Cassandra Evangelista - Alicia Vega
Cassandra Evangelista performed the role of the shy and sweet character of Alicia Vega. Although the role was very minor within the film, Evangelista dedicated her time to the production of the film. Initially, Director Romero was supposed to write in that Alicia was equal to Adam in dancing abilities which is the reason why Adam is fond of her; however, there was not enough time to add the storyline into the already long 40 page script of iHeartGU.
Evangelista did not initially audition for the role of Alicia, because that character was not offered. Romero wrote in the role last minute because he wanted to remind audiences how cute young puppy love in high school was. Although Evangelista had very few lines, her character showed up in many other scenes to show how much she means to Adam.
Fun Fact: Evangelista was one of the first members to see the secret ending to the film. Once the movie ended, she looked at Romero completely stunned and began to tear.
Project: Inspire
Robert Patricio Jr. - Adam Lee
Adam is the energetic, annoying, yet lovable freshman and brother of Mia. All in all, he is supposed to embody what every young modern teenage boy going into high school is supposed to be like. Robert Patricio Jr. was just the teenager to fill in that role. At the time, Patricio was only a sophomore in high school, so he was actually not that far from Adam’s real age.
Since all of Patricio’s scenes were shot with co-star Brandon Savella, he developed a really great friendship with him during the film. Savella is a very touchy young fellow, so majority of the time during filming he would grab Patricio inappropriately. Patricio always found it to be hilarious and actually helped him himself get into character, because it would always make him hyper.
Patricio received the role after performing a very awkward monologue by Adam. He made the directors smile during the entire performance and they thought that audiences would love him just because he was cute. When he received the role, he was always with the directors, even when he wasn’t needed.
Fun Fact: During the scene where Adam dances with a bunch of other performers, you can spot his real-life older brother in the crowd. They look identically alike, so directors thought it was pretty hilarious that you see someone that looks exactly like Adam Lee, but older.
Bobbie Macario - Mia Lee
The character of Mia Lee is an over-achieving high school senior who aspires to become a doctor. Mia is such an integral part of the story within the film. This amazing character was played by Bobbie Macario. All though Macario admits she dislikes her character and had a hard time performing her, she still stuck through and gave her all through the entire film. Much of the inspiration for the character of Mia was modelled after Rachel Berry of Glee.
Macario is a talented performer, but film is a new experience for her. During production, she took the record for the most retakes during a scene. She would constantly mess up the scene and say sorry, make faces, and flop her lines. At first the directors were frustrated, but after a while they forgave it and found it funny.
Much of Macario’s scenes were shot with her co-star Charles Dote, because he played her on-screen boyfriend. Dote is a very wild and hilarious type of character, so Macario had a hard time of taking him seriously during filming and would end up randomly bursting out of laughter. As much as she loved working with her co-star, she would rather choose not to film with him. Macario did a great job of playing as the scholarly, determined and attractive Mia Lee.
Fun Fact: If you pay close attention to the film, Macario is one of the only characters to be seen holding her script in the movie… twice.
Charles Dote - Ethan King
The young, wild and somewhat free character of Ethan King was presented to none other than Mr. Charles Dote. Because of Dote’s natural charisma and energy, he gave life to the ever so hated but beloved Soccer King. For his audition, Dote had to perform his monologue in the most arrogant way possible. His character, Ethan, had to degrade Hayden and CJ while also making himself look superior. Playing this type of character was no problem for Dote. It was the scenes filled with drama that challenged him, but he overcame it like a ‘King’.
One of the most prominent scenes with Ethan is where he has to pour out his heart and soul to Hayden; revealing the hidden vulnerability that the King possesses behind that strong and confident façade that he holds up. For the scene, Dote had a hard time mustering up the tears. Director Romero successfully made Dote cry not just once, but three times!
Fun Fact: Charles is naturally energetic and witty due to his condition with ADHD. The fact that he was one of the performers in the film that perfected his character was a big surprise to the directors. Although he was a handful to manage on set, because the King could just not keep still.
