Japanese Actress Maria Ozawa was reportedly selected to be part of GMA Network’s upcoming historical drama show “Pulang Araw.”
According to Pulang Araw’s head writer, Suzette Doctolero, Maria would join the cast, which also includes another Japanese actor, Jacky Woo.
She revealed the news on her X page.
May Jacky Woo at Maria Ozawa pa, mga artistang hapones. https://t.co/2vLHVB6wIU
— Suzette S. Doctolero (@SuziDoctolero) June 10, 2024
She also confirmed that she was referring to the actress who became popular in the 2000s.
Suzette praised Maria for being polite to the Pulang Araw production team, saying that she even gave them an idea about Japanese culture.
“Mabait siya ha, napaka polite, very smart too. Napaka professional. Tinuruan niya rin kaming lahat kung paano isuot ng tama ang kimono. She even brought her own kimono na heirloom pa ata,” she wrote.
Ironically, one of Pulang Araw’s leading cast members, David Licauco, also went viral in the past after he mentioned Maria’s name during his appearance on Family Feud.
It can be recalled that Maria did several projects in the Philippines after she retired from acting in Japan.
She’s now operating multiple businesses in the Philippines and even has a Filipino boyfriend.
In an interview, she also explained how difficult it was for her to change her image after retiring from her former work in Japan.
“It’s been a while since I quit and it’s not like I was forced to do it. But I had a dream and I wanted to do it…I wanted to change my career. I got my goal in Japan and for the next step, I had to quit the industry. It was hard for me to do everything at the same time,” she said.
“The moment I quit that industry, I was so shy. Everything was just very intense, all kinds of filming. Even comedy with some love [scenes], it’s new to me. I’m supposed to be used to it, but it’s so different,” she added.