Rhian and JC are first-time screen partners in new romance flick

When the film, “Meg and Ryan” was offered to Rhian Ramos and JC Santos in 2023, they readily gave their nod to the project which marks the first time they are working together for the big screen.

At the helm of the film is director Catherine Camarillo, who megged previous romantic stories like “Chances You and I” and “That Kind of Love,” both shown in 2024 under the family-owned Pocket Media Productions.

Rhian liked the character of Meg Zamonte right away in “Meg and Ryan.” The character has been struggling with her drinking problem since she was 18.

“I felt like Meg is very relatable, especially nowadays,” Rhian told The Philippine STAR. “People are always struggling to find themselves. Everyone is so aware about mental health these days.”

“Everyone is constantly examining themselves and trying to heal their inner child and get over their traumas. I feel that’s Meg’s struggle also. She is focusing on finding herself, but she also found someone who can love her for who she is. She also discovered what is lovable about her.”

Even if she’s busy with other projects, Rhian has never confused one role from the other. “The ones I get are far from each other,” she pointed out. “Meg is far from Mitena (in ‘Encantadia’).”

“There are flaws and weaknesses, like the other characters I played in the past. I didn’t particularly have a hard time looking for that because everyone deals with their own hurts and pains in a different way.

“I was also really surprised since it was my first time working with direk Catherine. The whole production went to great lengths to make the film visually stunning.

“In terms of the amount of time the production spent on a scene and the equipment that they were willing to get and used in the shoot. It was not something that you usually see in every film. Good things really take time.”

She has the most difficult role, according to JC. “Rhian’s character (Meg) is undergoing a different, complex stage,” he said.

Since “Meg and Ryan” wrapped up in 2023, JC insisted the longer they made the film, the better it became.

“I believe that the longer you prepared, the better it became,” he said.

He is thankful that Rhian accepted the project, their first time to work together on the big screen.

Working with Rhian was an enjoyable experience for JC. “It was so effortless working with her,” he said. “I’m really glad I was able to work with her and the good thing is, she’s okay with me. She gave her soul here in this film.

“I am not an A-list actor. I’m one of those who’s too mainstream for indie and too indie for mainstream. Sometimes, I think what my leading lady would think when she’s with me.

“I’m happy and glad that I got to work with Rhian. She’s been in the business for a while. She knows her medium. But I know being her leading man, I still need to take care of her, support her and make her look good. That’s still my responsibility.”

JC admitted his character, Ryan Cañete, a 35-year-old virgin, is very challenging.

“Meg and Ryan” is not a rom-com, as JC pointed out. “There are funny moments and there are dramatic moments,” he said.

“He’s a humble guy,” Rhian described her co-star. “That’s rare. I was so excited to work with JC. He’s such a talented actor. You can really see it in all the films and stage plays that he does. He puts his heart and soul in every project.”

“Working with him, I was blessed to see that he’s not just an actor. He will really go the extra mile for his role. If there’s anything that he can contribute, aside from the acting, (it’s) moral support, more importantly. He even requested to write his own lines.

“He puts a lot of his heart into the role. That happens when you make a character real to you. If I were this person going through this, what do I need to say to this person? He would do all those extra things.”

JC acknowledged that in every film he does, there is always a challenge at hand. “I must say every film is always a challenge. Lagi akong nahihirapan.”

Meanwhile, Rhian also had her respective challenge playing Meg. “It’s a character,” she said. “You can relate to them but they’re also not true, so they are also going through things that you haven’t done yet.”

“Looking through that, when you go through the unknown, you just kind of hope. There’s a part of it where you prepare and you have a planned attack, but there’s another half of it where you have to be willing to throw that out of the window at any point and just do the unknown thing.

“In fairness to direk Catherine, she’s very particular. She knows what she wants to see before she films any scene. She would correct my attack. If the scene needed another take or three other takes, we could spend time on that scene until she gets the right scene.”

JC sees Rhian doing her scenes “effortlessly,” although he had no idea how she achieved that effective acting.

Personally, JC recalled what happened to him when he was in second grade and his mom made him commute to school when he was still in the province in Angeles, Pampanga where he grew up.

“She made me write the jeep, but when I got home, I was crying because I lost my money,” he shared. “The driver didn’t give me any change after I paid. But my mom said, ‘Okay lang ‘yan. Patay lang ang walang problema.’

“I remembered that all the time. When there’s a problem, that’s part of the process. That was one of the challenges.”

“Meg and Ryan” will start its regular theater run on Aug. 6.