JULIA CLARETE was last seen in “Eat Bulaga”. She resigned when she got married and lived in Kuala Lumpur with her son, Sebastian, and husband, Gareth McGeown (a Coca Cola executive), for three years.
But recently, they came back to Manila and Julia is surprised when friend Joseph Boncalan, executive producer for TV5’s Christmaserye, “Paano ang Pasko?”, called her up and offered her the role of Love, the eldest daughter of Maricel Laxa in the series.
“This wasn’t planned, but I really prayed na sana, makabalik ako sa acting kasi nami-miss ko rin, and my prayers were answered quickly,” she says. “I didn’t expect it, but sometimes the Lord just gives you great opportunities.
"Ang ganda pa ng role ko rito. I’m married to Ejay Falcon but he’s also in love with my younger sister, Beauty Gonzalez as Hope, so we have a big conflict in the story with challenging confrontation scenes.”
How is her life in KL?
“Well, it gave me the chance to live away from home and experience new things and other cultures. I helped out the Philippine Embassy in some of their fund-raising projects. But as they say, there’s no place like home.
"Both my husband and I love the Philippines and we’re glad to be staying here for two years naman before he’s assigned to another country.”
She admits that doing lock in taping in time of the pandemic is quite a challenge.
“Mahirap kasi ibang-iba ang setup sa dating tapings. You have to be very cautious. E, may pagka-claustrophobic pa naman ako, so sa facemask pa lang naiilang ako noong una.
"You can’t just hug anyone on the set, even old friends, no beso-beso. But the people in the production are all so competent and kind, so it’s all worthwhile.”
She considers being part of “Paano ang Pasko?” a big blessing.
“I’m glad to be in this show kasi ang ganda ng message niya about families, love, acceptance and forgiveness specially in the season of Christmas.
"Very relevant siya sa mga nangyayari sa atin ngayon and very inspiring din, so don’t fail to watch it Monday to Friday at 9 PM on TV5 and Cignal Entertainment.”
She’s just happy to spend Christmas at home once again.
“Favorite ko talaga ang Paskong Pinoy. Wala talagang katulad ang saya ng Paskong Pinoy kahit sabihin pang may pandemya at ang daming challenges na dumating sa atin lately, iba pa rin ang Pinoy talaga when it comes to celebrating Christmas.”
