JC Santos tells why online dating not for him

The plan was to start his own family, take a little break and devote himself to daddy duties for his baby’s first year. And that did end up happening for JC Santos—but not in the way he had expected.

“I was thinking that I wanted to be with my child and bond with my family before going back to work,” he told the Inquirer in a recent virtual conference for his coming film, “Dito at Doon,” which will be shown on March 17 in cinemas under modified general community quarantine.

Little did he know that the COVID-19 pandemic would compel him to do just that and allow him to be a hands-on father during the lockdown. Needless to say, JC is completely smitten with his daughter. His Instagram account is filled with photos of their precious bonding sessions.

JC Santos

First time

“It was my first time to have a family and my first time to spend time with them like this. I really enjoyed it,” said the actor, who has a 1-year-old daughter, River Aletheia, with his wife, Shyleena Herrra.

But at the same time, JC couldn’t really say that the entire 2020 was a blessing, because of the impact the pandemic has had on everyone, including the show biz industry.

Projects are more difficult to come by now, unlike the year prior, which had him starring in at least nine movies. “It was a good and bad year. The year 2019 was a happy one for me because I got to do a lot of films and earned the trust of different directors. There’s less work these days, but still, I’m happy… and in love,” he related.

Having said that, JC can’t wait for things to return to normal and do live performances once more. “I miss watching live musical events and I miss doing theater,” said JC, who’s also an accomplished stage actor. “I miss attending premiere nights.” Produced by TBA Studios and directed by JP Habac, “Dito at Doon” revolves around Caloy (JC) a student working part-time as a delivery driver and Len, a political science graduate (played by Janine Gutierrez). The two find themselves butting heads in an e-numan session, because of their opposing views on lockdown and current events.

But somehow, they end up forming a friendship—on- and offline—which eventually develops into something more. “It has a lot of similarities to how life is under quarantine,” JC said of the movie, which will also be shown at the Osaka Asian Film festival from March 5 to March 14.

While JC has yet to experience online dating, he said it just isn’t for him.

“As much as possible I try to pursue a person; I will go to her no matter how far she is. I used to have a girlfriend in Hong Kong while I was working in Singapore. I didn’t like the idea of online or video calls, so I decided that I would just work there,” JC recalled.” “It’s the same with my wife now: She lives in Pampanga and I work in Manila, but I always go to her.”

“But online dating can work for other people,” he pointed out. “To each his own.”

JC Santos (right) with wife Shyleena and daughter Aletheia

Good script

This is JC’s second time working with Janine, so it didn’t take a lot for them to be comfortable onscreen. “The script was good, so we didn’t have to put in too much effort [to build chemistry],” JC said, adding that he has always believed in Janine’s acting talent, even before the latter was hailed best actress by the Urian last year.

“She has always been good, even before she got the awards … I think one of Janine’s strengths is her rawness. She’s not dependent on technique—she can instinctively react,” he said. “There are scenes that are almost the same, but she manages to make them look fresh all the time.”

“She always reacts well when I improvise. She’s very open as a person. She doesn’t have walls. She’s very honest. And it’s always a pleasure to work with an actress like that. She gives you a chance to know her better,” he said.