It’s Megan Young’s turn to play Marimar.
We’ve followed the life of Marimar since Mexican star Thalia portrayed her over a decade ago. We were still at it when GMA-7 did a local adaptation of the series, tapping Marian Rivera to portray the poor young innocent girl who lives in a hut on the beach by the ocean.
Megan young
If you think Megan Young’s Marimar is a mere rehash of a well-loved character, think again.
According to the former beauty queen, the new version will be quite different and fresh. “Iba talaga ‘yung story niya,” she stressed during a recent interview.
“‘Wag muna ninyong i-pre judge, dahil iba talaga siya eh. Kung mapapanood mo siya, hindi mo iisipin na remake siya,” she added.
This goes with how she will portray the sultry, fiery character.
Megan shared that her Marimar will not show “too much skin.”
“She won’t show parts of the body that shouldn’t be seen,” Megan explained. “Tasteful version ang gagawin namin, hindi bastusin (ang dating).”
Apparently, Megan is concerned about young girls looking up to the character. “Kahit na sabihin mong may pagka-seductive si (Marimar), at the end of the day, children look up to her. Ako, when I have little girls come up to me, ayokong isipin nila na (bastusin) ako,” she explained.
If anything, Megan assured her Marimar is still very much a fighter; one who never gives up easily despite the hardships she faces.
“Dito talagang maipapakita ang character nating mga Filipina na handang humarap sa kahit anong pagsubok,” she said. “The thing is, hindi naman pwede na all out na talagang love story lang siya. It’s a character that you can fall in love with and imagine yourself to be, kasi she’s the Filipina of today. Ganu’n ‘yung peg niya.”
Tom Rodriguez and Megan Young
She went on, “Ni-re-represent niya ’yung mga Pilipina. She (Marimar) grew up in the province, she’s a fighter. May mga pangarap siya na gusto niya makapag-aral, makapunta ng Maynila at gusto niyang ma-i-angat ‘yung pamilya niya. And I’m sure that every Filipina and Filipino can relate na gusto nilang ma-i-angat ang pamilya nila sa buhay, ‘di ba? ‘Yun ang gusto naming iparating, na si Marimar eh parang kayo lang (din) na nangangarap, at hindi sumusuko na kahit sasabihin mong wala sila masyadong resources, gagawa at gagawa siya ng paraan para makatulong sa family niya at makapag-succeed siya sa buhay.”
Megan revealed feeling both excited and apprehensive about the teleserye, which will premiere Aug. 24. “Kasi parang maraming expectations agad, kahit ngayon pa lang,” she said.
Megan will be joined by Tom Rodriguez in the series. The hunk will portray Sergio Santibañez, Marimar’s love interest. Asked how she feels about being paired with him, Megan shared, “Magkakilala na kami (since 2011), so parang hindi na kami strangers. Wala naman ng ilangan masyado.”
The 25-year-old added, “Actually, I am excited working with him kasi I saw him sa ‘My Husband’s Lover,’ so alam ko na Tom is really a great actor. And naka-work ko naman na siya, so alam ko ‘yung work ethic niya.”
OTHER ENDEAVORS
Apart from the series, Megan is busy making plans relating to her dream of putting up her own charity. “Sobrang ’yun talaga ang gusto ko gawin,” she said. “Pero siguro not now. Ayoko naman pagsabay-sabayin tapos it would fail, ’di ba? Gusto ko, if ever, all my time and effort du’n lang. Para at least, mapaganda ko naman.”
Megan is already involved in several outreach programs under “Beauty with a Purpose,” Miss World’s charity organization.
She admitted, “It takes a lot of work, a lot of time so I know that doing it on my own would be much harder. It would take away from the commitments I already have.”
“Maganda kung tutok ka. Kasi when you’re in a foundation, you’re helping out other people, and I wanna make sure that I’m doing it the right way. Kailangan ding pag-isipan ’yun. Hindi pwedeng basta lang gusto mo especially with things like that. You really have to work hard for it,” she added.
Megan will also be hosting the GMA-7 reality show “Starstruck” soon. “They asked me already, so it’s just a matter of making sure na okay ang lahat ng schedule para ma-push through ’yun. Excited ako that I get to host a show again,” she said. (With report from Bhenj Agustin)