An empowered female character on television is not limited to women portrayed as a leader or someone who does stunts usually done my male action stars or someone who possesses superpowers.
For actress Beauty Gonzalez, an empowered female character can be an ordinary person who is not bounded by the situation she’s in, a person who is also bold to chase her dreams. She is someone who has the ability to make her own choices and the courage to stand up for her values.
Beauty is one of the lead stars of I Got You, a drama series produced by Brightlight Productions, a blocktimer headed by former Negros Occidental congressman Albee Benitez. The series was produced in collaboration with CS Studios and Project 8.
“I want people to see my character as an empowered woman. Although she’s a single mom she shows us that you can still pursue your dreams. And yeah, it’s nice to portray a role that teaches single moms na marami pang pwedeng mangyari sa’yo,” the actress told Manila Standard Entertainment in a virtual interview.
In the series, the 29-year-old actress plays a therapist named Del who returns from Spain after 17 years. She crosses paths once again with ex-boyfriend Louie (RK Bagatsing), an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). He seeks out psychiatric help, which would lead him to Del. Seeing her again gives him a renewed zest for life, but he has a fiancée to consider, the optimistic and enthusiastic beauty vlogger Rizza played by Jane Oineza.
“This series, on the other hand, teaches us a lot of lessons about love, like you don’t necessarily have to be with a guy to make you feel happy and content, love hurts but your daughter got you. My character here gets hurt but her daughter Chantal is always there,” she said.
“Most importantly, the story teaches every woman that she’s valid, her dreams are valid, nothing should always stop you from doing what you love to reach your dreams. It’s always important to fill up your cup before loving other people,” she added.
Coming from the trending and top-rating drama series Kadenang Ginto, Beauty sees her new project as a new vehicle to explore her capabilities as an actor like doing something light in terms of treatment but not necessarily easy to execute.
“It’s not easy to make people laugh. It’s hard. To have the right mix of comedy and drama is hard to achieve. I’m just fortunate that I get to do these kinds of projects because it requires a range of acting. I can explore my capabilities as an actor and I'm blessed to have this opportunity even though I'm already married. I feel empowered that I can still make people fall in love through the character I portray and be in a romantic comedy,” Beauty related.
The romance-drama series featuring the former Kapamilya talent is among the first of six shows produced by block timer Brighlight Productions. Included in the cast are Chantal Videla and Kych Minemoto.
Directed by Dan Villegas, I Got You premiered on Oct. 18 and airs every Sunday right after Sunday Noontime Live, another offering from Brightlight.