MODEL-TURNED-ACTRESS Tracie Sinidol has been growing from strength to strength in the local entertainment industry.
The winner of the Dewi Remaja 2021/2022 beauty contest has appeared in drama series like Imam Instant Ustazah Scammer and One Million Dollar Voice, as well as telemovies Negaraku 16 September and Diari Chinta.
Fans would have noticed the comely 22-year-old Sabahan in action in the currently airing TV3 drama series Luruhnya Bunga Cinta.
Tracie said she was grateful for the opportunity to play the lead in the new series, which is based on the hit K-drama, Autumn In My Heart.
One of the challenges for the new talent has been toning down her Sabahan accent when delivering her Bahasa Melayu lines.
Making the best of her situation, the Keningau-born artiste has been learning from the cast and crew to improve her language fluency.
"I don't have many friends yet, so I thought about the ways I could learn to improve my Malay. During filming, I would talk a lot with the crew and my castmates
"From there, my Malay has improved quite a bit. I've only been living in Kuala Lumpur for a year, so it's a process and I've been doing this for five months," she said.
Getting out of comfort zone
Tracie added that the new drama series has been a great way to gain more experience by working closely with fellow lead actor Redza Rosli and director Muhamad Riza Baharudin to bring her character Nuha to life.
"I get nervous pretty easily. But I have been able to learn and get lots of advice from Redza and Riza.
"Honestly, I initially thought that Riza was fierce but I started feeling at ease as time went by.
"I can't deny that it was stressful to make this a success since this drama is based on a popular Korean series. Nuha is also an emotional character and I have quite a number of crying scenes.
"So I'm really grateful for all of my experiences and help from fellow actors and director since this is just my third drama."
Talking about her first main role in a drama, Tracie said that she was surprised to have been chosen.
"I auditioned for this drama and was selected but I never thought that I would get the lead role.
"I was really surprised but they believed that I could portray Nuha well.
"Opportunities like this don't come easily, so I wanted to take on this challenge and get out of my comfort zone," said the actress of Murut and Dusun descent.
Luruhnya Bunga Cinta follows the tragic fate of Nuha and Aara, who were accidentally switched at birth.
The mix-up sees Nuha growing up with brother Nuh (Redza) in a well-heeled family, while Aara is cared for in a poor household.
But as fate would have it, an accident involving Nuha results in tests that highlight her real bloodline.
Their change of fortunes sees the two female characters returning to their rightful families, forcing Nuha to lose contact with Nuh.
As adults, they will once again cross paths with new challenges and unexpected twists.
Luruhnya Bunga Cinta, which also stars Aniq Durar, Bella Luna, Auni Yusri and Nabila Razali, airs Mondays to Fridays at 7pm on TV3.
The drama series is also being streamed on iQIYI an hour after its terrestrial broadcast.