Paolo happy with his ‘first’

MANILA, Philippines — Paolo Contis never imagined that he would find himself tackling his first-ever lead role in the Viva Films and Octo Arts Films-produced romantic comedy Through Night and Day showing in cinemas starting today, with Alessandra de Rossi as his leading lady.    

This soon-to-be dad of three believes he is not the ideal leading man material.

In a pocket interview at GMA recently, Paolo related that even when he was just a newbie, the thought of being a leading man or matinee idol did not occur to him “because I was already busy that time. Ang sa akin work na lang talaga. And it doesn’t suit me well. I was more interested in playing villain roles. What really matters is, they trusted me. To be honest, ano ba naman ako? When it comes to work I always give my best. I don’t want to be pressured kasi baka pumasok sa ulo (ko), di ba? (I’ll just) treat it like a normal day.”

Paolo feels blessed that he has a job and would grab whatever is offered to him, especially since his girlfriend LJ Reyes is giving birth to their daughter in January 2019.

Asked if there’s pressure to equal, if not surpass, the box-office success of Alessandra and Empoy Marquez’s movie Kita-Kita, Paolo replied, “I can’t let it get into my head. Normally, you can’t help but feel the pressure and if you allow it, wala ka din namang magagawa e, di ba? What I do is just pray that people would appreciate it. Malay mo, minsan may tsamba-tsamba naman yan, e. If not, at least they were able to watch it and that would still be a big thing (for us).”

Directed by Veronica Velasco, Through Night and Day is a love story of an engaged couple, Ben and Jen, who embarks on a trip of a lifetime to Jen’s life-long dream destination — Iceland. Their relationship is put to the test as all sorts of misfortune happen to them on this trip, mostly caused by Jen’s blunders. What they hope to be a trip that will make their relationship stronger ends up tearing them apart.

Meanwhile, opening on Nov. 28 is a comedy film titled Ang Pangarap Kong Holdap, where Paolo will also be starring in with Pepe Herrera, Jerald Napoles and Jelson Bay. Produced by Miss Chief Films and helmed by Marius Talampas, the film is about the misadventures of a group of hold-uppers.

Asked how it feels to have back-to-back movies in a single month, Paolo said in jest, “I call it a Paolo Contis festival, hahaha!” quickly adding, “I’m happy because it’s been a while since I had my last movie, and my roles are very significant in these films. Sobrang gusto ko yung parehong projects and I’m so excited that I am part of both films.”