Their paths recently crossed in the vlog of the seasoned actress.
In the video uploaded on the YouTube channel of Diamond Star Maricel Soriano, two up-and-coming stars appeared as featured guests of the week.
Fyang Smith and JM Ibarra, also known as the tandem JMFyang, were there to promote the movie Almost Us, which hit theaters last May 6.
Aside from engaging themselves in a lighthearted conversation, which also saw them share their intimate side, another highlight of the nearly 27-minute-long video was the acting showdown between the young stars and the award-winning actress.
“Sinamahan tayo ng dalawa kong bagong anak na sina Fyang Smith at JM Ibarra! Tinest ko sila sa actingan challenge at game na game naman sila, husay ha!” read the description of the said video.
For their challenge, the duo portrayed two of Soriano’s most memorable characters in cinema.
JM first did Maricel’s iconic line as Yolanda Filipinas from the movie Filipinas, specifically the line: “Walang magbabagong taon! Wala sa pamilyang ‘to ang magbabago!“
As for Fyang, she took on Terry from Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin and acted the intense line: “‘Wag mo ‘kong ma-Terry, Terry! Sagutin mo ang tanong ko. Are you f**king my husband?“
Following the vlog, Soriano shared on social media her thoughts on the two former Pinoy Big Brother housemates being her first pair to try on the new portion in her online show.
“Ang saya saya ko na si Fyang at JM ang unang gumawa ng Acting Workshop Ala Marya. Bagong segment sa vlog para maka-eksena ko ang mga young stars kung saan sila ang gagawa ng mga roles ko! ❤️ I’m excited to see sinong mga bagets pa ang makikipag tarayan, iyakan, at tawanan sakin
The veteran actress also noted in a separate post, “I-chika ko lang sa inyo! Mas nakaka-amaze na ready sa actingan yung dalawa kahit pagod na pagod! Bago ‘yong shoot namin, galing pa sila sa isang mall event, then may event pa ulit after ng vlog! Bong is ga, ‘di ba?”
Almost Us marks their first lead roles in big screen project, which follows their inclusion in the ensemble for the movie Shake, Rattle and Roll: Evil Origins, which screened at the 51st Metro Manila Film Festival in 2025.
Prior to these, they have also showcased their acting skills through the digital drama series Ghosting, which served as the banner show of ABS-CBN’s streaming platform iWant from July to December 2025.