MARCO GALLO was discovered in PBB 7 in 2016 which he joined when he was only a 16-year old balikbayan from Italy. His tandem as teen housemates with Heaven Peralejo gained a lot of fans, but they traversed different paths after PBB.
He got to do some shows with ABS-CBN, but he moved to Viva Artists Agency where he was given more exposure.
With Viva, he got to a lot of movies where he played the lead role, like “Kitty K7”, “Ang Manananggal na Nahahati ang Puso”, “Rooftop” and “Gluta”, plus the series “Di Na Muli”.
Now, he stars in a big new series, “The Rain in Espana”, to be shown via streaming on Viva One starting May 1.
And the fans of his love team with Heaven are jubilant as they are paired in the series doing the lead roles of Luna and Kalix. How did he feel when he learned that Viva is pairing him with Heaven in “The Rain in Espana”?
“I was really surprised but also I got excited to see her again since we lost connection after PBB,” he says.
“I did like her at the time. She was my crush. But we lost track of each other.
"I was happy to see her again sa Viva kasi we were teenagers then, and now, we’re both a bit more mature.”
So how is it acting with Heaven and not just doing a reality show?
“Working with her is probably the best work I’ve ever done as it didn’t even really feel like work. We had fun. She’s very professional and we’re both serious even in our rehearsing of our scenes together.
"We’re not just playing around on the set as we both really want to give the best that we could to make the show work.
"I’m really happy that I got to work with her in ‘The Rain in Espana’.”
So how different is it compared to the time they were in PBB?
“While working with her, I saw different sides of her that I never knew before and I like it.
"She was so supportive and that is very important for me as I don’t like having drama on the set and we all get to work well together with the big cast.
"We had a happy set and I enjoyed my time with Heaven and also all the cast members, specially Andre Yllana and Frost Sandoval who play my best friends in the story. We even got to all work out together.”
We turn to Heaven and ask her about her experience working with Marco as her leading man?
“Masaya rin akong siya ang nakapareha ko rito. Kung iba siguro, baka parang may kulang.
"Sa story kasi, we come from different schools. Ako, architecture student sa UST at siya naman, law student sa Ateneo.
"Hindi kami magkasundo at first, then naging kami, but later on, we break, we got our degrees, then we meet again years later nang pareho na kaming working professionals.
"Nagtulungan kami sa roles and scenes namin together.”
She and Marco got to know each other better while shooting the ten-episode series.
“Inaalagaan niya talaga ako during the shoot. When you don’t know him, you’d think sobrang serious siya as a person.
"Yun kasi ang aura, ang dating niya. But once you get to know him, kapag nakuha mo na yung kiliti niya, magkakasundo kayo.
"We had our own private jokes, inside jokes and there were times on the set that we cannot act properly during a take kasi tawa kami nang tawa. Ang saya lang talaga.”
Their director, Ted Boborol, says that they watched old video clips of their stint in PBB and it was very revealing.
“May instance pala na iniyak ni Marco si Heaven at may halikang naganap sa kanila. Their first kiss.
"So noong magsimula kami ng taping, lahat kaming kasama nila sa cast, sobrang tuksuhan sa kanila. Tinutukso namin sila sa kissing scene nila.
"And during the shoot, napansin ko, may something na nade-develop. Kaya tiyak na kikiligin ang fans nila when they watch ‘The Rain in Espana’.”
So what can Heaven and Marco say about this observation of their director?
“Yes, it’s true,” says Heaven. “Compared noon sa PBB, I can say mas deeper ang emotions that we feel now. Mas lumalim ang friendship namin.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s probably true,” Marco agrees. “But I prefer to take it slow.
"At this point, we’re just happy that we got the chance to work together and we’re really enjoying our time together.
"So don’t forget to watch ‘The Rain in Espana’ when it starts streaming on Viva One on May1. We assure you that it’s going to be worthwhile."
