Actors River Joseph and CJ Salonga showcased their bravery in their recent appearance in The Iron Heart. Watch this episode of Kapamilya Chat where they talked about their experience immersing in the action genre.

In case you missed it, The Iron Heart’s current story arc is on Echo (Diether Ocampo)’s narcotics operations that involve the distribution of a drug-infused vape juice in his club, in which the patrons are young groups including Carl (River) and Lex (CJ)’s squad. The gentlemen described their characters as typical irresponsible guys partying non-stop to fill in the lack of parental affection. They had to put an air of haughtiness into their roles.

In the recent episode, the drug disrupted the clubgoers’ sanity, resulting in killings inside the club, and unfortunately, Carl and Lex were among the casualties. That sounds intense. It really is, as well as exciting, according to the actors.

They credit the stunt directors for really helping them in that scene like teaching them the proper way to jerk when shot. “Akala ko visual effects lang ‘yung blood pero hindi pala. Totoong may sasabog talaga. Ako, natamaan ako dito [back]. I was connected to wires tapos sasabog ‘yun when they press it. It was fun. Ang hirap rin kasi when I got shot, my eyes were open, so I had it to keep it open rin, hindi pwede mag-blink, at bawal huminga,” shared River, amazed by the whole experience.

For CJ, who is admittedly a ‘basagulero’ in the past, recalled how it feels like when provoked into a fight. “Pero hindi na po ako gano’n,” he clarified.

That’s not the case for River, though, as he’s ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ in real life, “Mahirap para sa akin magalit, eh. Hindi ako sumisigaw. I’m not the type to lash out or really put out my anger there kaya very challenging itong role na ito kasi lahat ng eksena kailangan galit. And not just galit, but one level higher pa ng anger.” He said the directors helped them evoke arrogance in their portrayal. He and CJ would have a staring showdown and push each other before takes just to get the feel of their characters.

The Rise artists shared that they didn’t have much time to prepare as they were immediately asked to fly to Cebu for taping. They didn’t even know they were castmates and roommates, thus they were relieved and excited upon seeing each other in the bubble.

The more senior actors like Richard Gutierrez and Jake Cuenca were also warm toward them, though they didn’t have much time mingling with them as they were in separate units. They bonded more with the younger cast members like Anthony Jennings and Louise Abuel, whom they shared scenes with.

CJ is looking forward to taking on more action projects in the future, while River doesn’t mind dabbling in different genres including horror and rom-com.

Looking into the moral aspect of the story, they thought their characters were given a satisfying punishment. They admitted that kids nowadays can be easily swayed into risky behavior, but they can say ‘no’ by having “a strong mental state,” said River. “It’s okay to party. It’s okay to go out with friends but always know who you’re surrounding yourselves with. Make sure it’s people you trust and make sure it’s your friends talaga,” he added. CJ echoed the same sentiment to choose friends wisely and, more importantly, be self-aware enough.

Asked their lessons learned from their characters, CJ related, “’Yung pagiging maangas na wala ng limitation, ikakamatay din kasi minsan natin ‘yun. Huwag tayong masyadong maangas.” As for River, “Be careful who you surround yourself with. Be careful what to take. Make sure you know your limits, and huwag magdala ng baril sa isang club. Violence is never the answer.”

Catch The Iron Heart, weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5 and A2Z.