In the nearly a decade of being in the entertainment industry, Charlie Dizon, or April Matienzo-Aquino in real life, has already been able to make her mark through her notable acting performances both on television and in film—a couple of which even brought her a slew of best actress nominations and recognitions.
And we’re about to see her top-caliber acting chops again in the upcoming ABS-CBN Studios series “What Lies Beneath,” wherein she’s surely going to impress us anew with her portrayal of one of the lead characters, Beth Sevilla-Mora. But prior to that, let us first revisit via this Kapamilya Spotlight feature the previous acting foray of Charlie on television that helped shape her into becoming the actress that she is at present.
Not a lot of people may know, but her acting career actually started in 2017 when she was cast not just in one, but three Star Cinema flicks, namely, “Finally Found Someone,” “Seven Sundays,” and “Loving in Tandem.”
The following year, she was introduced by Star Magic as one of the thirteen aspiring actors that formed the 2018 Star Magic Circle.
It was also in that same year when she had her teleserye debut via the fantasy-action series “Bagani,” taking on the role of Marikit, a young yet feisty pirate from the Farm Region. She then had her first appearance in the legal drama anthology “Ipaglaban Mo” via the “Kakampi” episode that was headlined by Maris Racal and Mary Joy Apostol.
Charlie went on to score her first-ever “Maalaala Mo Kaya” stint through the “Choir” episode in 2019 and get cast in the weekly fantasy drama “Parasite Island,” which provided her the opportunity to further exhibit her promising acting potential through her character Princess Salvacion. She also starred in the “Wittyrella” narrative of the iWant original anthology miniseries “Touch Screen,” which highlights the way technology impacts the modern world.
Her appearance in the 2020 action-drama series “A Soldier’s Heart” was arguably her biggest TV breakthrough, as her scenes with onscreen partner Nash Aguas were among the most-watched clips from the series. Their unexpected team-up as Isabel Gezali and Sgt. Michael Mendoza indeed brought kilig to the viewers.
In 2020, Charlie snagged her first-ever Best Actress award for her notable performance in the Metro Manila Film Festival entry, “Fangirl.”
In 2021, she landed the lead female protagonist role in the “Planner” episode of “MMK,” which she headlined opposite Jameson Blake. She portrayed letter sender Jobelle Fernandez, whose genuine love for her longtime boyfriend was put to the ultimate test.
Due to their palpable chemistry, they were once again paired with each other in the iWant original miniseries, “My Sunset Girl.” It followed the eccentric life of her character Ciara, whose blooming relationship with Lucas became complicated because of the rare disease she possessed.
She was then chosen to topbill the primetime series “Viral Scandal,” through which her portrayal of the central figure, Rica Sicat, a budding apprentice in an architecture firm whose life turned upside down after getting embroiled in a turmoil due to a controversial viral video.
In 2022, she returned to “MMK” via the “Singsing” episode, in which she played letter sender Raquel Panganiban, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose love story abruptly ended after her fiancé Ralph (played by Kiko Estrada) unfortunately succumbed to coronavirus. Not long after, she once again compelled us with her dramatic chops through her depiction of letter sender Joan Ronduen in the “Lumpiang Shanghai” episode, which tackled mental health.
The following year, she astounded us with her portrayal in the afternoon soap opera “Pira-Pirasong Paraiso” of the fiery Diana Paraiso-Lamadrid, the eldest among the estranged Paraiso sisters who got separated from one another when they were kids.
More than a year after her last teleserye appearance, viewers of the Philippine adaptation of the hit Korean drama “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay” were stoked to see her have a cameo in the series as Janna, the late daughter of the OK Hospital patient Elvie (Sharmaine Suarez), who suffered from psychotic depression following her tragic death.
Catch Charlie as Beth in "What Lies Beneath," premiering October 20 on Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and TV5. You may also watch it in advance on Netflix beginning October 17 and on iWant starting October 18.