Yen Santos and Piolo Pascual
For actress Yen Santos, the toughest part about working on her first full-length film “Northern Lights: A Journey to Love” was being in a romantic scene with heartthrob Piolo Pascual.
Yen said it was only on the fourth shooting day that she felt comfortable being around Piolo on their movie set in Queenstown, New Zealand, where most of the film was shot. “I couldn’t look him in the eye. I would always giggle. Who wouldn’t be affected? I’ve always dreamed of working with him, and it finally happened in my first film,” the 24-year-old actress told reporters.
“He would later tease me about it, saying that since I had fulfilled that dream, I could now retire,” added Yen, laughing. The film, directed by Dondon Santos, will hit cinemas on March 29.
The actress described doing the romantic scenes as “overwhelming.” Piolo said that “it was very intense, but was done in good taste. Yen is a professional.”
The actress said she got a lot of help from Piolo. “He would talk to me during breaks. He would sometimes tickle my armpits. He kept doing this until he sensed that I was already comfortable around him. He had been very supportive.”
She added: “Piolo never made people around him feel that he was a superstar. Off-cam, we would eat dinner together. We were in New Zealand for two weeks. He had no choice but to be with me.”
“Northern Lights” is a coproduction of Regal Films, Star Cinema and Piolo’s production company, Spring Films.
Yen said it took seven months to finish the movie because it had 10 script revisions. “We also had to adjust to the availability of the cast members, but it was worth the wait.”
Yen was last seen in the drama series, “Magpahanggang Wakas,” in 2016. She played lead in ABS-CBN programs, “All of Me” (2015) and “Pure Love” (2014).
She was initially offered to play opposite Gerald Anderson in the coming series “Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin,” but the role was eventually given to Kim Chiu. “Everything happens for a reason,” she mused.