Paolo Contis recalls how he and LJ Reyes became close while working together on a GMA-7 teleserye.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) had the chance to Paolo at the recent press conference for Hiram na Anak at the GMA Network Center.
He plays the main villain in the soap opera that will air its pilot episode on February 25, 2019.
He said about playing a kontrabida onscreen, "Ano pa nga ba? Alam niyo naman ako, masama sa mga characters, mabait sa totoong buhay."
Meanwhile, Paolo's co-star, Yasmien Kurdi, revealed that Paolo makes them laugh on the set.
"Alam niyo, ang trabaho namin hindi biro. Sampalan, saksakan, sakalan, the least you can do is to make the set fun para mag-build yung trust sa co-actors mo.
"Kung merong pisikalang eksena, merong sakitang eksena, mas may tiwala. Mas magaan sa loob gawin.”
Paolo admits that his character is so evil, he lives with two women separately. The character is also violent, and he had to beat up Lauren Young's character, who is also one of the show's villains.
“Parang carino-brutal kami ni Lauren. Bugbugan, 'tapos magiging okay. I think, we want to introduce this kind of concept sa umaga. Titingnan lang natin. And we hope it works.
“Eksperimento 'to na ganito kabigat, ka-drama.”
Paolo and Yasmien have worked together in the past, in the 2014 soap opera Yagit.
According to Yasmien, Paolo and LJ's love blossomed on the set of Yagit.
“Oo,” Paolo agreed. He said even if his character had been killed off, he still came to the tapings.
“E, kasi nga, nabuhayan ako ng dugo,” he said with a laugh.
“Wala naman kaming kinalaman ni LJ sa set, kay Yasmien ako noon. Pero yun nga, panay kaming kuwentuhan sa set, dinadala si Aki. Kinukulit-kulit ko si Aki."
Aki is the son of LJ to ex-boyfriend Paulo Avelino.
Paolo continued:
“Nagkayayaan ng konting labas. E, pinatay ako, 'tapos yun, bumabalik-balik pa rin ako and the rest is history. Ngayon, meron na kaming yagit,” the actor joked.
The yagit he is referring to is their daughter Summer, whom LJ gave birth to on January 4, 2019.