Love teams are vital to our entertainment scene. You can roll your eyes all you want, but you can’t deny you will always be a sucker for a good love story especially if the main characters have chemistry. Real and reel-life love couple Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto use this to their advantage. “It’s really nice when you lose yourself into the scene and become your character, the emotions become real,” says Julia as we got to talk with her and Joshua over dinner. They shuttled to and from tapings to share with us their latest project Love You to the Stars and Back.
So for this #PreenPopQuiz, we mixed up the fun questions with ones that reflect how these two are improving their craft. You just might be surprised how much they put personal selve in their professional roles.
What’s the most challenging thing you had to do for this movie?
Joshua Garcia: The bridge scene. I kept crying because it was a breakdown scene. It was two-day shoot because the first day, they told me they couldn’t use it even if we were shooting until the nightime. There’s a flow when you have a crying scene. You can’t just cry, there should be build up. I had to internalize my character and empathize with someone with cancer.
Julia Barretto: Same scene. I had to support him and he had to get emotions from me. I had to go to such a painful place in my heart so I could deliver a scene like that. There were so many emotions from panic to sadness. I also didn’t want to see him go through that.
JG: I was about to jump from the bridge. It wasn’t part of the script so I had to improvise that.
JB: Yes, that was improvised. So when you watch it, I was speaking in English because I was panicking. He was so in character and getting carried away with his emotions. I was so close to [breaking character.]
What’s the sweetest thing you’ve done for each other?
JB: The simple things that you do for each other can be the sweetest. The candlelit dinner he did was sweet but also the time I was at the hospital and he never left my side.
JG: When she goes to the set and she brings me food. She cooks carbonara for me and she doesn’t know how to cook.
JB: I learned for him!
What’s the story behind your pet name “Baba” ?
JG: It’s from “baby.”
JB: It’s more endearing, mas may lambing.
What do you think about the comparison made between you and the other love teams?
JG: We don’t compare ourselves with others. Different love teams have different ways of making people laugh and cry.
What’s your secret to a great selfie?
JB: Have good lighting and know your angle.
What’s the best thing about working with each other?
JB: Everything! You have someone support you physically, mentally, emotionally. You have someone to make your forget the tiredness.
Who always forgets their lines?
JB: Nobody.
JG: The thing is when we work together and we don’t remember our lines, we ad lib. So we pick up from each other and go back and forth with the ad lib.
JB: That’s why I love working with him. I know him so well because I know when he forgets and I know when he’s builiding up pace and I just go with it.
Where do you like taking a vacation together?
JB: We love going to the beach.
Craziest fan moment you’ve had?
JB: I haven’t had any. He does!
JG: There was a fan who kissed me on the neck. He was a guy.
What do you do on your own time to improve your acting?
JG: I watch series and movies. When I have time, I take a workshop. When you rest from acting, you lose the [momentum.] So you have to keep doing it.
JB: I always make sure that I outdo myself. I always have to be better than my last work. I love being my character. I just embrace the character and learn about the character.
JG: We also learn to act better by meeting other people. When you grow as a person, you also grow as an actor.
JB: I also like to observe people. When you see them converse and you see their mannerisms, you learn a lot. So when I get a character, I think of the person who I know is like that character and then you adapt that person’s habits and what they do.
How do you handle the pressure of being in this industry?
JB: It is important to remind yourself that you are human. I remind myself that I am very blessed to be able to do do what I love to do. I’m an actress not because I want the fame. I want it because it’s my passion. I love what I do. I love my craft.
JG: I don’t really think I’m famous. I always talk to my friends who are non-showbiz and my family. They are “normal.” And they really know [who I am] before the career.
Photos by Aileen Sze
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