Jillian Ward finds healing playing ‘Never Say Die’ character with separated parents

For Jillian Ward, portraying Joey in “Never Say Die” is a healing experience.

During Tuesday’s media conference for the upcoming series, the Star of the New Gen opened up about the emotional depth of her role, which also pushed her to confront and heal from personal experiences close to her heart.

When given a question about the biggest emotional risk she took for the role, Jillian shared that Joey’s story mirrors parts of her own life, particularly the separation of the character’s parents.

“Siguro na medyo malapit sa akin ‘yung story ni Joey. Nag-separate kasi ‘yung, medyo spoiler, nag-separate kasi po ‘yung parents ni Joey dito. So, somehow, medyo naalala ko din ‘yung mga times na pinagdadaanan ko ‘yun with my parents,” Jillian said.

The Sparkle star previously revealed in 2025 that her parents had parted ways the year before. While the role stirred painful memories, Jillian said portraying Joey ultimately helped her heal.

“Pero I think also Joey has helped me sort of overcome talaga ‘yung mga lingering pang pain na nararamdaman ko from that situation. So, hindi naman ‘yun risk, more of healing siya for me,” Jillian said.

Meanwhile, Jillian admitted that she was surprised by the scale and quality of the series.

“Hindi ko ine-expect na gano'n pala kaganda ‘yung show. Kasi during the filming po ng show, hindi ko alam ano ‘yung itsura ng mga eksena. Hindi ko lang po inexpect na as in sobrang ganda pala niya. And gano'n kalaki ‘yung project,” she said.

According to her, seeing the finished scenes through the trailer made the pressure sink in, especially with the show set to premiere soon.

“Ngayon ko po na-feel ‘yung pressure. Kasi during shooting days po, hindi ko kasi talaga alam kung ano ‘yung kakalabasan ng show. So, shoot lang nang shoot,” she said. “Pero confident naman ako kasi sobrang galing po ng mga directors namin and lahat po ng mga kasama ko.”

Jillian will star in “Never Say Die” with David Licauco, Kim Ji Soo, Raheel Bhyria, Richard Yap, Raymart Santiago, Angelu De Leon, Ayen Munji-Laurel, Analyn Barro, Winwyn Marquez, and more.

—CDC, GMA Integrated News