Elijah Canlas
Elijah Canlas is a Filipino television, film and theater actor and commercial model. Born Elijah Luiz Canlas, his lead and title role in the film Kalel, 15[2] paved the way for more acting opportunities in his career. This film also bagged its director, Jun Robles Lana, the best director award at the Tallinn International Film Festival[3] in Estonia and his first Best Actor award at the 17th Asian Film Festival held in Rome, Italy.[4] [5]
Elijah Canlas | |
---|---|
Born | Elijah Luiz Canlas August 16, 2000 Manila, Philippines |
Nationality | Filipino |
Alma mater | University of the Philippines Manila |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2014–present |
Agent | The IdeaFirst Company, Inc.[1] |
Home town | Cavite |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
Website | Elijah Canlas on Instagram |
In May 2020, he was cast as one of the main actors in the YouTube series, Gameboys. Produced by The IdeaFirst Company[6], it is a boys love (BL) series in the Philippines that tackles the story of two young boys who found each other online amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] Along with Kokoy de Santos as Gavreel Alarcon, he stars in this thirteen-part web series as Cairo Lazaro, a famous online game streamer.[9]
Second of the three siblings, he is fondly called Jelo by his older brother, Jerom and younger brother, JM. The Canlas brothers are all actors who played various roles in film, theater and television. With their mother being a theater actress in Bacolod back then, they were exposed to theater at a very young age.
To date, there are several groups supporting Canlas, one of which is the Elijah Nation Official Fans Club that was founded on June 1, 2020.
Education
He studied theater arts at the Philippine High School for the Arts and eventually finished high school at MINT College. He is currently taking up his Philippine Arts undergrad program at the University of the Philippines Manila while continuously pursuing his acting career. [10]
Career
When he was 14 years old, he debuted as one of the four main characters in the film Sundalong Kanin[11] (2014), a Cinemalaya entry directed by Janice O'Hara.[12][13]
In 2014, he auditioned for the main role of Kalel, 15 when it was still titled Son of God, but got rejected because the role was supposed to be given to someone who resembles a mestizo son of a Spanish friar. Four years later in 2018, Canlas met with director Jun Robles Lana because he was looking for a talent manager. During the meeting, Lana suddenly said Canlas could play the lead in his next film as Kalel.[14]
A year after portraying his role in the movie Edward (2019), his acting prowess won him Best Supporting Actor (PinakaPASADOng Katuwang na Aktor) from the Pampelikulang Samahan ng mga Dalubguro (PASADO)[15], alongside other nominees such as Baron Geisler, Joross Gamboa and Ian Veneracion.[16] He also won Best Acting Ensemble together with the other cast members of the movie Kalel, 15 (2020) in the 2020 PARAGON Critics Choice Awards.
On August 5, 2020, he bagged his first Best Actor award at the prestigious 17th Asian Film Festival[17] in Rome, Italy for Kalel, 15.[18][19][20]
Filmography
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Platform | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Gameboys | Cairo | YouTube | Main Role | [21] |
Unconditional | Arthur | Cignal Play | Main Role | [22] | |
2019 | Past, Present, Perfect? | Marius | iWant | Support Role | [23][24] |
Film
Movies | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Film Company | Director | Notes |
2020 | He Who is Without Sin[25] | Martin (Main role) | Solar Pictures | Jason Paul Laxamana | Not yet released |
2019 | Kalel, 15 | Kalel (Main role) | The IdeaFirst Company | Jun Robles Lana | |
Edward | Renz (Support role) | Cinemalaya Entry | Thop Nazareno | ||
LSS (Last Song Syndrome) | Cedie (Support role) | Globe Studios, Dokimos Media | Jade Castro | ||
Babae at Baril | Jun (Support role) | Epic Media, Cignal Entertainment | Rae Red | ||
2016 | Sakaling Hindi Makarating | Benjie (Support role) | Unitel Productions/Media East Productions | Ice Idanan | |
2014 | Sundalong Kanin | Badong (Main Role) | Cinemalaya Entry | Janice O'Hara |
Awards and recognition
Award | Role | Film | Award-giving Body | Location | Date Given |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Actor[26] | Kalel (Main role) | Kalel, 15 (2019) | 17th Asian Film Festival | Rome, Italy | August 5, 2020 |
Best Supporting Actor | Renz (Support Role) | Edward (2019) | Gawad Pasado 2020 | Manila, Philippines | June 28, 2020 |
Best Acting Ensemble | Kalel (Main role) along with other cast | Kalel, 15 (2019) | 2020 PARAGON Critics Choice Awards | March 31, 2020 |
References
- Wang, Nickie (June 16, 2020). "'GAMEBOYS' Pandemic's breakout hit". Manila Standard. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Kalel, 15". PÖFF - Pimedate Ööde filmifestival. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Black Nights Film Festival". PÖFF - Pimedate Ööde filmifestival. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "'Kalel, 15' star Elijah Canlas wins Best Actor at 17th Asian Film Festival". Manila Bulletin. 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- ASEOCHE, THERESE (August 7, 2020). "LOOK: 'Gameboys' Elijah Canlas Wins Top Prize in Asian Film Festival in Italy". Wheninmanila.com.
