Real-life couple Elisse Joson and McCoy de Leon, on Monday, April 4, agreed they had a better working experience in their latest flick Habangbuhay than in their 2019 film Sakaling Maging Tayo.
It was also when Joson and de Leon were struggling in their relationship.
“Ano tayo no’n eh, in or out, hahaha,” confirmed the young actor during the virtual media conference of Habangbuhay.
“Hahaha, oo. Kaya masasabi ko po na mahirap talaga ‘yon. Kasi it affected our work somehow,” said Joson.
She added, “So this time, I think, it’s easier for the both of us. Kasi—p’wede naming—I mean napag-uusapan namin kung paano namin gagawin ang eksena, mas mayroon kaming rapport this time. Because we were able to talk to each other, i-open namin yung bagay-bagay involving the movie. So mas madali po talaga.”
Habangbuhay have its challenge for the couple as well. It was difficult for the young actress to play a character who is yet to experience love.
“So sa movie yung challenge is to make the audience see yung parang rawness na… yung hindi nila nakikita sa’min in our social media na we’re together always, na we’re sweet already. Kumbaga nag-start over kami sa pinaka-una kung paano na hindi pa kami mag-boyfriend-girlfriend.”
Aside from having difficulty separating their work from their private lives, de Leon also pointed out that they were still newbies during the making of Sakaling Maging Tayo.
“Kasi as a couple and as an actor, baguhan po talaga kami. We admit naman po na ganoon. Learnings, habang nag-progress yung movie. Yun ang challenge.”
In terms of intensity, de Leon stated that the two movies were challenging for him. However, the span between the two projects had them grow to become better artists.
“Sabi ko kay Lisse, aralin talaga nating mabuti. Kasi mahirap na ma-delay, s’yempre nagtatrabaho sila kailangan din nating ibigay ang best natin para tuluy-tuloy ang work,” he shared.
The couple even had their director amazed.
Meanwhile, Habangbuhay‘s director, Direk Real Florido, considered the two the “perfect ingredient” for his latest work. They still consider the couple as “youngsters” falling in love.
“Parang perfect recipe, perfect ingredient ang McLisse doon sa buong project at talagang mas nagkaroon siya ng buhay.”
The performance of Joson and de Leon in the movie also had Direk Real “floored.”
“Kasi ang lalim pala ng dalawang actors na ito. Hindi pa ganoon nabibigyan nang highlight in the industry how good they are as actors and basically how good they are as people. Kasi ang babait itong dalawang ito eh.”
Prior to the film’s actual production, the team and Joson and de Leon bonded to prevent any problems during takes.
“I will not mince words. Kasi by default, kapag may nakatrabaho ka na in a relationship, minsan nasasama ang trabaho doon sa problema nila in real life. Iyan ang isa sa mga sakit ng ulo ng mga producers at directors eh. But for McCoy and Elisse, it never happened to us,” revealed Direk Real.
The director even wished that artists could be like his humble talents.
“And it’s really nice to work with artists like them who have the humility. Walang ego sa set and it really worked for us. Walang diva diva. Masaya kami na parang magbabakarda na gumagawa ng project namin. I think that’s the key ingredient in this project.”
Joson’s acting in Habangbuhay also made Direk Real consider her to be the next “Bea Alonzo.” Regarding her partner, he assured the audience that they would be surprised by de Leon’s performance.
“I would say Elisse maybe your next Bea Alonzo. I mean that’s how good she is. Pero magugulat din kayo kay McCoy kung gaano kalaki ang range na kaya niyang ibigay. So itong dalawang young actors na ito, mahaba pa ang tatakbuhin ng career nila.”
Hearing their director compliment them had de Leon say, “Siguro speechless kami. Kasi ang lalim din nang sinabi nila, nakakatuwa.”
Joson then added that as actors, they were conscious of their performance. But hearing kind words from others was truly “fulfilling.”
“But hearing it from people you actually work with—sila yung nakakakita kasi eh, sila yung nakakasama namin, from a different eye, mas grabe yung fulfillment. Parang very overwhelming and we are very grateful to the team kasi sila talaga ang tumulong sa amin to be able to do our job.”
Habangbuhay will premiere on April 22 only on Vivamax.
