Daniel & Kathryn a perfect match

When Daniel Padilla in a matter of two years became the most popular teener at the age of 19, his relations were not surprised, least of all his uncle Robin Padilla, until then the most popular Padilla in show business. “Hindi ko kaya ’yan,” quipped Robin. After all, the Padillas have always been in show business, showbiz royalty is what they are called today.

Daniel has accumulated a multitude of fans who gather around him and would virtually kiss the ground he walks on. We only got to be aware of him when we watched the telenovela Princess & I where Enrique Gil, Khalil Ramos and Daniel were rivals for the heart of Kathryn Bernardo. Eventually, Daniel won her heart and to this day, they have remained together as KathNiel to their fans.

Born Daniel Ford Padilla, the young man is a singer and recording artist, as well as bassist for his band Parking 5. According to Star Records, Daniel’s self-titled debut album sold more than 10,000 copies in less than a week and was given a Gold Record award.

On TV, he did Gimik and Growing Up between 2010-2012, joined ASAP in 2012, Got to Believe in 2013-2014, Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw in 2013 and Princess & I in 2012. In the movies, Daniel did Must Be Love, Sisterakas, Sa Ngalan ng Ama, Ina at mga Anak, Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay and the latest She’s Dating the Gangster.

There had been much discussion surrounding teen actors Daniel and Kathryn who starred in this movie adaptation directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina. There are those who have said that the concept didn’t fit the couple and their clean image. She’s Dating the Gangster first earned a following on the social media-publishing site Wattpad in 2006. The book became a bestseller in bookstores Powerbooks and National Bookstore after its release in March 2013 and a sale of over 50,000 copies.

According to direk Cathy what she wanted from Daniel and Kathryn was to achieve a certain maturity not yet seen in their earlier films. In an interview on Yes Magazine, Cathy admitted being on pins and needles during the shooting of the movie. She recalls giving the two young leads a talk prior to the filming which went as follows, “Ang longevity ng isang artista ay wala sa ganda o sa pagka-gwapo. Beauty fades away, pero yung galing sa pag-arte, para sa akin, iyon ang binabayaran. And for you to be worth watching, you have to give justice to the characters that you portray. Nakikinig naman sila. And I can see that they’re both learning, thinking and taking it all in.”

We watched the film She’s Dating the Gangster and found that both Daniel and Kathryn have indeed matured in their acting. Pretty soon, they will give a lot of other young stars a run for their money.

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