Director John Lapus on casting JC de Vera in ‘Boyfriend No. 13’: ‘Ilalaban ko talaga siya’

Rhea Manila Santos

When he signed on to direct the digital series Boyfriend No. 13, John Lapus said he was happy to also be part of the casting process which led to him having his two lead actors JC de Vera and JC Santos working together for the first time onscreen. Direk John recalled pushing for them both to be the leading men of Sue Ramirez in WeTV Philippines’ latest romantic comedy. “I trusted the process. Ako naman ay nagsu-suggest suggest lang ng mga input ko as a writer and as director and as an actor as well. Like pagdating sa casting, when they presented to me the storyline and the script, given na si Sue at si JC Santos. So talagang nahihirapan kami sa role ni doc Don Lee. So sabi ko sa kanila para tapos na, mag-JC de Vera na lang tayo. Pagsamahin na natin yung dalawang JC na pilit na iniiwasan ng mga production kasi magkapangalan sila. So it worked.“Kung makikita niyo sila pag pinanuod niyo ito, makikita niyo na magkaibang magkaiba silang dalawa and this is exactly the kind of characters and actors na kailangan na kailangan sa script na ‘to.“So as the character of Kimverly ay malito na how come ma-i-in love siya sa dalawang magkaibang tao na magkaiba ang ugali, magkaiba ang itsura, bakit ako na-i-in love sa kanilang pareho? Wala silang common. Yun ang justification when it comes to love and soulmate. Yung character ni Sue dalawang taong magkaiba tapos na-in love ka sa pareho at nalilito ka ngayon kung sino ang mamahalin mo. And I believe na lahat ng tao dumaan tayo sa ganyan,” he explained.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/6/29/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-on-the-popularity-of-bl-series-pangar-194293'>READ: John Lapus on the popularity of BL series: ‘Pangarap ko rin makagawa’</a>When it came to asking permission from Star Magic in order to get JC de Vera on board, direk John said he was very determined.“Kailangan ko magpaalam sa isang network na si JC has a contract with. Naka-standby ako na pagka hindi siya pinayagan, tatawagan ko ang kataas taasan ng network na yun makuha lang namin si JC de Vera. Ilalaban ko talaga siya na nag-agree naman ang buong production. So nung nakuha na namin si JC, sabi ko nga tapos na. Eh di okay na kami. Pagdating sa supporting cast parang pinasok na lang ng tadhana na siya talaga ito, siya pasok dito. Tapos feeling ko perfect yung pagpasok ng casting, dun pa lang yun ang basically pagsimula ng isang production eh, na pag flawless yun, everything will come into order and yun ang nangyari sa amin,” he explained.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2018/10/8/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-tatalikuran-na-nga-ba-ang-pag-arte-49175'>READ: John Lapus, tatalikuran na nga ba ang pag-arte?</a>For his lead star Sue Ramirez, the Boyfriend No. 13 director explained that her character is a romantic woman who believes in looking for signs when it comes to finding true love.“Isa siyang babae na napaka mapamahiin. Naniniwala siya sa mga stars at sa mga signs. She also feels and believes na ang kanyang true love ay darating while believing in those things. Extreme talaga yung character ni Sue na si Kim. Kasi maliban sa nalilito siya, iba iba rin yung mga ways niya to figure out who really is the man for her. Kaya yun yung exciting part, madadala namin kayo sa paano ginawa ni Kimverly kung paano siya nakarating sa dulo,” he said.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2019/3/24/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-directs-maymay-entratas-latest-mmk-pro-35221'>READ: John Lapus directs Maymay Entrata’s latest MMK project</a>Watch Sue Ramirez, JC Santos, and JC de Vera in the WeTV Philippines original series Boyfriend No. 13 on WeTV Philippines. Directed by John “Sweet” Lapus.

