MANILA, Philippines — Both introverts, Kathryn Bernardo and James Reid needed a little help from their co-stars and team to break the ice and develop their chemistry in the ABS-CBN series “Someone, Someday,” now streaming on Netflix.
Kathryn and James play childhood best friends Billy and Jordan in their first team-up series.
“To be honest, going into our roles as best friends since childhood and jumping right into that wasn’t easy. We had a lot of help from the whole cast actually to help break the ice and to really help build the relationship of Billy and Jordan,” James shared during the Netflix Philippines event.
“I don’t think I had to really, like, what’s the word? Conception? About Kath before working together other than she’s talented. But being able to work with her on the show, (seeing) how much attention she has to details, to the story, the perfectionist in Kath, I super appreciate it, especially this project. It’s my first project (in such a long time), and I think that was extremely helpful to me.”
James added the car scene served as an ice breaker for them.
“Because it was so crazy. The scene that we had in the trailer, like we were car racing, it was so fun. It was an icebreaker.”
For Kathryn, she expected her co-actor to be “really shy.”
“And I was right,” she said with a laugh, recalling their first meeting. “He was very shy. I’m the type of person pa naman na it takes a while for me to warm up and usually may isa na mag-break ng ice. So, the problem with us was, ‘Sino?’
“I was shy, he is shy. So, parang, ‘So, paano ‘to?’ Because we are childhood best friends (in the series). So, it’s a group effort. And also I think it worked because we didn’t force anything because I think anything that’s forced, the audience will see it.
“I think personally, what helped me was just trying to create a world for Billy and Jordan. So, when we’re on set, and then when the director says, ‘Action,’ it’s like, ‘OK, this is Billy and Jordan talking.’ And then once we hear, ‘Cut!’ It’s James and Kath (again). And I think it worked.”
The beauty of doing a series, according to Kathryn, is that it gives actors an ample amount of time to get to know each other — something that happened with her and James. Through the project, she was able to get to know him even more.
“I know James not so much still because we don’t have common friends, and we haven’t had any common projects together. So, James is very unfamiliar to me. But now, every taping, I’ve gotten to know him more, and I’ve become curious about him. I think it helped, too. If you’re too familiar with a person, it’s a different (approach).”
Kathryn was able to discover more about James as an actor — how he gets into the zone, prepares for his role and processes his emotions.
“It’s nice to witness that during the taping, and it helped create the world of Billy and Jordan, which is really different from Kath and James. So, you have to see both… I hope you enjoy it because it’s a beautiful friendship we have talaga.”
Director Dolly Dulu described James and Kathryn as a “good pair.”
“Nagkaroon talaga ng warm up dun sa proseso ng paggawa ng chemistry because they are both introverted,” he told The STAR. “It came in naturally because it took a group effort from everybody else to help them warm up to each other. And when they finally warmed up, lumipad na yung chemistry nila. You could see it in the clips that they are very cute together.”
“They have chemistry, and it’s something that you don’t force. It’s something that happened naturally. They have magic, I guess,” he added.
Also directed by Chad Vidanes, “Someone, Someday” follows a woman scarred by her past who creates a modern dating app to help women find the right love at the right time. Through the love stories she brings together — and while navigating the challenges in her own life — she begins to rediscover what love truly means for herself.
Maja Salvador and Dimples Romana are also part of the cast.