What is up with all these “Pretty Little Liars” stars coming to the Philippines? First it was Lucy Hale (Aria on the show), who went to the country when Bench got her as an endorser. And then it was Shay Mitchell (Emily), the half-Pinay, who was here for a vacation yet managed to squeeze in some promo work for the show, too. Now, Troian Bellisario, who portrays straight-A student and overachiever Spencer Hastings in the show, is in the country. She’s here to accompany her boyfriend (Patrick J. Adams of “Suits” fame), who is promoting the finale of his show. It’s cool that while she’s here, Troian is also promoting her own show.
Coconuts Manila had an exclusive chat with the beautiful, intelligent and charming actress and we found out what her co-stars told her about the Philippines, what a huge nerd she is, plus how much she enjoyed going to high school.
Check out our Q&A with Troian Bellisario:
How do you find the Philippines so far?
I really like it. When I first landed, you have to relate what your own experiences are and I’ve been to Thailand before and it was really amazing. When I got off of the plane the fragrant tropical smell that I smelled in I was in Thailand when I was there years ago immediately came back to me and so I kind of felt like a little bit at home.
I like the jeepneys. I like how they look so when I saw those I though, that’s a cool car. And then someone told me, that’s our public transport. And then I started seeing them everywhere
Love to try. They told me you pass back change to other people. That sounds pretty cool. I wanna do that but I’d be terrible. I’d probably think all the coins are mine.
Shay (Mitchell) and Lucy (Hale), they told me that the fans are really amazing and very dedicated and that it’s just beautiful. [They told me], “You’re gonna have an amazing time, everyone’s so kind and welcoming as soon as you get to the beach, it’s heaven on earth.”
Why are you here again?
I’m here because Patrick (J. Adams), my boyfriend, is promoting the finale of “Suits” and he got to come around on a trip to Asia. And I kind of stowed away in his back. I was like,” You’re not going without me!”
Are you here to work as well?
Well I figured since he’d be working everyday I’d probably get pretty lonely walking around by myself so I felt like I love talking about the show so why not talk to the Philippines about it?
What are your plans here?
We are headed out tomorrow to go to a beach that Shay recommended to me. And we’re excited to do nothing but lay on the beach. We’re here for another three days but we won’t be in Manila unfortunately.
How do you feel about playing different roles or at least roles that are different from your character in “Pretty Little Liars”?
I love playing different things. It’s fun. I love doing it. There are so many stories I want to tell. I love Spencer deeply and she’s such a big part of me but I think that as an actor you want to experience so many different stores. Like recently, I got to shoot more of this web series called “Lauren,” where I get to play an American soldier serving in Afghanistan. Playing Lauren is such an honor and so different from playing Spencer; they’re two different ages, Lauren is a mother and she is also a service woman, she’s in the army and she’s the strongest woman I think I’ve ever played. And Spencer is a totally different ball game. You want to be as diverse as possible.
How similar or different was your high school life from Spencer’s?
It was quite similar in a lot of ways and very different in a lot of ways. I didn’t have a massive stalker threatening my life. I did just go to school all the time. I was very similar to Spencer in that I put a lot of pressure on myself. And I was very academic; I was the valedictorian of my class. I was very studious like Spencer is and very, very anxious.
So you like those school and studying scenes on the show?
Whenever you see Spencer studying, whenever they give me a textbook on the show, it’s like flashback. And it’s funny because, in between shots when we’re shooting, I can actually do the problems in the book. I find it so much fun. It’s funny whenever the directors come in and look at the page and they’re like “Ohmigod you’re actually doing it.”
Do you miss school?
Ohmigod, I’m one of those weird people that actually does miss school. I really liked it because I liked doing work. I really enjoyed the pleasure of sitting down and working on something or writing an essay that really described how I felt about a certain book. I really liked using my mind.
What do you not miss about school?
I don’t think I miss the social political aspect of school. I had a lot of friends, but I wasn’t like the It girl like Hannah in school. I couldn’t do that.
How were you like back in school?
My superlative was “Funniest Girl” because I was known for just being the crazy person that would do anything to make people laugh. I was like the class clown in addition to being the girl getting the best grades. It’s a weird combination but it’s really me. I was willing to put things up my nose. I was willing to impersonate teachers.
