MANILA, Philippines — Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson is down for boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to guest star in his crime comedy-drama series "Poker Face."
The show follows Natasha Lyonne's Charlie Cale who has the innate ability to tell if someone is lying, a skill that helps her solve crimes in American locations she passed by.
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The boxer-turned-politician got a mention in the Season 1 episode "Future of the Sport," when Charlie compares Charles Melton's Davis McDowell to Manny because of the punch he throws at Tim Blake Nelson's Keith Owens.
Davis' mother Jean is played by Filipino-American actress Angel Desai, making two Filipino representations in one episode.
In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Rian did not close the door on having more Filipino actors appear on the show should it get renewed, calling it a coincidence that episode writers Joe Lawson and CS Fischer put them together.
"We should get Pacquiao in there for another episode, do a boxing episode and have him do a guest star," Rian suggested.
A Pacquiao appearance would be another big name appearing on the series that has already featured the likes of Ron Perlman, Giancarlo Esposito, John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Katie Holmes, John Ratzenberger, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Meadows, Jameela Jamil, Rhea Perlman and Simon Helberg.
Even other Oscar nominees Adrien Brody, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Nolte, Chloë Sevigny, and Hong Chau have made appearances on "Poker Face."
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Rian explained that his team does not generally think of casting while in the writing process, only just for shorthand when making character types.
While it is mostly a task of seeing who is available during production, Rian told Philstar.com it also involves approaching friends, which is why Joseph Gordon Levitt and Kumail Nanjiani appear in episodes.
The team also extended invitation to people close to Nastaha, such as Clea DuVall, Alia Shawkat, and Melanie Lynskey.
The director particularly praised Cynthia's performance in the Season 2 premiere episode, where she portrayed identical siblings. The director said that the show could not have shot it without her.
"Beyond just the performance, the fact that on our very brief production schedule, she was able to keep everything in her head and do one half of a conversation, go and change her makeup, come back and do the other half. It amazed me every single day. She was incredible," Rian ended.
Following back-to-back failed bids in the elections, the 46-year-old Pacquiao is set for a boxing return when he faces welterweight champion Mario Barrios in July.
The second season of "Poker Face" airs in the Philippines every Wednesday, 9:45 p.m., on ROCK Entertainment.
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