized through television, film, endorsements, and her hugely popular love team with Enrique Gil, the process meant proving herself to people who did not already know her.

Learning to audition again

Soberano said she eventually learned to see auditions as repetition and practice. Actors are encouraged to take the self-tapes that come their way, she explained, because the process also puts them in front of casting directors and producers who may eventually recognize their work.

“They encourage you to do all the self-tapes that come your way just so that you get to practice also,” she said.

But self-tapes were not only practice. They were also a way of putting herself in front of people who might not have encountered her work before.

“You’re also kind of putting yourself out there, narerecognize ka ng mga casting directors and the producers that get to watch the audition,” she added.

That distinction matters when looking at Soberano’s Hollywood career. In the Philippines, recognition had already become part of her professional currency. In Hollywood, that recognition did not automatically follow her.

From Manila to Los Angeles

The transition is particularly notable as Soberano continues building her Hollywood career, including her role as Raissa in DreamWorks’ “Forgotten Island.”

For the animated film, Soberano initially auditioned for Jo, the character eventually voiced by Filipino-American singer H.E.R. She was later invited back to read for Raissa, the film’s other lead.

Raissa is a Filipino teenager preparing to leave the Philippines for the United States, while Soberano herself was navigating a similar transition. She has described auditioning for the film while moving from Manila to Los Angeles.

The parallel is almost too neat: Soberano was establishing herself in a new country while auditioning to voice a character preparing to leave home.

Her comments have sparked different reactions online. Some netizens interpreted them as a glimpse into how established stars can receive opportunities differently in Philippine showbiz, while others argued that famous actors being offered roles without auditions is not unique to the country.

Some reactions also connected the discussion to the long-running Filipino conversation around connections, backers, and “nepo babies.”

But Soberano herself did not frame her experience as an accusation. She was describing an adjustment, and that distinction is important.

Her comments were about moving from an environment where people already knew who Liza Soberano was to one where that familiarity could no longer be taken for granted.

Becoming recognizable all over again

Hollywood did not erase the career Soberano built in the Philippines. It simply meant that the value of being Liza Soberano had to be established again in a different room, in front of different people.

The irony is that her visibility in the Philippines became part of what made the transition so striking. She was not entering Hollywood as someone who had never worked before. She had already experienced the projects, endorsements, fanbase, press attention, and expectations that came with being one of the country’s most recognizable young actresses.

In that sense, her story is less about Hollywood being harder or Philippine showbiz being easier. The two industries operate within different systems of recognition, and Soberano’s career puts that difference into clear view.

Her experience also complicates the idea of “starting over.” It does not necessarily mean becoming a beginner again. It can mean bringing everything you have already built into a place where none of it is immediately legible.

Being a star can open doors. But entering a new industry can also mean finding yourself back in the audition room, ready to prove what you can do all over again.

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