What does it take to be a rising star?
Every year, we see new names and new faces of young actors shine in the limelight. Whether you look at film, television, theater, or music, there are tons of young artists with incredible passion and talent who are just patiently waiting for their turn to be the next "big thing."
On that note, here are eight notable up and coming young Filipino actors that everyone should keep an eye on!
Elijah Canlas
In 2020, he bagged three Best Actor awards in three different film festivals, the 68th FAMAS Awards, Gawad URIAN, and 17th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy, for his 2019 indie movie, Kalel,15, directed by Jun R. Lana. In the same year, Elijah also starred in the first-ever Filipino Boys Love (BL) series, Gameboys under The IdeaFirst Company, where he proved that he is more than what meets the eye.
Indeed, Elijah is one of those rare actors who bring the same level of intent and talent to every performance. Elijah has already proven so much —and he is just starting.
Read: 'Gameboys' is by far the best Filipino BL series
Kokoy De Santos
Kokoy is no stranger in the world of showbiz as he started his career as a child actor. However, his star began to shine brighter when he played his breakout role as Gavreel Alarcon in Gameboys with Elijah.
In 2019, Kokoy also became a part of Eduardo Roy Jr's Cinemalaya 2019 film entry, F#*@BOIS, in which he played the role of Miko. With his charisma, uniqueness, and talent, there's no doubt that he will one day rule the industry.
As of the moment, Kokoy and Elijah are working with The IdeaFirst Company for the second season of Gameboys.
Charlie Dizon
She also proved that she has what it takes to be the next "big thing" when she flawlessly played the role of young Teddie Salazar in the 2020 movie Four Sisters Before the Wedding— a prequel to the blockbuster classic Pinoy film Four Sisters and a Wedding.
Adrianna So
Adrianna is already on the right track, and we hope to see more of her!
Iana Bernardez
Iana Bernardez has only been in the industry for a couple of years and she is already a star in her own right. In a couple of years, Iana is already a part of three award-winning films, Metamorphosis (2019), Babae at baril (2019), and Gusto Kita with all my hypothalamus (2018), in which she is also one of the producers.
Iana also starred in Pearl Next Door with Adrianna and recently got signed under The IdeaFirst Company.
Ian Pangilinan
The 23-years-old actor recently starred in Juan Miguel Severo's breakout BL series, Gaya Sa Pelikula, but his star was already on the ascent before that. In 2020, he played Rovic in the musical adaptation of Tabing Ilog. He had also appeared in productions of Reasons to Be Pretty and Ateneo Blue Repertory's Spring Awakening.
Paolo Pangilinan
On that note, we firmly believe that Paolo has more in store for us, and we will be surely looking forward to his new projects!
Read: 6 Content Creators Redefining What It Means To Be An Influencer
Philip Hernandez
