Daniel Padilla didn’t expect the warm reception that he and girlfriend Kathryn Bernardo received from the audience of the primetime series 2 Good 2 Be True.
The hit series is down to its last few weeks and has been a consistent trending show on Netflix Philippines. It is helmed by Mae Cruz-Alviar.
“I didn’t expect that our show would be received this warmly,” said Daniel in a virtual call. “We’ve done many shows together. It’s always there, at the back of our minds, (we’d ask ourselves), ‘Paano kung ganito? Paano kung sawa na? Or baka wala na tayong chemistry?’ Alam mo yung ganung (thinking).”
“We didn’t expect that after 11 years, we are still here. We’re still together on- and off-cam,” Kathryn chimed in. “You wouldn’t really expect it because we started our relationship when we were very young. And we didn’t think that over the years, we’d be able to build this strong partnership.”
So what’s the secret to their long-lasting chemistry? It’s maturity, said Daniel. “Maturity na kilig na tinatawag natin… Iba na yung ibig sabihin ng kilig sa amin ‘di ba, especially in this show. Tinitimpla namin kung paano kami dapat (acting). Hindi na yung… our characters here are both alphas. If one may notice, they each have their own lives.”
“It’s a different approach (kilig) as compared to before,” he continued. “Dati kasi may mga cheesy lines ka pa na dudulas pa yun kasi cute pa siya. But if we do that (now), hindi na masyadong dudulas. Baka cringe na.”
“Just put yourself (in the shoes of the) audience. Kung ako yung nanonood at alam ko na matagal na (same thing)… parang ako… di ba ilang beses na yan. Kahit ako na mismo magrereklamo eh. So ganun din kaming dalawa. Paano yung mas normal na atake. Paano ‘pag ikabit na natin yung reality dito. Kung ano lang yung masarap sa pakiramdam. Kung ano ba yung dapat nating marinig at sabihin,” added Daniel.
Kathryn admitted that 2 Good 2 Be True is their most challenging series to shoot, especially in terms of making the audience kilig. “Maybe because one, pang ilang teleserye na namin ‘to. And then two, how would you convince the viewers to watch you and bigyan ka ng kunwari sa Netflix, 30 minutes of their time? Kung napanood nila, (they might say) napanood ko na yan eh. Nakita ko na yan sa Got To Believe, nakita ko na yan sa Pangako Sa’Yo. Sobrang hirap nun ha,” she said.
“When it comes to kilig, aside from the maturity na kailangan iba-iba na yung ways, yung tingin and iba yung pag-show mo ng love. Important siguro na yung effort talaga na ibahin mo and yung effort na yung totoo. Yung totoo lang yung ipakita mo. ‘Wag mong i-arte na kung hindi ka kinilig nung binasa mo ‘to ano yung totoo mong maramdaman, dun lang kami parating pumupunta,” she added.
The actress also recalled how they would “discuss and revise” the script with direk Mae and the team on “how to make it more Ali and Eloy (at the same time) as comfortable as Kathryn and DJ (respectively).”
She said it’s “very important” to be hands-on because if not, they wouldn’t be comfortable and things would feel forced, and audiences are intelligent enough to notice it.
“Very important na maging hands-on sa mga ganung bagay kasi if not, hindi kami comfortable, pipilitin lang, for sure, mararamdaman niyo yun kasi ang tatalino talaga ng mga audience ngayon. At the end of the day, you have to do what feels right. Yun na lang yung ginagawa namin,” she said.
As the media conference went on, they were asked to define what loyalty means to them. Kathryn replied, “Loyalty for me is being contented. Because if you are contented, you won’t look for (another) person anymore, right? Loyalty is contentment.”
On the other hand, Daniel mentioned his dog Summer. “Yun yung pinaka-loyal. Dun ko nakikita yung definition ng loyalty na kahit ano man ang pinagdadaanan ko ngayon, kung ano mang sitwasyon ng emosyon ko ngayon, sino ako ngayon, tatanggapin ako ng buong-buo nun. Yun ang loyalty. Walang judgment kung sino ka,” said Daniel while Kathryn could be seen patting his arm after he answered the question.
Meanwhile, Kathryn’s portrayal as a nurse in the series received praises from medical practitioners. In the previous episodes, Kathryn’s Ali performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and F.A.S.T method that saved the lives of Mang Diego (Archie Adamos) and her grandfather Lolo Hugo Agcaoili (Ronaldo Valdez), respectively.
Kathryn thanked the netizens and medical practitioners for their positive reactions. She said they “wanted it to be educational at the same time” and that they “pulled those (scenes) off because everyone did their job.”
The Kapamilya actress likewise hailed the medical community, saying she has “so much respect to those who are in the medical field” and cited her elder sister who is a nurse. “I saw her hard work simula nung nag-aral siya until she graduated and landed a job. And then my brother is into dentistry, so kahit papano nasa medical field (din siya) and hindi joke mag-aral for that. And hindi rin joke yung gagawin mo, applying lahat ng napag-aralan mo sa trabaho kasi buhay na yung nakasalalay eh.”
“Ang hirap ilagay yung wall between (the) nurse and the patient,” she added. “Kasi yan rin yung nakuwento sa akin ng ate ko before na sometimes if you become too attached sa patient syempre sometimes masa-save mo, sometimes hindi. And ang hirap nun para sa nurse kasi nakikita mo na ikaw yung gumagamot sa kanila, ikaw yung lumalaban para sa kanila.”
Hence, through the show and from the stories she heard, her appreciation for the nurses grew even more. “Kasi ako siyempre si Lolo Sir palang yung naging nurse na talaga ako sa kanya on- and off-cam. So paano pa yung ginagawa nila ‘to for a living di ba? Ang galing. Their job is no joke and they deserve all the praises that they’ve been getting, especially during COVID and after this, it’s tough! Andami nilang ginagawa.”
(Watch 2 Good 2 Be True on Netflix Philippines or iWantTFC. Viewers can also catch it on A2Z, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, Kapamilya Online Live on Facebook and YouTube, Jeepney TV and TFC IPTV.)