Kathryn Bernardo admitted that she felt intimidated to be working with Dolly de Leon for Star Cinema's 30th anniversary movie offering, A Very Good Girl.
In 2022, Dolly starred in the satirical film A Triangle of Sadness, which won the highly coveted Palm d' Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and subsequently paved the way for her to be noticed in the international scene.
The same film earned her nominations for the 2023 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and 2022 Golden Globe Awards.
Knowing Dolly's recent feats in the global stage, Kathryn could hardly believe it when she was told that Dolly will be co-headlining A Very Good Girl with her.
"Sinabi ko sa kanila, 'You think may time si Ms. D na gumawa nito?' Kasi alam ko mag-start siya ng project niya in Hollywood," Kathryn narrated at the presscon of A Very Good Girl last night, August 23, 2023.
Kathryn continued, "Sabi nila, 'Wala naman mawawala, so let's try.'
"So, the moment na naka-Zoom nila si Ms. D, and she agreed to do this project, parang ako, 'Oh my god!' Slowly nangyari na lahat."
But it wasn't just Kathryn who was in awe of this fresh movie collaboration.
Dolly shared that she was also thrilled to be working with Kathryn, who had her share of box-office movies through the years.
The 2018 drama movie Hello, Love, Goodbye, which Kathryn co-headlined with Alden Richards, remains to be the highest-grossing Filipino film to date.
Recalling her first encounter with Kathryn, Dolly said, "When I first met her... Di ko na counted yung bata ka kasi ibang-ibang tao ka nun. She was 13 or 12 [years old]..."
Kathryn interjected that they met when they were both cast in GMA-7's TV adaptation of the Korean series Endless Love back in 2010.
At the time, Kathryn played as the young Marian Rivera, while Dolly was her class teacher.
"Ang ka-chika ko nun si Ms. Min, hindi si Kath," said Dolly, referring to Kathryn's mom, Min Bernardo.
The veteran actress went on to say that it was Star Cinema's creative director Carmi Raymundo who told her that Kathryn is on board for A Very Good Girl.
"Kasi when Ms. Carmi Raymundo talked to me, after nila ikuwento lahat, sabi ko, 'Maganda yung storya, gusto ko ito gawin, maganda yung role, gusto ko gawin. Pero sino yung Philo, yung young woman?'
"When they said Kathryn, oh my god, yes! Gusto ko ito gawin agad-agad!
"I've admired her for a long time na. Sa Hello, Love, Goodbye, ang husay niya dun.
"When I met her again, I was so nervous actually to meet her."
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ON SETTING THEIR EXPECTATIONS
For their first meeting, the two actresses enjoyed wine night at a restaurant in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.
This was when they started to get to know each other first to help them establish rapport prior to their shooting last May.
Listing off the qualities she likes about Kathryn, Dolly elaborated: "Ang impression ko sa kanya, mabait siyang tao. So sabi ko, makakasundo ko siya.
"When I met her, hindi lang pala siya mabait, cool pala siya. Ang creative niya. Marami siyang ideas na na-put forward.
"'Tsaka ang maganda kay Kath, usually when you're an actor and you're on camera, kunwari yung ka-eksena ko is behind the camera, so wala siyang coverage, ako lang.
"Usually, some actors, ang ginagawa nila binabato lang nila yung linya. Si Kath pine-perform niya talaga. Kung papaano niya ginagawa kapag sa kanya nakaharap yung camera.
"So that helps a lot. So she's a very generous actor."
Kathryn pointed out that it was part of their agreement from the get-go.
"Yun yung deal namin nung nag-bonding kami. 'Ano ang pet peeve mo? How do you want me to support you, especially if it's your scene?
"I will tell you pag di ko naramdaman yung eksena. I will support you kahit di ko shot yun. I will give it my all para mabigay mo yung emotions mo.'
"That's when nag-shake hands na kami. Yun yung deal."
Read: Ayn Bernos issues apology after getting criticisms from Kathryn Bernardo's fans
kathryn bernardo and dolly de leon: WORKING ON THE SET
When they finally worked together, Kathryn recalled that she was really challenged to find her footing since it's been four years since she last worked on a movie set for Hello, Love, Goodbye.
Kathryn narrated: "Bigla ko na-feel, 'My god, na-intimidate ako.' Ms. D was all-glammed up. Nakita ko kung paano siya mag-focus to prepare for the scenes.
"So parang ako, 'Oh my god, I gotta keep up.' Na-pressure talaga ako, which was a good kind of pressure.
"She didn't make me feel, 'Kailangan galingan mo.' She was very supportive.
"Na-intimidate ako, pero napalitan naman agad ng good kind of pressure...
"I want to be good para maging worth it yung pag-agree ni Ms. D na tanggapin yung pelikulang ito."
Dolly, for her part, said that Kathryn had nothing to worry about in terms of her performance in the movie.
"Ang funny lang na na-intimidate ka sa akin kasi kinakabahan din ako sa iyo nung first few days. Pero eventually naging kumportable na ako.
"Although there were times, I'm in a scene, because she's so good...
"It's a no-no as an actor na [while] in a scene, pinapapanood mo yung co-actor mo. Dapat in the scene ka. But there were many times pinapanood ko lang siyang umarte, kasi ang galing-galing niya.
"Ta's ika-catch ko yung sarili ko, 'Tama na, hindi ka si Dolly, si Molly ka.'
"I really felt like it was a learning experience. I learned a lot from her. She has nothing to learn from me."
Read: Dolly de Leon hails Kathryn Bernardo as "young Nora Aunor"
Read: Kathryn Bernardo named Outstanding Asian Star at Seoul International Drama Awards 2023
MORE GOOD WORDS FOR EACH OTHER
Citing an example, Dolly related how she learned from Kathryn how to work on her camera angles.
"Ako kasi I'm not a technical actor. I don't even look at the monitor after the take.
"But she's very technical, which is a good thing. Alam niya how to play with the camera. Kabisado niya yung face niya.
"She's very in touch with her emotions and her vulnerability. And she can bring it out and flesh it out and work with the character."
Turning to Kathryn, Dolly said, "It's a skill that I don't have that you have."
Kathryn emphasized, however, that Dolly was a big help with how she worked on her character.
Smiling, the young actress said, "Sinasabi lang niya yun. Lahat ng eksena, tinuruan niya talaga ako."
Read: Dolly de Leon reveals deep friendship with Eugene Domingo: "She paid for my son’s tuition fee..."