Kapuso actress Glaiza de Castro and new Kapuso actor Xian Lim revealed their first impressions of each other during the media conference of False Positive on April 19.
Glaiza revealed she thought Xian was a snob, explaining that Xian might have a lot in his mind.
“Ako talaga ‘yung first impression ko kay Xian, para siyang snub ganon. Oo kasi, nakita ko siya one time sa event ng parang pageant ata ‘yun tapos host siya. Siguro pag host ganon, maraming iniisip, kasi ang daming sinasabi, so hindi siya masyadong pala chat. Parang ganon ‘yun tingin ko sa kanya. Ay Xian, ano to. Ganon.”
Xian said he saw Glaiza as a rockstar, admitting that he didn’t know how to approach the Kapuso actress.
“With Glaiza, I see her as a rockstar, I’m not gonna have room for your nonsense parang ganon. Parang nahihiya lang akong maging makulit. By nature, maano ako–makulit akong tao, parang hindi ako mapirmi, may nabasa nga ako, sabi ni Dom Rocco, para daw akong isang malaking bata. When he saw me, nakakaintimidate lang talaga si Miss GDC eh. Hindi ko alam kung paano siya lalapitan, ia-approach ng tama.”
He also clarified that he felt intimidated by Glaiza’s talent as an actress.
“Si Glaiza is super nice, at first very intimidating dahil medyo alam mo ‘yun parang–hindi naman sa malakas ang dating but malakas ang arrive, in a positive way, of course, not in a negative way na parang nakakahiya naman na siyempre Miss Glaiza de Castro, Asia’s Acting Gem. Kumbaga saan po ba ako lulugar.
“It turns out na after a couple of days, mabait po siya na tao. And she’s very patient and mapagbigay.”
Glaiza then recalled how they broke the ice between the two while on the set of False Positive.
“Siguro dahil sa mga eksena rin, ‘yung unang ginawa natin na unang eksena na magpro-propose ka. So siyempre, kailangan hindi kami mahiya sa isa’t isa, may mga paholding hands, may payakap, noong time na ‘yun parang nakikita ko naman na kumukulit siya, so sabi ko, ‘hindi naman pala siya suplado, may inner kulit rin naman pala siya.’ Tapos nakakatawa naman pala siyang tao, hindi naman siya masyadong seryoso.
“Noong nakitang nag-o-open up siya na-feel ko na rin na ay sige kulitan pala gusto nito, yes!”
Glaiza then described how Xian bonded with other cast members while they were taping the series.
“Ako din na-intimidate ako sa kanya kasi siyempre pag may bagong tao parang hindi mo alam kung paano ia-approach parang nahihiya ka pa. Pero ano naman eh, makikita mo naman din sa tao kung ano siya, friendly. Kasi siya rin naman ‘yung nagre-reach out.
“Pala bonding nga siya sa set. So nakakatuwa na hindi siya–wala siya– kumbaga di ba may mga taong may sariling mundo, minsan ganon ako eh, minsan may sarili akong mundo, pero nakakatuwa na nakikipagbond siya. Kahit sa mga zoom sessions pa lang namin nakita ko na ah, ah okay, cool itong taong ito.”
Glaiza added that their zoom meetings helped build their rapport before starting with the production.
“Malaking tulong nga ‘yung nagzo-zoom kami kasi walong araw kami sa hotel eh. So naka-quarantine kami for eight days and then may dalawang araw pa na pumunta kami sa set na hindi kami nag-taping, so sampung araw ‘yun na ginamit namin para mas maging komportable sa isa’t isa kahit sa zoom lang.”
As for their series, Xian and Glaiza shared their opinions on the potential social commentary about gender roles in their series.
“I think so, parang forever relevant naman, kasi hindi siya naluluma, ‘yung theme nito hindi siya naluluma kasi kahit ilang generations ‘yung dumating feeling ko makaka-relate pa rin sila,” stated Glaiza.
“Feeling ko ‘yung mensahe naman ng proyekto na ‘to is all about respecting each other and loving each other no matter what. But it still boils down na parang you have to respect your partner sa kahit ano mang challenges na you might face in life,” Xian added.
Glaiza also pointed out that their series tackles ‘serious’ topics through a comedic approach.
“I think it’s a different approach to saying something important. Kasi may iba’t ibang approach naman tayo di ba? Katulad ng ginawa namin sa unang hirit, isang mensahe, isang linya lang pero iba’t ibang klaseng emotion.
“Comedy ‘yung napiling genre, of course, may drama pa rin, pero I think what’s important is at the end of each episode, mapapaisip ka na, ‘ah okay tama pala ‘yun.’ ‘Yung parang may ganong realization, kasi ang sarap sa pakiramdam na kapag nanood ka ng isang series ‘yung hindi nasayang ‘yung oras mo.”
Xian added that the light-hearted mood brought by their series balances the bleak nature of events recently.
“Maraming aral na matutunan and mayroon kaming mai-impart sa mga viewers especially now, ang bigat-bigat na, ang dami dami ng nangyayari sa mundo, I think the best way to communicate a message is through something light. Through something na parang, ah okay parang mapapatawa namin sila, but at the end of the day mayroon silang take away.”
Their series, False Positive, premieres on May 2, 2022, on GMA Network’s Telebabad.
