Sanya Lopez reveals she auditioned five freaking times for 'Encantadia'

Before Sanya Lopez became the First Lady of Primetime TV, she was Hara Danaya on "Encantadia."

And on "Updated with Nelson Canlas," Sanya recalled having to audition five times just to get into the popular fantaserye.

According to Sanya, she didn't even think of auditioning for Hara Danaya. "Makapasok ka sa 'Enca', sobrang happy ka na," Sanya said, sharing she only acutally auditioned for a minor role.

"Kahit nga lang yong best friend ni Muyak, tatanggapin ko yon kasi fan po talaga ako ng 'Encantadia'," she said.

But Fate had other things in mind.

"Una nilang binigay sa akin, si Gurna at si Agana. Tapos biglang binigay sa akin si Mira, tapos ginawa nila akong si Lira. After no'ng Lira, binigay nila sa akin 'yong role ni Gabbi (Garcia), si Alena. Tapos masyadong strong 'yong personality ko, hindi bagay. Tinry nila ako kay Danaya, tapos nag-match. After no'n, isang beses pa," she shared of the gruelling audition process.

In the podcast, Sanya said she saw show business as a way out of their hard life. She lost her dad when she was only one year old so her mom really had to work twice, thrice as hard — not just to make ends meet, but to also bring up her children Sanya and Jak.

Though Jak was earning part-time in the nearby cemetery, Sanya knew she also had to contribute to her family.

With her first pay check, Sanya bought a mobile phone. "Kasi yon yong wala ako. Parang yong mga dati nilang cellphone, kahit paano may magamit ako. So yon ginagamit ko, nakikihiram ako ng cellphone nila," Sanya said.

From there, she worked her way up, earning the trust of fans and of GMA Network, which handed Sanya the prime role of Melody in "First Yaya."

So successful was she — and the series — that a sequel "First Lady" soon aired beginning February 2022.

Meanwhile, you know how successful "First Lady" is? Sanya was welcomed with "Acosta" chants at the polling precinct where she went out to vote during the recently concluded May 2022 national elections.

How inspiring isn't it? — LA, GMA News