Brandon Savella - Christopher “CJ” Walker
CJ, the lovable and hilarious bestfriend, was rightfully earned by the lovable and hilarious Brandon Savella. In actuality, Savella was playing himself on screen! He is just a natural bundle of joy. During his audition, he performed this hilarious monologue in which CJ is explaining an experience he had as a younger child to a curious Hayden and Grace. In the monologue, his mother had placed him in a mental institute, however; he was deceived by his mother. She actually tricked him into thinking the institute was meant for individuals gifted with ‘special powers’ like himself. This was the only audition monologue that never made it into the actual film screenplay.
Savella’s humor is very provocative. Much of the material he improvised was not suitable for the film since it was meant for a high school fundraiser. Even some of his costumes had extremely provocative messages.
He portrayed CJ’s relationship with Hayden almost as if they were homosexuals. Although Savella is heterosexual, he is able to play a gay character very well that most audiences would believe that he actually is. In order to prevent the ending of the film to be revealed to audiences before the release date, Savella would often jokingly say that his character and Hayden end up together in the end. Luckily the crew was blessed to have Savella dedicate much of his time to the film.
Fun Fact: In the film, the directors created a minor role with the name of ‘Brandon Savella’ who was an openly gay student pursuing an education in the nursing field. In actuality, Brandon is currently pursuing an education in Nursing. The directors thought it would be funny and Savella agreed with the joke.
Maiko Nakamura - Grace Urban
Earning the role of Grace Urban against tons of other girl, Maiko proved to be a very special and important key member to the success of iHeartGU. For her audition, she had to perform the monologue in which Grace encourages Hayden to chase after his dreams. During callbacks, everyone in the room was drawn to her when she portrayed Grace Urban.
A very memorable moment Director Romero has of Nakamura during her callback auditions is when she shook her foot and recited an incantation before she began her performance. Romero was so shocked! When he asked months later what that was for, she replied with “I was asking the coin that I placed in my shoe to become lucky and help me with my performance. Looks like it worked!” She locked the role of Grace Urban for sure when she was the only one to perform the character with all of Romero’s instructions: Dramatic interpretation, scene blocking, and an English accent. At the time Nakamura was actually a 17 year old going onto 18, however; she was currently a Sophomore at the time. This was because she was a transfer student from the Philippines. She is actually older than both the directors!
Since the film is about GU: Grace Urban, it is only important that the character be upheld by a talented and promising performer like Nakamura. If not for her, we would not be able to feel the strong emotions portrayed by her character in the film.
Fun Fact: Maiko has several scenes in which her character MUST cry. One time, Director Romero was not at the shoot to ensure her dramatic performance. After several failed attempts to make Nakamura cry, Director Baldovino had no choice but to call Romero. Romero directed Nakamura over the phone and within a few minutes, she began crying.
Chad DeSoto - Hayden Cooper
Chad DeSoto was one of the very few who auditioned for the role of Hayden Cooper. He earned the role after giving a moving performance during his auditions. For his audition, he had to perform the monologue in which Hayden argues with his bestfriend CJ about leaving Guam (a quick sneak peek can be seen within the movie trailer). During film production, we had to film that particular scene about 8 times before we were content with it. In fact, that scene was the very first scene we shot at the beginning of the 3 month production stage and also the very last.
The most challenging scene DeSoto faced with during production was the very last scene in the film where he delivers the final monologue to his camera. Although DeSoto can deliver during dramatic scenes, he is also extremely hilarious. Before scenes, he would deliver improvised lines to the camera and break everyone’s characters due to all the laughter.
Director Baldovino had a hilarious yet embarassing moment when he was filming a scene with DeSoto and his co-actor Maiko Nakamura. While shooting the scene, Baldovino mistook a speck of dust that was on his hand to be a spider. Out of fear of spiders, he jumped in terror. All in all, DeSoto gave a riveting performance in the film. If not for his subtle yet explosive personality, iHeartGU would not have been as good as it was.
Fun Fact: Chad lent his apartment as the headquarters for the post-production stage of the film. The directors stayed there for almost two months piecing the film together forced to sleep on the floor. There were endless nights of spontaneous guests, memorable conversations and hilarious moments. They also had their fair share of extreme irritable tension due to lack of sleep. Keep in mind that the directors were still in high school dealing with their classes and duties of senior class president and vice president. Talk about dedication!