Daniel Padilla admits 9-year film pairing with Kathryn Bernardo is not an easy ride

SCREENSHOT: Extendthelove Cinema Series on Facebook (L); PHOTO: @supremo_dp on Instagram (R)

In the tenth series of #ExtendTheLove’s Actor’s Cue, Daniel Padilla expressed the challenges of being in a 9-year film pairing with real-and-reel life partner Kathryn Bernardo. Know the full story below

On Friday evening, May 22, film actors Daniel Padilla, Joshua Garcia, and Zanjoe Marudo made an appearance for the tenth series of #ExtendTheLove’s Actor’s Cue, a fundraising for displaced film workers. In the said series, the three thespians were asked a bunch of questions about being in movies and how it made an impact in their respective careers.

In one point of the series, Q&A moderator and film director Adolfo Alix, Jr. asked Daniel, Joshua, and Zanjoe how they handle rapport between their leading ladies in their films, as they are known to appear in various Filipino romantic-comedies.

After Joshua and Zanjoe gave their answers, Daniel pointed out that his situation differs from the two as he, unlike them, has only been paired with one actress in films: his real-life partner Kathryn Bernardo, who he has been working with for 9 ½ years.

When asked if it was easy for him to work with one actress, the Box Office King said it was the other way around.

“Mas madali? Hindi, mahirap. Mahirap, kase ang dami na naming nagawa, eh. Alam mo ’yon? Ang dami na naming pelikulang nagawa at laging challenge ’yong [mga nagtatanong na] ‘Paano niyo na iibahin ’to?’ ’Di ba?” Daniel explained.

Daniel has been paired with Kathryn since 2012, starting with the teen drama Growing Up until their last film in 2018, the blockbuster film The Hows of Us.

When they were starting production for The Hows of Us, Daniel recalled how a lot of people began to question if viewers would still flock to buy tickets because they believe they have done everything when it comes to characters in films.

“Doon na siguro papasok ’yong character nung pelikula mismo,” he began explaining. “Doon namin ilalagay na hindi naman kami ’yon, eh. It’s a character. Character ’yong pino-portray namin. So, mas challenging siya yet mas satisfying din, lalo kung positive ’yong outcome nung pelikula. At least, parang […] na-overcome mo nanaman ’yong pagsubok na ’yon sa aming dalawa ni Kathryn.”

Daniel pressed the fact that their film pairing is not easy because they have to show versatility in every film they make.

“Kailangan iba-ibahin,” he said. “Kasi kung pare-pareho lang, wala namang mangyayari na, ’di ba? At kung si Kathryn at si Daniel na [ang ipapakita namin], sana reality show na lang ang ginawa namin.”

And with Daniel, and his fellow guest actors Joshua and Zanjoe, being a magnet of romantic films, moderator direk Adolfo had to ask what they do in order to not get stereotyped as an actor of such films.

“Nagsisimula ang stereotype kapag nakita na nila sa huli mong ginagawa ’yong ginagawa mo ngayon,” the other half of powerhouse love team KathNiel said. “Ako, nagpapasalamat ako […] sa mga direktor namin. Mga direktor namin na dagdag mata ay mas maigi. ’Pag may maraming sumisita, mas maganda.”

“‘Ako, lagi kong tinatake ’yong sita ng mga tao on set,” he goes on. “Kapag sinasabi nila na ’Teka, Deej. Parang ginawa mo na ’yan [last time], ah.’ [tapos sasabihin ko] ‘Ah, ganun? Ano kayang pwedeng gawin?’ Kahit sila nagsa-suggest, eh. Kung ano pwede naming gawin, at tinatanggap ko ’yun kasi iba ’yong mata nila, iba ’yong nakikita nila.”

Daniel adds that one should not stick to the script and think about how you can attack differently with the character that you have not done in the past. He also said that one should not stick to one style of film acting, opting to break away to other styles and genres of film, citing his upcoming project with Ms. Charo Santos-Concio as an example.

“Nabale ng sobra ’yong character ko sa mga lahat ng ginagawa ko [before],” Daniel said of his upcoming role in the Black Sheep production Kun Maupay Man It Panahon. “Ibang timpla ng pelikula so na-refresh ka rin as an actor [kasi] pwedeng ma-burn out ka na rin sa mga ginagawa mo. So, ’yong ginawa ko ’yon, narefresh ako, na-enjoy ko na ulit ’yong paggawa ng pelikula.”

Watch the entire tenth series of Actor’s Cue featuring Daniel, Joshua, and Zanjoe below!