Ahtisa Manalo has a new acting project
Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo shared that her role in the upcoming movie Red Crown has been challenging due to its intense emotional demands.
The film centers on 25 contestants navigating the 25th anniversary of the fictional Queen of the Islands pageant.
However, the glitz and glamour quickly devolve into a lethal struggle to survive. As participants are killed off one by one, they must endure sabotage, betrayal, and terror while exposing the corrupt system running the competition, based on the article in The Philippine Star.
Red Crown showcases classic pageantry tropes such as scores, rankings, sisterhood, and the pasarela, and these are blended with satire, comedy, and survival-thriller genres,
For Ahtisa Manalo, taking on this complex project serves as a key opportunity to expand her career into acting and venture far beyond the traditional pageantry circuit.
“Ito yung may challenge for me kasi layered yung character so it’s my first one. I’m very excited for all of you to see kung paano ako as an artista kasi ako di ko din alam,” the newbie actress said.
To prepare for the role, the beauty queen took multiple acting workshops but noted that her toughest adjustment was learning to express emotions naturally on camera.
Ahtisa noted that while pageantry demands a consistently polished and flawless image, acting requires the exact opposite, which is a willingness to be vulnerable and raw.
She believed she and her “Red Crown” character share key traits, despite the challenges of the role. Ahtisa admitted she found it difficult to see any differences between herself and the character.
“For differences, I think medyo similar ko yung character eh. Sa differences, alam mo I don’t even think of it. That’s how similar the character to me and I think it’s on purpose because it’s my first acting,” Ahtisa Manalo said.