The actress recalls her first audition for ‘Marimar,’ life as a child breadwinner and the point she felt it was ‘the end of the world’
Andrea Brillantes got candid about the price of growing up in show business when she guested on Fast Talk with Boy Abunda on Friday, October 30, 2026, saying she gave up a normal childhood but has no regrets about where it led her.
The actress first looked back on her very first audition, for the role of Cruzita in GMA’s 2007 series Marimar, which starred Marian Rivera. “Naaalala ko po, I was around three or four years old para sa first audition ko and it was for Marimar,” she said.
It did not go as planned. “Kaso no’ng time na ‘yon, mahiyain pa ako and hindi ako masyado nakakapagsalita sa harapan ng maraming tao. Lalo na no’ng nakita ko si Ms. Marian, super na-starstruck ako and nakalimutan ko na po lahat ng lines ko no’n,” Andrea said, laughing.
When the show played a clip of her in the 2012 Kapuso drama Cielo de Angelina, she was delighted. “Ang cute ko naman nung baby pa ako,” she said. “I think I was around nine years old. That was before Anna Liza and ‘yan ‘yung first-ever show ko sa GMA-7.”
The mood turned serious as she recalled taking on back-to-back projects from the age of seven. “I really had to sacrifice a lot. I sacrificed my childhood,” she said. “Siguro nawala rin ‘yung freedom and allowance to make mistakes.”
“Naging breadwinner din po ako, and bilang isang bata, hindi ko maiwasan na tumingin sa ibang bata, na bakit meron na sila nito, ako hindi ko ito ma-provide for myself because I need to provide for my family first,” she shared.
Still, Andrea said she is grateful. “Naiahon ko ‘yung pamilya ko sa kahirapan. I got to travel around the world. I got to inspire other people,” she said.
Asked how she survived years of controversy, she pointed to her faith. “Umabot na ako sa point na hindi ko na talaga alam anong gagawin ko. Nagkaroon ng point na end of the world,” she admitted.
“There was no other way but ibigay na lang sa Diyos at kumapit at nagtiwala na lang ako sa Kanya,” Andrea said. “Feeling ko nagawa akong strong soldier ni God kasi tingin niya kaya kong tanggapin lahat ito.”