YOUNG actor Beaver Magtalas, who gets his first starring role in his sophomore outing, ‘When Magic Hurts,’ is thankful for the chance to get to know actress Claudine Barretto, off-camera.

Claudine is part of the cast of When Magic Hurts, where she plays the mother of young actress Mutya Orquia, Beaver’s love interest.

“We didn’t have scenes together,” Beaver granted. “But most of our interaction was off-camera. On my rest day, Miss Claudine was the one filming. I was able to witness how great an actress she is.”

Initially, Beaver and Claudine didn’t have a chance to talk at length. “But when we did, I realized she really is a very nice person.”

Claudine is all praise for Beaver, who displayed his innate acting talent in When Magic Hurts. “Gwapong-gwapo ang bata at kitang kita naman,” she remarked. “Hindi lang siya pang matinee idol. He’s very versatile.

“’Yung mga nakaka-trabaho ko lately, even sa Lovers and Liars (GMA 7), ang gagaling nila talaga. Good job ‘yan, Beaver. Maraming gwapo at maganda pero wala ‘yung X-factor. Si Beaver, meron nu’n. Maybe he still needs to build up his confidence.”

Beaver, meanwhile, is very thankful to Claudine for noticing his acting skills. She even compared him to John Lloyd Cruz.

“It was very surreal when Miss Claudine compared me with John Lloyd,” said Beaver. “I’m really a fan of John Lloyd even before. Hopefully, I can really live up to something like that.

“One of my assignments with Direk Gabby before we started shooting, was to watch a lot of movies. I really got inspiration from veteran actors in my acting.

“I improved myself a lot more. Miss Claudine’s words are so inspiring. I know that even after this film, I will still be in the industry.

“With my acting, I still have a lot to learn a lot. Looking forward to it, I want to see that I will stay in this industry.”

Beaver was really inspired to star in When Magic Hurts. He wasn’t pressured to act in the film.

“I’m more inspired,” he said. “I’m so happy that people believe in me that I can do certain things, especially to act. That inspired me to do better. I’m pressured a bit but it’s more of inspiration.”

In only his second film, after Genius Teens, Beaver learned professionalism with the stars he worked with.

“Being polite, being on time, being humble, those are important values that are really important,” Beaver said. “In terms of my growth, I was really a shy boy before. I couldn’t speak in front of people. But I am learning to adjust.”

Claudine pleased to bond with Dennis

CLAUDINE Barretto was pleased that she got to talk with her erstwhile brother-in-law, Dennis Padilla, who is in the cast of director Gabby Ramos’ romance-comedy, ‘When Magic Hurts.’

Claudine and Dennis got to bond together last year in the shoot amid the typhoon in Atok, Benguet, without any electricity.

“Sobrang saya namin ni Kuya Dennis,” Claudine shared. “Kung ano ‘yung relationship namin dati, parang hindi nagbago. Also, we had a chance to talk about the past and about our children.

“Sobra akong happy that we got a chance to talk at length dahil naka lock-in kami sa shoot. It was our first time to work on the big screen, although we previously worked on TV sa Star Drama Presents Claudine.

“We shared hot chocolate, coffee while talking. Ang sarap lang mag-reminisce ng pinagdaanan namin. ‘Yung mga years that we failed to catch up at wala kaming alam sa mga nangyari.”