“So as the character of Kimverly ay malito na how come ma-i-in love siya sa dalawang magkaibang tao na magkaiba ang ugali, magkaiba ang itsura, bakit ako na-i-in love sa kanilang pareho? Wala silang common. Yun ang justification when it comes to love and soulmate. Yung character ni Sue dalawang taong magkaiba tapos na-in love ka sa pareho at nalilito ka ngayon kung sino ang mamahalin mo. And I believe na lahat ng tao dumaan tayo sa ganyan,” he explained.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2021/6/29/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-on-the-popularity-of-bl-series-pangar-194293'>READ: John Lapus on the popularity of BL series: ‘Pangarap ko rin makagawa’</a>When it came to asking permission from Star Magic in order to get JC de Vera on board, direk John said he was very determined.“Kailangan ko magpaalam sa isang network na si JC has a contract with. Naka-standby ako na pagka hindi siya pinayagan, tatawagan ko ang kataas taasan ng network na yun makuha lang namin si JC de Vera. Ilalaban ko talaga siya na nag-agree naman ang buong production. So nung nakuha na namin si JC, sabi ko nga tapos na. Eh di okay na kami. Pagdating sa supporting cast parang pinasok na lang ng tadhana na siya talaga ito, siya pasok dito. Tapos feeling ko perfect yung pagpasok ng casting, dun pa lang yun ang basically pagsimula ng isang production eh, na pag flawless yun, everything will come into order and yun ang nangyari sa amin,” he explained.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2018/10/8/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-tatalikuran-na-nga-ba-ang-pag-arte-49175'>READ: John Lapus, tatalikuran na nga ba ang pag-arte?</a>For his lead star Sue Ramirez, the Boyfriend No. 13 director explained that her character is a romantic woman who believes in looking for signs when it comes to finding true love.“Isa siyang babae na napaka mapamahiin. Naniniwala siya sa mga stars at sa mga signs. She also feels and believes na ang kanyang true love ay darating while believing in those things. Extreme talaga yung character ni Sue na si Kim. Kasi maliban sa nalilito siya, iba iba rin yung mga ways niya to figure out who really is the man for her. Kaya yun yung exciting part, madadala namin kayo sa paano ginawa ni Kimverly kung paano siya nakarating sa dulo,” he said.<a href='https://push.abs-cbn.com/2019/3/24/fresh-scoops/john-lapus-directs-maymay-entratas-latest-mmk-pro-35221'>READ: John Lapus directs Maymay Entrata’s latest MMK project</a>Watch Sue Ramirez, JC Santos, and JC de Vera in the WeTV Philippines original series Boyfriend No. 13 on WeTV Philippines. Directed by John “Sweet” Lapus.

When he signed on to direct the digital series Boyfriend No. 13, John Lapus said he was happy to also be part of the casting process which led to him having his two lead actors JC de Vera and JC Santos working together for the first time onscreen. Direk John recalled pushing for them both to be the leading men of Sue Ramirez in WeTV Philippines’ latest romantic comedy. “I trusted the process. Ako naman ay nagsu-suggest suggest lang ng mga input ko as a writer and as director and as an actor as well. Like pagdating sa casting, when they presented to me the storyline and the script, given na si Sue at si JC Santos. So talagang nahihirapan kami sa role ni doc Don Lee. So sabi ko sa kanila para tapos na, mag-JC de Vera na lang tayo. Pagsamahin na natin yung dalawang JC na pilit na iniiwasan ng mga production kasi magkapangalan sila. So it worked.“Kung makikita niyo sila pag pinanuod niyo ito, makikita niyo na magkaibang magkaiba silang dalawa and this is exactly the kind of characters and actors na kailangan na kailangan sa script na ‘to.

‘Boyfriend No. 13’ director John Lapus talks about casting JC de Vera and JC Santos in their first project together.

Director John Lapus on casting JC de Vera in ‘Boyfriend No. 13’: ‘Ilalaban ko talaga siya’ | PUSH.COM.PH