DANIEL AND I

Daniel Padilla 

Teen King. 

Life is so changed for Daniel Padilla. Parang last year lang, siya si Gino Dela Rosa, ang binatilyong gagawin ang lahat para sa pinakamamahal na si Mikay sa “Princess And I”. Against all odds, Gino ended up with Mikay in the series’ highly anticipated and, well, eagerly debated on finale. And Daniel, since then, has become the country’s top male teen star.

The first time I met him was when he did a go-see for a serye we were working on then for Kathryn Bernardo. I only knew him as the guy na pumalit kay Albie Casino as Kathryn’s ka-loveteam in Growing Up. That time, the show wasn’t even airing yet. I was so curious of him, I asked for a photo with him. He looked so different then: thin, totoy na totoy. But all of us watching him audition agreed that he had expressive eyes – iba siya makatitig.

Weeks later, Growing Up aired. First scene pa lang, the girls were drooling for him. KathNiel teamup was born, surpassing the record KathBie set during “Mara Clara” days. Trending topic agad. And yes, I became an instant fan, watching Ella and Patrick’s teenage journey every Sunday afternoon.

At Candy Cutie Fair 2011

By October 2011, the “Princess And I” concept was given the green light by the management. Contrary to reports, Daniel was really a part of the main cast. All four of them. But the development of Gino’s story posed a major challenge for us, the creative team. How would we differentiate him from Patrick? How would Gino keep up with a prince (Enrique Gil) and a best friend (Khalil Ramos)? I even remember giving the character name Gino, in memory of a former friend and first love, which our headwriter approved on. His character would even appear the latest among the three guys. We had so many thoughts running then.

But in PAI’s 10 months of airing, his fanbase, and Kathniel’s, grew undeniably phenomenal. We would receive hate tweets, even threats actually (pero hindi naman yung grabehan ha), everytime the show’s story would gear towards Jao-Mikay’s. Eventually, we got used to it, and made us realize that because of the series, the Kathryn-Daniel loveteam has become a pop phenomenon – no loveteam in recent history has been this well-received. Endorsements, awards, guestings left and right… Daniel even went on to have a double platinum debut album, and they had three box-office hits in a matter of six months. At napuno pa niya ang Araneta last April!

At Princess And I in 2012. 

But I will always go back to those days na, he was still this rising star from “Growing Up”. After our first meet kasi, we had a long way, actually. He followed me on Twitter, we would exchange DMs, we would see each other sa ABS-CBN. I remember our long conversations sa dressing room. Magki-kwento siya about his life, his work, what he wants to happen… Long before he appeared on GGV, and had his debut album recorded, ni-request niya na if pakakantahin siya sa PAI, “Hinahanap-hanap Kita” daw sana ang song. Nangyari naman, in fair. He also requested na sana raw, konti lang ang lines niya sa PAI. E dahil bida siya, hindi naging possible. He was never demanding naman. Pero he has ideas para mapaganda ang mga proyektong kinabibilangan niya, which for me is good.

From the time I first met Deej, as I fondly call him, nothing really changed, sa ugali. He is still the makulit, pala-biro and outspoken guy I have always loved as a friend and ka-trabaho. Siguro, mas hindi ko na siya nakikita lately kasi natapos na ang PAI, at ang busy niya. Kung may nagbago man, siguro, may mga times na tahimik lang siya, or tulog pag nakikita ko. Pero ganun talaga, he’s the busiest teen star today. What I am most grateful for is hindi pa rin siya nagbabago sa akin. Everytime he sees me, nandyan pa rin ang hugs, “hawak sa aking tummy” moments, at ang mga maiikling kumustahan at chikahan. He even calls me, “my friend”, which is humbling. I mean, Daniel Padilla ‘yun. The friendship and respect have remained.

And yes, he’s still this down-to-earth guy. Andaming nagsasabi na lumaki na raw ang ulo, ganun. Pero hindi naman. I can attest to that.

But one trait of him na talagang nagli-linger sa akin is yung pagiging good listener niya. I remember then, kasama sina Quen at Kali, we were talking about my life’s story (OK, I admit, love story) during a lull of Princess And I taping. Among the three, siya yung pinaka-tahimik, pangiti-ngiti lang, you’d think na he wasn’t listening. But to my surprise, when he recorded a birthday greeting for me last year, ang sinabi niya talaga ay “sana ay mahalin ka na ni ________”. Wow, he listened pala. Since then, everytime I see him, he’d ask, “o kumusta kayo?” Si Deej talaga.

ASAP 18 backstage earlier this year.  

Now, I am so privileged na maging part muli ng next serye nila ni Kathryn, ang “Got To Believe”. Ang laking blessing na for me na makasama noon sa “Princess And I”, for my first show, then nasundan pa nito. Dito sa new serye, we are seeing a new Kathryn, and a new Daniel, and we are all so excited about it. Sa PAI, nakita na natin that Deej can really act – a leading man in the making. Most likely, if we play our cards right, dito sa “Got To Believe” maso-solidify as he portrays a role na ibang-iba kay Gino. ‘Yan ang dapat niyong abangan soon!

To be part of Daniel Padilla’s showbiz journey is something I will forever be proud of. Pagdating ng panahon na siya na ang biggest star ng industriya, I can proudly say, “I’ve worked with Daniel Padilla in two shows!” And when I tell my anak and mga apo (if magkaroon man) this, I will say with much pride, “that’s the story of Daniel, and I.”