It may seem like Kazel Kinouchi — who you probably know as Zoey in the hit afternoon series Abot Kamay na Pangarap — made a name for herself the easy way. But the truth is, it took her some time (and a transfer to another network) to make it big. And now, she’s reaping the benefits of all the effort and hard work she put in over the last few years.

Kazel started her career at ABS-CBN. She played various supporting roles in several shows like Good Vibes, Paraiso, Be Careful with My Heart, Pasión de Amor, A Love To Last, and even several episodes of the now-defunct anthology series Maalaala Mo Kaya. Yep, she’s the actress who played Georgina on Be Careful with My Heart and Miley Santiago on Oh My G!, respectively.

Now, she’s playing Zoey Tanyag — the character we all love to hate — on Abot Kamay Na Pangarap starring Jillian Ward. But even before her big break, Kazel already had that star power in her which probably explains why she has always been under the guidance of former Star Magic head Johnny “Mr. M” Mahanan.

But how has life been since Kazel made the move to GMA-7? Well, trust that everyone calls her Zoey these days. In an interview with PUSH, Kazel detailed how her life has been different lately.

“It has been very very busy. Siyempre lagi kaming may taping tapos nag ma-mall shows din kami and hindi ko lang ine-expect talaga na like sobrang magiging popular talaga at magiging trending talaga yung show,” Kazel said.

“Like when I go out, people–hindi na ko nakakalabas ng parang sa mall na kailangan, ngayon kailangan ko na mag makeup ‘pag pupunta ako sa mall. Kasi nahihiya ako minsan nakapang bahay lang pero ngayon talaga, when they see me kahit naka mask ako and they call me Zoey, hindi nga nila alam ‘yung totoong pangalan ko,” she added.

Then again, Kazel admitted that she is still in disbelief with the response of the public over her character in Abot Kamay Na Pangarap.

“Hindi ko talaga ine-expect na sobrang magiging hit talaga yung show namin kasi nag-audition din ako for–since bago lang ako sa GMA ‘di ba? So before this role, I auditioned for Stella yung part ni Lianne Valentin, nag trending rin naman yung role niya pero medyo siguro heto talaga ‘yung binigay ni Lord sakin na mas bagay. Feeling ko mas bagay sakin ‘tong role na ‘to tapos kung medyo maarte si Zoey eh ako din medyo maarte in real life,” she said.

With her character getting on the nerves of viewers every afternoon, Kazel admitted that she has been getting a lot of hate for her portrayal of Zoey Tanyag.

“Madaming-madami. At first, siyempre di pa ko sanay na mine-message ako ng ganyan tapos parang winiwish talaga nila na mamatay na ko ganyan even sa totoong buhay parang ganon. Pero it's a funny thing na when they see me outside… wala pa ko na-encounter na kasi nag-Santacruzan na rin ako sobrang daming tao nun, nag mall show din kami pero wala pa ko na-encounter na in person na nang-away sa’kin or nagsabi sa’kin. Alam mo yung wala din naman nambabato ng mga ganun. Basta mga ganung instances na yung fan super affected,” she said.

“So far wala pa naman sa’kin ganon kasi pagka ime-message din ako after na ‘Nakita kita in person nawala yung galit ko,’ parang ganun. Pero kapag online, sobrang dami ko talaga nare-receive na hate messages, binoblock ko na lang lalo na kapag below the belt na ganun na lang. Saka hindi ako nagbabasa, for example, kasi sa messages nababasa ko eh pero yung mag re-research pa ko, yung mag di-dig pa ko for comments, I don't do that na so whatever it is na makita ko na lang yun na ‘yun,” she added.

But was there ever a “patol” moment with her bashers?

“Uhm, parang [funny] na lang na patol, parang may nagsabi sa’kin sa TikTok na, ‘Ayoko sa’yo kahit mabait ka sa totoong buhay,’ tapos ang reply ko sa kanya, ‘Sino ba nagsabi sayong mabait ako sa totoong buhay?’ Tapos ang daming tumawa sa comment na yon. Ayun lang, mga ganung patol lang, mga nakakatawa lang, siyempre hindi naman personal,” she said.

Kazel also stressed that she and co-star Jillian are close friends in real life — the complete opposite of the dynamics of their characters on the show. In fact, she considers Jillian a sister.

“We’re super friends. Wala talagang baliktad na [baliktad] on what they see on screen kaya pag yung mga TikTok videos namin, ang daming nagcocomment na, ‘Stress na stress kami, kayo pasayaw-sayaw lang,’ ‘yung mga ganon,” she said.

“And for example, there’s a scene na sabunutan or sampalan, after niyan magcut, magso-sorry agad kami sa isa’t isa or especially me kasi ako naman palagi ‘yung nananakit na parang, ‘Uy, okay ka lang?’ ganon. And I treat her talaga as a little sister and ganun din ‘yung ano niya sa’kin, parang big sister niya rin ako. Humihingi pa ‘yan advice, ayon. So ibang-iba,” she added.

Towards the end of the interview, Kazel thanked her fans for the outpouring of love and support. Despite the stressful moments brought about by her character and Pinky Amador’s (who plays Moira Tanyag), Kazel said she hopes people would learn a thing or two from the lessons presented on the show.

“Siyempre super super thank you kahit na madaming alam kong nassestress kay Zoey at kay Moira, ‘yung sa mommy ko. Patuloy pa rin ‘yung pag support nila sa show namin so thank you so much at sana wag na wag silang magsawa because of course meron namang magandang ending,” she said.

“Marami naman ding magandang mapupulot na lesson sa Abot Kamay na Pangarap. So, sana makita din nila ‘yung mga binibgay naming–aside from pag mamaldita, ‘yung mga magagandang lessons na pwede mong mapulot sa show namin. Saka ‘yung mga nakakatawang scenes din naman sa show namin na comedy din so ayun sana maappreciate din ng ating mga manonood," she added.