'British Marites' Justine Luzares shares his journey from doing relatable TikTok skits to 'slaying' on television
If you love scrolling through TikTok, you’ve surely come across this Marites who is notable for spilling juicy chismis in a British accent or watched one of his French lessons, which consists of translating common Filipino words into French. You have Justine Luzares to thank those hilarious videos for.
“Wala talaga siya (acting) sa interest ko, [pero] it started with my hobby of writing,” Justine, a process trainer in the BPO industry, said in an exclusive interview with PhilSTAR L!fe. “Now, because I started doing the skits during the lockdown, I don’t have anyone para umarte para sa ‘kin, so I am left with no choice but to act on my own skits,” he recalled.
His avid followers know that this TikTok star can do accents in French, Indian, Australian, and more, but what resonated with his followers the most is his British Marites character.
Recalling the birth of the viral character, Justine shared that it was inspired by the typical Filipino “character”: the chismosang kapitbahay.
"Nagsimula ‘yan nung December 2020, that was the time na I’m going viral na rin," he started. "Tapos bilang isang baguhan sa content creation, nauubusan agad ako ng idea," he told L!fe, also sharing that around that time, his trainee's mom had a conflict with one of their neighbors.
"Sabi ko, ‘Wait, chismosa, kapitbahay.’ During that time, sikat yung Bridgerton. [Dahil] kaya ko naman mag-accent accent, sabi ko, ‘What if your regular chismosang kapitbahay pero with British accent mala-Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice?'" he recalled, saying that the video reached a million views the following morning.
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Justine’s content varies from one British Marites to multiple characters conversing—all portrayed by himself. He said creating skits like these can take from a day to a week, depending on the number of characters and complexity of the script.
Sharing his process with L!fe, he mostly jots down one random idea, writes its keywords or working title, and lists down the possible scenarios, not including the punchlines.
These skits snowballed and eventually helped him land his first Prime Video series, Fit Check: Confessions Of An Ukay Queen starring Kim Chiu, where he played one of the antagonists, a head designer of a fashion company with a British accent.
This time, this TikTok star brings his iconic British Marites to mysterious Tawa-Tawa Island in the new Prime Video series, Comedy Island.
“Medyo challenging ‘yung akin, kasi all of my co-actors, they’re gonna appear as themselves,” he shared, “Dito sa Comedy Island, I’m gonna appear as the British Marites, not Justine Luzares.”
Although thrilled to become part of such a major project, Justine revealed that he hesitated to accept it at first, especially since the six-part series is in a hybrid format—scripted and unscripted—where the stars get to showcase their skills not just in comedy, but also in improvisation.
“Actually, when I got offered this project, hesitant ako, sabi ko parang ayoko tanggapin kasi improv, although I’m a comedian, all the jokes that I deliver are carefully written or planned out na siya,” he explained, noting how he needed to make an impromptu punch line without breaking away from his character as the British Marites. Not to mention the pressure it brings as he'll be with professional comedians.
Looking back, this TikTok star couldn’t be more grateful and proud of himself, carrying the most important lesson he learned in doing comedy.
“Proud ako sa sarili ko kasi I was watching the playbacks, [sabi ko] ‘Oh my god, I was able to come up with that joke, ang galing ko pala dun,’” he said.
He added: "[I learned to] not overthink it. Just jump. Especially when doing improv, don't aim to be funny every single time. Build it up for the punchline.”
What should they expect from Justine's character in the series? "It’s always a hundred percent slay," the content creator said.
Comedy Island features seven comedians set to have a hilarious adventure on the mysterious Tawa-Tawa Island to play the fictional “Centennial Games.” Joining Justine in the cast are Andrea Brillantes, Drew Arellano, Rufa Mae Quinto, Jerald Napoles, Awra Briguela, Carlo Aquino, and Cai Cortez. It is set to premiere on Prime Video on Aug. 31.
Watch the teaser trailer below: