Shay Mitchell, the lovely Filipino-Canadian star of the drama series “Pretty Little Liars,” the psychological thriller “You” and the comedy series “Dollface,” …
Shay Mitchell, the lovely Filipino-Canadian star of the drama series “Pretty Little Liars,” the psychological thriller “You” and the comedy series “Dollface,” said that something just clicked when she was asked to lend her voice to Alexandra Trese. Alexandra is the sinister creature-busting heroine of “Trese,” the eagerly anticipated horror anime series based on the award-winning graphic novel by cocreators KaJO Baldisimo and Budjette Tan. “This was one of those projects that I went, ‘Huh? Yeah, of course this makes sense,’” Shay told Inquirer Entertainment early this week, before Season 1 of the six-episode series debuted last Friday on Netflix. “I loved the story, and I loved that the team of people behind it were actually Filipino. “I was familiar with some of the stories [related to the folkloric creatures in it], but I have developed a much more extensive understanding of the characters and creatures post-‘Trese.’”And speaking of the Filipinos involved in the show, you won’t find a better and richer Pinoy representation than the exceptional pool of actors and creatives sharing the spotlight with Shay, who voices Alexandra in the English version, and Liza Soberano, who plays Alex in the Filipino iteration of the animated series. Other stellar voice talents in the cast with Filipino blood running through their veins include, among others, Nicole Scherzinger (as Miranda, Alex’s mother), Darren Criss (Marco, nephew of Captain Guerrero), Lou Diamond Phillips (Mayor Sancho Santamaria), Rodney To (Raul, Aswang market guard), Reuben Uy (Colonel Hidalgo), DeeDee Magno Hall (Emissary) and Dante Basco (Bagyon Kulimlim). The show is written by Tanya Yuson, Zig Marasigan and Mihk Vergara, with Jay Oliva as showrunner. Oliva (“Justice League Dark, “The Legend of Korra”) helms it with Mel Zwyer (“Star Wars Rebels”), David Hartman (“Transformers: Prime”) and Tim Divar (“Young Justice”). “It’s a dream cast from so many angles,” said showrunner Oliva. “When we started this project, I knew it was important that the cast reflect the heritage and culture, so we strived to hire Filipino and Filipino-American actors—and the outpouring of support was overwhelming! “As soon as they heard about it, so many actors went out of their way to get roles.
