Paolo Contis reveals 3 cool things about filming ’Through Night and Day’

"Through Night and Day" took Netflix Philippines by storm, first settling into the #2 spot of the list of most watched titles on the weekend the movie became available for streaming. It soon bumped up to the top spot, where it still is, as of writing.

Paolo Contis, who headlines the movie together with Alessandra de Rossi, was especially thrilled. On "Unang Hirit" Thursday, the Kapuso comedian thanked everybody for making the Pinoy film a giant success and revealed some fun facts about it.

1. Paolo was part of the crew

In "Through Night and Day," Paolo Contis and Alessandra de Rossi play an engaged couple who go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Iceland.

Since filming in a foreign country takes a lot of work from a crew — not to mention all those scenes on top of mountains, craters and waterfalls — Paolo was happy to lend them a hand.

"Syempre, 'pag nag-shu-shooting kayo sa ibang bansa, tulong-tulong na 'yan. Medyo hindi nakikita ng mga tao, nagbubuhat ako ng ilaw papunta sa location, kaya sobrang saya," the actor said.

2. Some lines were improvised

Like many people who loved the film, "Igan" Arnold Clavio was curious as to how Paolo and Alessandra pulled off those romantic and dramatic scenes so organically.

It turns out that Director Ronnie Velasco gave the two of them a lot of freedom when it came to delivering their lines.

"Actually, thankful kami kay Direk Ronnie," Paolo said.

"Noong bago pa lang kami magsimula ng shooting, nakita na ni Direk Ronnie na hindi ako sumusunod na dialogue talaga, kung anu-ano 'yung sinasabi ko, so sabi niya sa'kin, 'Bahala ka na nga, walang point na mag-reading tayo, bahala na kayo. Tas ganu'n din naman si Alex eh," he explained.

"Ang hirap lang pag nagte-take 2 or nag-iiba ng shot, ang hirap nung continuation, kasi iba na naman 'yung sasabihin namin the next [take], so medyo mahirap, pero naging natural talagang tignan diyan," Paolo added.

3. They were freezing the entire time

"Through Night and Day" was shot in Baguio and Iceland, where it was so cold Paolo and Alessandra had trouble getting their lines across without their teeth chattering.

"'Yung mga dialogue namin, kailangan hindi nanginginig. Negative 10 [degrees] kami nung nagshu-shooting…may mga times na di-nub na namin. Gano'n kami mag-dialogue" Paolo said, pretending to jitter.

Paolo also made the mistake of bringing only one piece of proper "heat tech" winter wear to Iceland, but it got so cold that he ended up wearing several layers of clothing.

"Ang mali ko lang, kasi madalas naman akong nakapag-America na lamig, so feeling ko kaya ko na sa isang heat tech, feeling ko kaya na 'yon, 'yun lang yung baon ko, so pagdating ko, medyo nakakanginig siya," the actor recalled.

"'Yung mga suot ko, dalawang maong. Daming medyas, paulit ulit na. Tsaka bihira akong maligo, ang lamig!"

“Through Night and Day” was released in theaters in 2018 and only became available on Netflix last weekend.

It not only topped the video streaming's charts but also trended on Twitter.

Paolo and Alessanda took to social media to thank their supporters, as Paolo's girlfriend LJ Reyes expressed pride for her boyfriend. 

"Hindi ko akalain na dadami pa pala yung fans ko habang quarantine, pero maraming maraming salamat sa pagsuporta niyo sa pelikula. Kahit huli man, okay lang," Paolo joked during the live interview.

"Goal ko lang naman ay maraming makapanuod. And so, thank you. Sana manood pa kayo, manood pa kayo ng mga Pinoy films," he added. — Margaret Claire Layug/LA, GMA News