Kapamilya stars Charlie Dizon, Kira Balinger, and Maika Rivera found both excitement and challenges in portraying their respective characters in the ABS-CBN series The Loyalty Game: Level Up.
In an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Kira opened up about taking on the role of Angel, a loyalty tester whose life experiences are far different from her own.
“There's no similarities with my character here sa The Loyalty Game and sa [The Secrets of] Hotel 88. They're very, very different. Si Trixie kasi sa Hotel 88, she's very mayaman, like businesswoman. Dito sa The Loyalty Game, si Angel, estudyante pa lang po siya and she's not mayaman. Kaya niya po napasukan itong loyalty tester para kumita siya ng sarili niyang pera,” Kira said.
Kira found Angel challenging because of the painful experiences her character had gone through.
“I also found it challenging indeed dito kay Angel sa The Loyalty Game. Kasi her experience is very, very far from mine in real life. She's a victim of domestic violence. So ako as an actor, I was wondering to myself, how do I even begin to put myself in the shoes of somebody who experienced that? So that was very challenging for me,” she said.
To better understand Angel’s experiences, Kira took the time to learn from real-life survivors and victims of domestic abuse, sharing: “Kailangan ko munang manood ng mga YouTube videos about real survivors or victims of domestic abuse. Sharing their experiences, what they felt like. So yun talaga yung nakatulong sa akin.”
Charlie, meanwhile, expressed her excitement over finally getting the chance to portray Regina, a character she admitted was once among the roles she was most afraid to take on.
“Actually, super happy na bag ko tong role na to. Kasi di siya madali. And honestly, ito yung isa sa pinakainiiwasan ko dating character. Parang isa siya sa pinakakinakatakotutak ko na gampanan. And finally, naibigay na siya sa akin at nagampanan ko na siya,” Charlie said.
The actress also admitted that taking on emotionally heavy characters one after another can be exhausting, especially after her previous series What Lies Beneath.
“Sana huwag naman magkakasunod kasi medyo hirap talaga,” Charlie said. “Oo, sobrang nakakaubos siya na energy. So sana medyo may magawa muna akong iba ulit. Tapos sana makabalik din ako sa mga ganitong character na ganito kabigat, ganito ka loaded,” she shared.
Maika, on the other hand, shared how the cast and crew made an effort to help one another step away from their characters whenever they were on a break.
“Minsan nga nagkaka-identity crisis. Kaya nga sila, Kuya (Jericho Rosales), as they mentioned na nagpapagpag sila. Kailangan kasi talaga yun kasi you really have to embody the character para maging natutuhanan siya,” Maika said.
She also opened up about how she personally gets back to reality after being fully immersed in her character.
“When I'm locked in, like focused on taping, I tend to steer away from things that bring me back to reality which is good food, good music, anything that I indulge personally. So kung nandun ako sa character ko, tinatanggal ko talaga lahat iyon and I focus on ano bang nangyayari sa taong 'to sa series. And then nagpapagpag ako by eating what I like, doing what I love, working out after,” she said.
Starring Jericho Rosales, Janine Gutierrez, Carmina Villarroel, Yen Santos, Sofia Andres, Charlie, Maika, and Kira, The Loyalty Game: Level Up airs on ALLTV2, A2Z, TV5, Kapamilya Channel, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) on Facebook and YouTube.
The series is also available on TFC, while iWant viewers can stream episodes seven days ahead of their television airing.
The Loyalty Game: Level Up first aired on Prime, where it became one of the top series on the streaming platform.