How Kaila Estrada dealt with grief in ‘Incognito’: ‘Turn pain into power’

Kaila Estrada during the Barefaced launch event in Quezon City. Image: Hannah Mallorca/INQUIRER.net

One of the factors that Kaila Estrada considered in portraying the character Max Alvero in “Incognito” was ensuring that the character would remain faithful to her core despite coping with grief.

In the action drama, Max is a genius hacker and cyber ops specialist who is part of a private military group that handles crimes that can’t be directly addressed by the government. Beyond her stoic persona, she struggles to come to terms with the death of her fiancé.

“Looking into Max’s core was something that’s really important. What does she believe in? What is she fighting for? What are the things she values in her life? I feel like those are the key things that I really focused on,” Estrada told reporters during a beauty brand launch in Quezon City, when asked how she took care of her character’s portrayal.

The actress also explained that she didn’t want to focus on how depressed Max looked, saying she made an effort to show the nuances beneath her self-controlled way of dealing with grief.

“I feel like I didn’t focus so much on paano ba umiyak. I just felt like I really wanted to dive deeper [into her character] and sort of, I wanted to be really calmer in a sense and figure out why these things are important to her,” she said.

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“Why does she put so much value on her ring and the fact that she lost her ring? Why is she carrying all throughout her journey even if you don’t see what’s behind her stoic facade? D’un ako nag-focus (That’s where I focused),” Estrada further explained.

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Estrada also shared that she wanted to show the beauty of “turning pain into power” in her portrayal of Max. “Grief is a very difficult thing to go through whether it’s the loss of a loved one or heartbreak. We all experience grief in life and I feel like there is beauty in using it to empower yourself,” she said, noting pain can be transformed into a form of empowerment.

“I feel like it’s possible. It shows resiliency also, and I feel like that’s a great way to make use of it, grow from it, and heal — find power and use it to empower yourself,” she continued.

When asked if Max will eventually move forward, Estrada said she will “slowly and gradually” heal, hoping that viewers will be inspired by her story.

“Without saying too much, I feel like slowly, gradually, mapapansin niyo kay (you will notice) Max ang healing journey niya. As of right now, nand’un pa ‘yung grief. You’ll still see her grieving at some point in the story, but you’ll gradually see [moments] of her healing. I really hope that viewers will see Max and be inspired by her healing journey,” she said.

The actress is aware that she didn’t experience the level of grief that Max went through. Despite this, she used her knowledge of dealing with loss to feel “anchored” with her character.

“Mabigat na mabigat ‘yung kwento ni Max (Max’s story is very heavy). Maybe I didn’t experience grief like how Max did, but I definitely know what loss feels like. It helped me [be anchored] with her character. I feel like that was also important for me to connect with Max as a character,” she said.

Kaila Estrada during the Bare Face launch event in Quezon City. Image: Hannah Mallorca/INQUIRER.net

The action drama also stars Richard Gutierrez, Daniel Padilla, Ian Veneracion, Baron Geisler, Maris Racal and Anthony Jennings.

Apart from “Incognito,” Estrada starred in the dramas “Linlang,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “Viral Scandal,” as well as the films “Un/Happy for You” and “Fruitcake.”