Ibinunyag ni Liza Soberano na ang yumaong young actor na si AJ Perez ang dahilan kung bakit siya gumawa ng X (dating Twitter) account na sa kasalukuyan ay mayrooon nang 4.8 million followers.
Sa panayam ni Liza kay Tessa Albea sa One Down nitong February 17, 2024, naungkat ang pagiging fan ng aktres kay AJ nang nagsisimula pa lamang siya sa showbiz.
Pag-amin ni Liza, isa siya sa tagahanga ni AJ.
Read: 11 showbiz celebrities who died before they turned 22
Bilib daw siya sa husay ni AJ sa pag-arte kaya naman ganoon na lamang ang kanyang pagkagulat at pagkalungkot nang malamang sumakabilang buhay na ang iniidolong aktor sa mismong araw pa ng kanyang first acting audition.
Kuwento ni Liza, "I was a huge fan of AJ Perez because I have watched him in this one teleserye called Sabel. And it was very unfortunate that he passed away.
"And that was the reason why I created my Twitter because I wanted to have some sort of memory of him, so I followed him.
"I really wish that I could have the chance to work with him.
"The day he [AJ] passed away, I was on my way, because I lived in Pangasinan at that time and I actually passed by his accident.
"And that was the day that I auditioned for the first time ever to be, like, an artista.
"It was crazy. And I didn't know it was him. There's an ABS-CBN van, and it was, like, smashed."
Nang malaman ang sinapit ni AJ, hindi raw napigilang maiyak ni Liza at manghinayang na hindi na niya kailanman pa makakasama sa isang proyekto ang namayapang aktor.
Ani Liza, "I get to my VTR, and then my road manager at the time, he was, like, 'Namatay si AJ Perez.' I was, like, 'No! He can't be dead, it's not real!'
"And then I started crying and I was, like, 'I wanna go to his wake.' And then my family was, like, 'He doesn't know you.'"
Sundot na tanong sa kanya ni Tessa, "So you didn't get to go?"
Natatawang sagot ni Liza, "No, because I wasn't invited and obviously nobody knew me [that time].
"I just like inserted myself into their family."
UNEXPECTED CONNECTIONS TO AJ'S FAMILY
Dahil sa pagmamahal at paghanga ni Liza kay AJ, may pagkakataon daw noog nakakatanggap siya ng mensahe mula sa X acount ni AJ matapos nitong pumanaw.
Aminado si Liza na noong una ay natakot siya.
Pagbabahagi niya, "It was strange because I started receiving messages from him after he had passed away and, first, I was scared of, like, checking it because I was, like, 'What’s going on?'"
Isang beses daw naglaka-loob si Liza na buksan ang messages sa kanya ni AJ.
Dito na raw niya napagtantong ang pamilya ng aktor nagpapadala sa kanya ng mensahe gamit ang lumang account ni AJ.
Read: AJ Perez's dad thankful for movie dedicated to his late son
Nalaman daw kasi ng mga ito na fan siya ni AJ.
Lahad ni Liza, "And then eventually, I came to it and then I checked the message. It was messages from his family.
"But it was always very scary when I would receive notifications from AJ Perez.
"But, yeah, I became friends with his younger brother, Gelo, and his family. Eventually, I was introduced to them."
Read: AJ Perez's brother dedicates college diploma to actor who died at 18
AJ PEREZ GONE TOO SOON
Si AJ ay pumanaw sa edad na 18 noong April 17, 2011, dahil sa isang vehicular accident.
Naganap ang malagim na aksidente sa highway sa Moncada, Tarlac, nang papauwi na noon si AJ at ilang kasamahan matapos ng kanilang show sa Dagupan, Pangasinan.
Ayon sa ulat noon, nagtamo ang aktor ng multiple head injuries dahil sa pagsalpok ng isang bus at isang truck sa lulan nilang van na naging dahilan ng kanyang pagpanaw.
Read: Star Magic talent AJ Perez, 18, is dead
Noong panahong iyon ay isa si AJ sa mga ginu-groom na leading men sa Kapamilya network. Kabilang siya sa Batch 13 ng Star Magic, ang talent management arm ng ABS-CBN.
Ka-batch niya sina Lauren Young, Empress Schuck, Dominic Roco, Felix Roco, at Valeen Montenegro.
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Kabilang sa mga huling pelikulang ginawa ni AJ ay ang Babe I Love You, Cinco, at Mamarazzi, na ipinalabas lahat noong 2010.
Itinampok siya sa maraming limited series ng Star Magic Presents mula 2006 hanggang 2008, at naging leading man ni Jessy Mendiola sa teleseryeng Sabel (2010).
Ang huli niyang acting project ay para sa isang episode ng Maalaala Mo Kaya, na ipinalabas noong April 30, 2011, o ilang linggo lamang mula ng siya ay pumanaw.