Diego Loyzaga is back with a new movie that tackles exes and closure, and where he and Julia Barretto showcase sizzling chemistry onscreen. In this episode of Kapamilya Chat, he shared more details about his film “Will You Be My Ex?”

But, before anything else, he opened up about his recent activities. He’s been flying back and forth from the Philippines to Australia in the past months. He was in Australia during this Zoom interview.

He shared that he’s busy promoting the film via virtual appearances. Outside work, he’s found a new hobby, which is scuba diving. He’s always been fond of water. He’d go to the beach and get intrigued watching scuba divers. So, there was one trip to Bohol where he finally decided to try the sport. He fell in love with it in an instant and he is now a certified scuba diver.

Excitement crackled in Diego’s life when he realized he must try new experiences while he is still young. “I might as well learn something new in my life, a new hobby, something that I can hold on and say na, ‘I tried this.’ If I like it, great. If I don’t like it, at least I tried it already. I’m getting old. I got to try new things,” he mused, adding that scuba diving is meant for the brave and adventurous.

It’s not that easy, especially for beginners. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll find a sense of liberation underwater. For Diego, scuba diving is his stress-reliever. He pressed that scuba diving requires training and certifications. He was initially torn between skydiving and scuba diving but thought the latter is more practical.

Unfortunately, he can’t be as active in Australia due to the freezing weather and lack of diving spots there. When it comes to marine life and beaches, he’d still go for the Philippines. He plans to explore famous diving spots in Cebu and Palawan soon.

Asked his tips to those interested in scuba diving, he imparted, “You know, try something new. Take risks.” He suggests exploring the beautiful diving spots in Bohol. “And maybe you’ll fall in love with it like how I fell in love with scuba diving,” said Diego.

The conversation went on, this time, Diego talked about his upcoming film, which the team and he finished pretty quickly, as in most movies these days. He liked the script upon the first read, thus he accepted the project right away.

When he learned that he was going to be paired with Julia, the first emotion he felt was “fear.”They’ve known each other since they were kids but they’ve never starred in the same movie before. “To be honest, I was scared. I was like, ‘I don’t want to mess up anything.’ I’m sure she has high expectations and I have to deliver,” he looked back.

His mind was filled with self-doubt and jitters that he couldn’t sleep the night before their first shooting. He remembers texting their director, Real Florido, at 4am: “Direk, hindi ako makatulog. Gusto mo punta na ako sa set diyan na ako magpahinga?”

He continued, “I was so nervous. It was like I was in my first year of being in showbiz again. My nerves got to me and I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t relax. May gano’n, eh, ‘yung first day mo, parang, pakiramdaman muna sa lahat kung paano ‘yung flow ng set.”

Since he struggled to fall asleep the night before, Diego arrived late on their first taping day. He was apologetic, and his offense added more to his anxiety. He felt more awkward. The good thing was the awkwardness worked to their advantage, as their first scene together coincided with their characters’ backstory.

Based on the trailer, Diego and Julia share heartbreaking and intimate scenes in the movie. What they did to prepare was pore over the script and use a technique they learned in this particular film. Then, they'd wait for Direk Real’s go signal. Diego and Julia would then ask for each other’s permission with the execution. It was a hundred percent teamwork.

After the first-day jitters comes the lovely part of shooting where everyone is already comfortable with each other, and work somewhat feels like play. Diego realized he got nervous for nothing since Julia is a sweetheart, as well as Bea Binene, whom he’s also working with for the first time.

“It was fun catching up with Julia,” he smiled. As showbiz royalties, they pretty much share many similarities and Diego is glad that they remain friends to this day. On the set, they were able to talk about their personal lives again.

In keeping with the movie’s theme, Diego was asked how he’d react should someone ask him, “Will you be my ex?” He answered that it depends on the context. The question, he believes, is what he would feel when a partner becomes an ex. According to Diego, he’d accept the breakup if it’s for the betterment of both camps, “If we’re going towards choosing positivity, then, yeah, sure.”

Asked a message to his ex, he stated, “Lahat naman ng pumapasok sa buhay natin, at one point, minahal natin ‘di ba? I think the best thing to do is wish them well. They came, they’re gone, but be a good person and always wish them the best.”

“So, sa lahat ng ex, I wish you the best,” said Diego.