Heart Evangelista admits auditioning for 'Crazy Rich Asians'

Dermatologist Aivee Teo recently held a one-on-one interview with Kapuso actress Heart Evangelista to talk about anything and everything under the sun, including auditioning for the famous Hollywood flick Crazy Rich Asians.

In a short game of reacting to images shown on screen, Heart's photograph was placed side by side to that of British actress Gemma Chan, who played Astrid Leong-Teo in the film.

The actress immediately answered, “Gemma Chan! That was fun.

“I did audition talaga [for Crazy Rich Asians as Araminta] and parang they were already in the last leg of their auditions, and I got a call. And I was like, 'yun na. I might as well do it na.

“I auditioned here in the Philippines, and I remember I got a crew, and I did a scene, like a real scene from a telenovela.”

After submitting her entry, the Queen of Creative Collaborations recalled receiving more than 10 missed calls from an agent based in Los Angeles.

“And I got it. I got the call,” she said.

“I remember waking up to 10 missed calls from an agent in L.A. and then sabi niya, 'How come you're not answering your phone? Your presentation paused in the middle of the showing.'

“But they were so curious. Parang they were saying daw, 'who's that girl?'”

Heart added, “So, they're willing to take a break if you could send an email for the file so they could continue watching [my audition].

“Sabi ko, 'Grabe naman!' And then, they asked if I was available to shoot so siyempre, of course.

“But then they never called me back.”

Despite not getting the part, Heart is still grateful for the many opportunities she received, including gaining a new friend from Crazy Rich Asians author himself, Kevin Kwan.

She told Dr. Aivee Teo, “Yeah, but then again, I became friends with Kevin Kwan after that.

“So there's always a reason for everything. Ayaw ko rin namang mangarap ng todo kung hindi naman ibigay.”

Heart even said, “It was a huge deal 'cause I've been working for 24 years. Tapos ngayon nagkakaroon pa ako ng opportunities na ganito. So parang, wow!”

When Dr. Aivee asked why she never spoke openly about auditioning for the role before, the actress said, “No, kasi masakit!”

“Ayoko rin naman maging [arrogant] na, 'I auditioned.'”

In the flick, Araminta Lee, played by Sonoya Mizuno, is the heiress of Lee's Billionaire Hotel Chain. She is Colin Khoo's fiancée and, later, his wife, who becomes Rachel's friend in the series.

Watch her full interview with Dr. Aivee Teo below: