No torrid scenes for ‘KathNiel’

Daniel Padilla (left) and Kathryn Bernardo

Daniel Padilla and onscreen partner Kathryn Bernardo are ready to take on more mature roles now that they’re 21.

However, this does not mean their fans would be seeing them do torrid kissing or steamy love scenes onscreen.

“It’s too early for that,” said Daniel on Thursday at the media gathering of their latest film, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which will hit cinemas on April 15.

The film, with Mae Cruz-Alviar at the helm, centers on Gab dela Cuesta (Kathryn)—a high-strung career woman engaged to her longtime boyfriend (Matteo Guidicelli).

Her well-planned life becomes chaotic when she discovers legal records showing that she is already married to a total stranger—the happy-go-lucky tour guide Dos Gonzales (Daniel).

“This movie may be a romcom (romantic comedy), but it’s handled maturely,” Kathryn pointed out.

“Mature not in the sense that you’ll see Kathryn wearing a two-piece bathing suit or me wearing trunks, but mature when it comes to handling problems,” added Daniel.

“The maturity of an actor is not reflected on his ability to show more skin,” added Mae. “In this movie, they still act their age. They’re young people handling adult problems. Let’s not rush them into doing things like that. They still have their whole lives ahead of them.”

Mae said Kathryn and Daniel, collectively known as KathNiel, have now become “more professional and less playful” on the set.

“They are growing up in front of our eyes,” she observed.

“I got to see a few portions of the film while editing, and I was pleased with what they have done. I had asked them to do scenes that they found too difficult, but I didn’t hear any complaints from them. They just did them.”

KathNiel was last seen on the big screen in the Olivia Lamasan drama, “Barcelona.” Kathryn admitted to feeling the pressure of at least matching the previous film’s box-office success.

“Of course we want this movie to be a hit, but more importantly, we want to be able to affect the lives of a lot of people with the roles we are playing here,” she explained.

Daniel added: “We’ll be happy if the movie earns, but that’s just a bonus for us. What we value more is the fact that our director thinks we did justice to our roles, and that people were happy on the set. I believe that if you love what you do, people will appreciate you and will love you back.”