Charlie Dizon and Joshua Garcia share valuable lessons from ‘Viral Scandal’

Scene from “Viral Scandal”

A solid support system is what a victim of a viral video scandal needs, according to actress Charlie Dizon, who portrayed a woman whose simple life was disrupted after experiencing this in the soap series “Viral Scandal.”

Charlie was asked in a recent virtual media conference to share what she learned after she played Rica Sicat in the series that aired its finale on May 13. The award-winning actress said: “Rica is so lucky to have her entire family backing her up. The scandal might have caused upset and disorder within the family but they remained complete in the end. I realized that a scandal does not only affect the victim, but also the community that he or she belongs to. The ideal thing is to make sure to surround the victim with love and understanding.”

Challenging

Joshua Garcia, who played Rica’s boyfriend Kyle, said that more than learning from his character, it was from the cast members that he got valuable lessons from. “It’s what they do each day in order to prepare for their characters that I appreciated. I’m happy to have had the chance to work with these actors. I’m thankful for what they shared with me in relation to their craft—the wisdom of my big sisters and brothers in the cast,” he pointed out.

“Of course, I still found working on the show quite challenging. In the days we spent inside the bubble taping for it, I had to express different emotions each day. That wasn’t easy,” Joshua added.

Joshua Garcia as Kyle Constantino

Charlie Dizon as Rica Sikat

Charlie also said doing the show was memorable for her. “I’ve had many firsts while doing ‘Fangirl.’ I learned a lot about myself while doing that project. It’s amazing to realize that I could still discover things about myself with ‘Viral.’ I felt really challenged by my character here.”

She added: “I’m just happy that with ‘Viral,’ I got to work with a team that’s passionate and giving. I’m looking forward to and feeling excited about what I will do next. I don’t know what to expect. I just want to be able to give my best. I’m hoping to play another remarkable role.”

The 26-year-old actress said she was also thankful to have been given the chance to work with Joshua as her leading man, as well as with Jameson Blake, who plays Axel, the other side of their love triangle.

“I’ve already worked with Jameson on several projects before but ‘Viral’ was my first with Joshua. I’m glad that people appreciate my team-up with him. I saw a lot of comments on social media from groups who claim to be part of Team Kyle or Team Axel. The two were both nice to me. I feel that I’ve grown closer to them because of ‘Viral,’” Charlie said.

Stronger person

Joshua agreed with her: “We got to share a lot of emotions because of our characters—that’s how we got really close. I feel happy, too, because when I’m outside I hear people calling me ‘Sir Kyle.’ They would also ask about Rica from me. I’m glad they were really focused on the show.”

Now that the show has concluded, Charlie said she has had time to reflect on her experience of being Rica. “I realized that I’ve changed so much because of ‘Viral.’ I felt like I’ve transformed into a stronger person, as well as someone with an open mind. I also became more conscious of what’s happening around me, and more aware of the current social issues. I’m proud to have been part of this program.” INQ