- "Welcome to The IdeaFirst Company -". theideafirstcompany.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- "Go, Gameboys!". The Manila Times. 2020-07-04. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- Interaksyon (2020-06-22). "Filipino BL digital series 'Gameboys' gets international love". Interaksyon. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- "Last 3 episodes of 'Gameboys' delayed due to Metro Manila lockdown". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- Jaucian, Don (July 30, 2020). "'Gameboys' actor Elijah Canlas: 'We get to represent love that's not normalized in the media'". CNN Philippines. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "Sundalong Kanin bears the O'Hara 'trademark'". Phil Star Global. July 13, 2014.
- "Sundalong Kanin bears the O'Hara 'trademark'". philstar.com. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- "Sundalong Kanin | BusinessWorld". Retrieved 2020-08-13.
- Cruz, Marinel R. (2019-12-17). "Why Elijah Canlas thinks 'Kalel, 15' role destined to be his". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- "Ang PinakaPASADOng katuwang na aktor na gagawaran ng GAWAD PASADO ay may angking talino sa pag-arte na tunay na nag-aral ng kanilang lesson o aralin sa paggalaw at pagbitiw ng mga salita upang pahangain nila ang mga guro at ito ang maging daan upang sila ay IPASA bilang PinakaPASADOng Katuwang na Aktor sa taong 2019-2020". Pasado (Pampelikulang Samahan ng mga Dalubguro). Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- Fernando, Jeff (March 12, 2020). "Kapamilya Stars, nominado sa Gawad Pasado 2020". push.abs-cbn.com (in Filipino). Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "Asian Film Festival". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- Noriega, Richa (August 7, 2020). "'Kalel, 15' star Elijah Canlas wins Best Actor at 17th Asian Film Festival". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
- Noriega, Richa (August 7, 2020). "'Kalel, 15' star Elijah Canlas wins Best Actor at 17th Asian Film Festival". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "'Gameboys' star Elijah Canlas wins Best Actor at 17th Asian Film Festival". Rappler. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- Chua, Zsarlene (July 21, 2020). "Pinoy web series on gay romance finds an audience during the pandemic". BusinessWorld. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- Calderon, Ricky (June 21, 2020). "Boys' love genre blows up, reaches Phl with 'Gameboys'". The Freeman. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- Galang, Jelou (August 17, 2019). "'Past, Present, Perfect? made me feel understood as a writer with big dreams". Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "Loisa, Shaina power through heartache and broken dreams in iWant's "Past, Present, Perfect?"". abs-cbn.com. ABS-CBN. June 4, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "He Who Is Without Sin". Sinag Maynila Film Festival. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "'Gameboys' star Elijah Canlas wins Best Actor at 17th Asian Film Festival". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
External links
- Gameboys | Episode 1: Pass or Play? | [ENG SUB] on YouTube
- Elijah Canlas : Instagram