Rhian Ramos on first sex scene with Piolo Pascual: ‘Inalalayan niya talaga ako’

As part of this year's Cinemalaya film festival closing film Silong, Rhian Ramos admitted she got to experience a lot of “firsts” doing the film. It is her first time to be partnered with Kapamilya actor Piolo Pascual and also her first time to do a bed scene onscreen. Rhian admitted it didn't take much to convince her to accept the indie project. “They sent me the script and siguro two days later I said, 'I want to do this movie!' I enjoyed doing this movie. It was a lot of self-discovery and I guess it also made us friends and pretty close so that usually happens when you know we've been through a lot (laughs). Whenever I read script, my test for it is that if I can predict the ending then parang ayoko na lang but this one really surprised me and I'm not as smart as I thought I was (laughs),” she shared.

The Kapuso actress said this was a golden opportunity for her to expand her acting prowess. Directors Jeffrey Hidalgo and Roy Sevilla Ho said that the role was specifically written with her in mind. “Of course I'm flattered. I didn't know naman if I was the first choice or whatever, I just knew that if I get an opportunity like this I'm going to grab it. It's just much more adventurous than other roles I've done and I wanted to take the opportunity to explore as an actor. I just like doing things that I haven't done before. My character's name is Valerie. In the start of the film, Miguel (Piolo Pascual) will find me crossing the road asking for help and tutulungan niya ako because wala siyang time to ask questions. And then he'll later on figure out that I'm running from a dark past. As you can see both characters are very imperfect. Most of the time kasi we don't get the opportunity to play that kind of role in TV or in mainstream cinema so when I read the script, halfway through I felt like alam ko na kung saan papunta ito ganyan, ganyan tapos pagdating dun sa ending iba. Ay gusto ko ito (laughs). Gusto ko na gawin,” she admitted.

The movie was shot for ten days mostly in one location in Batangas which Rhian said was a good experience. “It's a romance thriller and there are very, very few cast members. It all takes place in one house. We're going to keep people guessing because halfway through baka akala nila alam na nila yung mangyayari and then mali pala. It's nice to do something very, very different and new. I don't know maybe also because it's just not the kind of role na madalas sinusulat eh yung mga ganyang klaseng roles. A lot of the time naman ‘pag may nakita kayong artista, you already have a perception of them based on the characters they play kasi most of the time we're acting, it's not mostly interviews di ba? You don't get to see the real person. So it was really, really a leap of faith because I hadn't done it. I didn't know what to expect by the end. I didn't know if I would pull it off or not. I still don't (laughs) but I was happy,” she said.

With the filmmakers still shopping around for a distributor for commercial release, Rhian said she hopes more people can watch Silong and her intimate scenes with Piolo which she admitted took some motivation for her to do. “I demanded wine. That's all I did (laughs). I told them, 'Okay, you just have to tell me what day it is and just bring a bottle of wine for me. That's it and I will try to be as brave as I can.' (laughs) Because in the script the way it's written pa lang it was very sexy na already. So reading it felt like a romance novel so I had to prepare and it worked out. I felt like dun sa kuwento necessary yun. The characters were falling in love eh and it was a symbol of how much they really trusted each other. So hindi siya parang pangdagdag, pang-marketing. Di ba minsan kasi may nababasa akong love scene na ganun kaya ayoko. Kaya hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa nagagawa. Pero when I read this, pagbasa mo pa lang alam mo ng necessary eh. So if I'm going to have my first love scene then it's going to be for that reason,” she explained.

Rhian admitted that Piolo made the experience a whole lot easier for her to do. “Good. We got along kasi right away. The whole shoot was good. We all became friends very fast. All I can say is Piolo is really a gentleman because there were times in the movie where I needed a lot of help and so I asked for it and inalalayan niya talaga ako. For some reason we just easily became open with each other and I think that also helped us onscreen. Definitely there's really something about the way he carries himself that's so dapper and smooth and confident but with that kind, humble. You know when he talks to you he's always very kind and humble. So definitely I see the thing his (former) leading ladies are talking about (laughs),” she added.

Now that she has delved into more mature and complex roles, Rhian said she has no regrets regardless what critics have to say. “I don't know. It's going to be an adventure for me just the showing of the film just because I don't know how people will react. I think they're more used to me being a certain way or they had expectations already of me so I don't know kung anong magiging opinion nila. Is this the genre for her or whatever? Pero I hope to never be just confimed in one genre. I want to do a lot of things,” she admitted.

Silong will be shown as the closing film in the Cinemalaya 2015 on August 14. Starring Piolo Pascual, Rhian Ramos, and Guji Lorenzana. Directed by Jeffrey Hidalgo and Roy Sevilla Ho under Black Maria Pictures and SQ Film Laboratories.