Did You Know? Jake Cuenca Lost 30 Pounds for "What Lies Beneath"
Jake told a fan, "It's like watching another person."
by Jam Nitura
Published on Oct 26, 2025
Filipino teleserye What Lies Beneath is currently sitting comfortably at the top of Netflix charts. The suspense thriller’s strong debut is owed in part to its star-studded cast that includes Kaila Estrada, Sue Ramirez, Charlie Dizon, and Janella Salvador. The four play a childhood barkada who grapple with the gruesome murder of their friend after fulfilling a long-held promise years later.
Spoiler alert! Jake Cuenca plays the supposed killer, Edong, a once juvenile delinquent hopped up on thieving and drugs. Sentenced to jail at a young age, he grows into a vengeful man hell-bent on getting back at the four women who ruined his life. Jake as the older Edong is malicious and creepy. He’s let his resentment and anger fester for years, and it shows grimly on his face. Dedicated to looking the part, the actor shared that he actually lost weight for the role.
Jake Cuenca Loses 30 Pounds for “What Lies Beneath”
In response to a viewer who asked if he shed weight for What Lies Beneath, Jake revealed that he lost 30 pounds while shooting the show’s prison scenes. “I was down to 140ibs and gained a bit back around 8ibs to balance my look in Batang quiapo,” he wrote on X.
He admitted to another X user that seeing himself on the show felt like watching a completely different person. In between filming his sequences in jail, Jake recalled how he had to gain back muscle in just two weeks to prepare for a Bench fashion show, which famously has its models walk the runway in body-revealing clothes.
Jake’s co-star JM de Guzman praised the actor for his dedication to his role, during a press conference, calling his performance a “gem.” He elaborated, “I would just like to take this opportunity to appreciate Jake dahil sa kanyang work ethic, sa passion sa paggawa ng role na ito. At kung may surprise man, sa tingin ko masu-surprise kayo sa performance.”
Jake is also currently starring as Miguelito on FPJ’s Batang Quiapo, another antagonist whom Jake describes as an “egoistical psychopath.” On distinguishing his two characters, Jake said, “I’d really like to think that I worked myself to the bone to make it very different for Miguelito, to make it very different for Edong, and to be quite honest with you, for me, I’ve just enjoyed the journey.”