What is it that makes a person feel inspired by the people that they watch on the television? To be honest, I am not sure, but I know that sometimes I am watching a show and I know that these fictional characters are suddenly having an impact. These characters have had an impact.
La Brea is filled with characters that have a ton of dimension and depth. Lily Santiago (“Veronica Castillo”), Rohan Mirchandaney (“Scott Israni”), and Josh Mckenzie (“Lucas Hayes”) bring three of the most hated characters on La Brea to life. Yet, these three characters have been the underdogs and are now the three that I find myself rooting for the most.
They’ve gone through their ups and downs, but they keep fighting and their characters grow. Yes, there isn’t a character on this show that hasn’t had character development but one could reasonably argue that these three have had the most. And the strongest.
When asked about that facet of their characters, Lily Santiago said, ” I think Veronica has learned to love. Simply put, it’s like a little creature that’s never learned to love and she, all of a sudden, blossoms into a human that is allowing herself to experience those feelings and feel them for others. She cares. She’s afraid, but the fear comes from caring for something as opposed to just being afraid of the horrors of the world.
“I think what I learned from her is what — It was challenging to me to believe that the person who fell in the sinkhole in season one would believably be the person we end up with in season three, but I think it just made me look at humanity and be like, ‘Oh, no, that’s human.’ It’s human to adapt to the circumstances you’re in and to actually have the courage to allow yourself to enjoy things as they come. I think that’s something that I took from her.”
It was a profound observation, but one that I could definitely agree with. It was so challenging to believe that these characters would end up where they are from where they were was a challenge.
But it’s one that these actors rose to the occasion to make us believe.
Rohan touched about what he’s learned from playing Scott, but also , “Other people give him the strength and courage to be himself and to trust himself. I think that the power of friendship was a really big, significant motivator for him throughout all three seasons. What I’ve learned from Scott is about trusting in oneself. That I’m here for a reason, what I contribute has value, and other people acknowledge that and see it. The community that we’ve built, as a family, through making this show has been one of the more strong points and biggest takeaways for me going forward.”
The final season of La Brea is airing now on NBC.