What makes JC Santos, Bela Padilla click

MANILA, Philippines — JC Santos and Bela Padilla are once again reunited on the big screen via the Viva Films-produced romantic comedy titled Wish You Were The One, which is set to open on Aug. 23 in cinemas nationwide.

Wish You Were The One marks JC and Bela’s sixth movie together since their first successful collaboration in the 2017 hit 100 Daang Tula Para Kay Stella. It was followed by The Day After Valentine’s in 2018; Miracle in Cell No. 7, 2019; On Vodka, Beers and Regrets, 2020; and 366, 2022.

During the virtual press conference to drumbeat their upcoming movie, JC and Bela opened up about their deep connection that makes it easy for them to act as natural as can be in front of the cameras.

Bela said that she and JC keep in touch even if they’re not working on a project.

“Nagkukumustahan kami so I don’t feel we completely lost touch. So, we don’t have to start from scratch every time we do a new project. From Day One of shooting, siyempre merong kaba, but we would always have a conversation on how are we going to make our approach different from the last project we did or how do we consciously detach ourselves from the last roles we did.”

“I guess, we’re both masinop sa (meticulous with) work, we both wanted to portray our characters far different from the previous ones we did and it’s a challenge for us because it’s our sixth movie together, so we always have to change it. I guess we have to be conscious about changing our characters all the time,” added Bela, who was in London at the time of the virtual media conference.

JC, in turn, said that he’s always excited to work with Bela whom he can openly ask for suggestions, and vice versa, on how they can make every scene work even without much preparation.

“Another good thing about this partnership is hard work. It’s something that comes out naturally na kahit wala kaming update sa eksena, parang we could come out 100 percent every time. We continue to surprise each other and that makes it so exciting every scene kaya din I think nag-translate ‘yun sa pelikula (kung) paano kami on what’s gonna happen next,” stated JC.

Bela agreed and deemed that what makes them appear natural on screen is their being comfortable with each other. “Sa tagal na naming magkakilala, we’re comfortable enough to ask for help because when you have a new partner, it feels like nagtatantyahan pa kayo, nag-papagalingan pa kayo, but JC and I are no longer in that level. We can now honestly tell if one needs help, like, ‘Tulungan mo ako hindi ako makaiyak.’”

Aside from them being comfy with each other, Bela delights in the fact that they are both maturing as actors and learning from each other as individuals.

“We’ve been working for six years now, so we’re not the same people as we were in 2017. Iba na ‘yung dala naming pain, iba na ‘yung hugot na dala naming sa eksena,” shared Bela.

“Mababaw lang ‘yung iniiyakan namin noong 2017. We now have a lot of life experiences that we pull from and since we know each other, more or less, alam namin ‘yung pinagdadaanan, but also not just the pain but also victories like for JC, I can see how proud he is when he talks about his daughter River. So, it’s very endearing how we both are evolving as people, so it’s very endearing to see how we both are evolving as people, so definitely we are learning something about each other,” added she.

Bela and JC are so close that the former is the godmother of River. JC proudly declared that their friendship is the kind “that we can rant to be very honest with each other.” Both can also give pieces of advice to each other.

“We can confide if there is something good or bad that one (of us) is going through. She knows me too well if there is something not so good that I am going through,” said the actor.

It is believed that friendship often does grow into romantic love. But this does not hold true for JC and Bela. In spite of their good chemistry onscreen, their closeness is based on genuine friendship, not romantic feelings.

“Kapag sumagad sa idea (as reel partners) in real life, mawawala ‘yung magic na nabibigay namin sa audience. We are really good friends, so we didn’t allow our investment in each other to disappear.”

Bela, on the other hand, said they respect each other and their onscreen partnership. She stressed that even before JC got married, they never got to that point of becoming real-life lovers.

(Directed by Derick Cabrido, Wish You Were The One also stars Kean Cipriano, Kaladkaren, Andrew Muhlach, Franki Russell, Andrea Babierra, Cheska Ortega, Itan Magnaye, Peach Caparas and Charizz Po, with the special participation of Romnick Sarmenta.)