'The Pitt' star Isa Briones happy for Filipinos telling own stories in Hollywood

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MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American actress Isa Briones is celebrating Filipino voices getting more chances to be heard on a bigger medium.

Isa plays Dr. Trinity Santos on the award-winning medical drama "The Pitt," each episode covering in real time an hour of a work shift in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

In a virtual interview with select media outlets including Philstar.com, Isa shared how proud and special it was to be a series regular on a hit show, particularly for someone who is an immigrant's daughter.

Her father is theater star Jon Jon Briones, best known for his stage roles in "Miss Saigon" and "Hadestown." Isa and her father Jon Jon were part of the "Hadestown" as Hermes and Eurydice, a role that made Isa's Broadway debut.

She is not the only Filipino on the show, though. Her co-stars Amielynn Abellera and Kristin Villanueva play emergency room nurses Perlah Alawi and Princess Dela Cruz, both of whom Isa called "incredible."

"They represent Filipino nurses so incredibly, and there has been so little representation for Filipino healthcare workers in medical shows until now," Isa said,

"The Pitt" is changing this landscape, including another American medical show, "St. Denis Medical," which stars Nico Santos and Yssamei Panganiban.

Isa acknowledged that she passes as white and there is privilege that comes with it, but getting to be with her fellow Filipino actors makes it worthwhile.

"We get to show the spectrum of what it is to be Asian, what it is to be Filipino, there's no one way that it looks, sounds, feels or lives, it is everything," she added, calling Amielynn and Kristin like her "titas."

Representation

Philstar.com asked Isa, as a Filipino-American based in Los Angeles, what she noticed about the rise of Filipino culture projects in Hollywood like "The Pitt" and later this year, the animated film "Forgotten Island."

The actress pointed out that Filipinos have always been a part of Hollywood, but have never been given the chance to play themselves.

"Growing up in our kind of L.A. actor Filipino community, everyone has played Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, anything else but Filipino," she continued. "Because for so long, Filipino stories just weren't being told."

For her the biggest change are Filipinos being given the chance to tell their own stories, "There's more people behind the scenes, Filipinos as writers, as directors, as DPs (directors of photography). That is what has risen."

Filipino-American Autumn Durald Arkapaw recently became the first woman to win the Best Cinematography Oscar, while "Forgotten Island" is co-directed by Filipino-American Januel Mercado and features a voice cast of mostly actors with Filipino descent.

"It's wonderful to see a Filipino on screen. But if we're not telling our own stories, then who is? I think that's been the coolest kind of progress of it all, and I just want to see more of it," Isa said, sharing how supportive she is whenever meeting young Filipino writers.

The actress said that historical tales are always an option, but there can even be stories about Filipinos living life or a universal story told by Filipinos, adding that the same be can done by people of other races or ethnicities.

"We all need to be able to share our stories and I hope that audiences continue to be open to that — wanting to learn more about what they don't know, about people they don't know," she ended. "I think as long as we keep showing up and keep trying to tell our stories, that will continue to change and progress."

Both seasons of "The Pitt" are now streaming on HBO Max, with the Season 2 finale airing on April 17.

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