Elijah Luiz Madiclum Canlas (born August 16, 2000) is a Filipino actor and commercial model. He began his professional acting career in the 2014 independent film ''Sundalong Kanin'', an official entry to

Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film festival in the Philippines held annually during the month August at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex and various cinemas. Its aim is the development and promotion of Fi ...

. He then rose to prominence for his award-winning performance in ''Kalel, 15'' where he received Best Actor awards at 43rd

Gawad Urian Award The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

s, 68th

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (also known as the FAMAS Awards) are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of award-winning writers and movie columni ...

s, 17th

Asian Film Festival The Asia-Pacific Film Festival (abbreviated APFF) is an annual film festival hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific. The festival was first held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1954. History The festival was first held in Toky ...

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

, and 16th

Harlem International Film Festival The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) is an annual five-day film festival in Harlem, New York. The first festival took place in 2005. Michael Franti's ''I Know I'm Not Alone'' was named Best International Documentary at the festival that ye ...

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. This film also bagged its director,

Jun Robles Lana Rodolfo R. Lana Jr. (born October 10, 1972), known professionally as Jun Robles Lana, is a Filipino filmmaker. The winner of 11 Palanca Awards for Literature, he became the youngest member of the Palanca Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2015, he direc ...

, the best director award at the

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, or PÖFF ( et, Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival), is an annual film festival held since 1997 in Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. PÖFF is the only festival in Northern Europe or the Baltic region with a FIA ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. In May 2020, he was cast as one of the main actors in the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

series, ''

Gameboys ''Gameboys'' is a 2020 Philippine boys' love web series directed by Ivan Andrew Payawal and written by Ash M. Malanum, with Perci Intalan and Jun Lana serving as executive producers under the creative production outfit, The IdeaFirst Company. P ...

''. Produced by The IdeaFirst Company, it is a

boys love ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created b ...

(BL) series in the Philippines that tackles the story of two young men who find each other online amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Along with

Kokoy de Santos Ronald Marquez de Santos Jr. (born May 15, 1998), known professionally as Kokoy de Santos, is a Filipino actor, singer, dancer, and commercial model. His movie ''Fuccbois'' was an official entry to 15th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film F ...

as Gavreel Alarcon, Elijah starred in the thirteen-part web series as Cairo Lazaro, an up-and-coming online game streamer. In late 2020,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

released a re-cut version of the series, titled ''Gameboys Level-Up Edition''. To date, there are several groups supporting Canlas, among them ar
Elijah Nation Official Fans Club
that was founded on June 1, 2020 an
Sisterakas ni Jelo
founded on February 21, 2021 and launched last March 21, 2021.

Early life and education

Elijah Luiz Madiclum Canlas was born on August 16, 2000 in

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

. He is the second son of Rommel Canlas and Lyn Canlas. Second of 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 ballerina, and theater actress in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

, they were exposed to arts, and theater at a very young age. Canlas finished grade school at Statefields School, a private institute located in

Bacoor, Cavite Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor ( fil, Lungsod ng Bacoor), is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 664,625 people, making it the 15th most populous city ...

. In Junior High School, he studied Theater Arts at the

Philippine High School for the Arts The Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) is a specialized public high school in the Philippines offering arts-focused education established in 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1287. An attached agency of the Department of Education, it ...

and finished Senior High School at

MINT College Meridian International Business, Arts and Technology College (or MINT College) is a private educational institution in the Philippines that offers senior high school tracks and specialized college programs in the fields of business, arts and tech ...

. He is currently taking up his Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Arts at the

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) is a state-funded medical and research university located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is known for being the country's center of excellence in the health sciences, including health professio ...

while continuously pursuing his acting career.

Career

When he was 14 years old, he debuted as one of the four main characters in the film ''Sundalong Kanin'' (2014), a

Cinemalaya The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film festival in the Philippines held annually during the month August at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex and various cinemas. Its aim is the development and promotion of Fi ...

entry directed by

Janice O'Hara Janice Winifred O'Hara �Jenny״(November 30, 1918 – March 7, 2001) was a pitcher and Utility player, utility who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 122 lb., she batted and threw rig ...

. 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 (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

son of a Spanish friar. Four years later in 2018, Canlas met with director

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. 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), alongside other nominees such as

Baron Geisler Baron Frederick von Geisler (; born June 5, 1982) is a Filipino actor, businessman, occasional model, resource speaker, amateur artist, and aspiring poet of German-American descent. As a child actor and later as a teen idol, Geisler's career ha ...

Joross Gamboa John Ross Sanchez Gamboa (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Joross Gamboa, is a Filipino actor and model who was a 2nd runner-up in the 1st season of Star Circle Quest. Career After four years of being with ABS-CBN Star Magic, ''J ...

and

Ian Veneracion Stephen Ian Lopez Veneracion (; born February 7, 1975) is a Filipino athlete, actor, pilot, and singer. He was a former talent of GMA Network and is currently an artist of ABS-CBN and TV5. Personal life and career His father is renowned painte ...

. 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

for ''Kalel, 15''. In December 22 of the same year, he was named by

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

as "Actor of the Year".

Filmography

Television

Web series

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canlas, Elijah 2000 births Living people Filipino male television actors Filipino male film actors 21st-century Filipino male actors