With a star studded cast, Netflix's The Adam Project is currently trending on the Top 10 watch list. The sci-fi film stars some of Hollywoods biggest actors Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo and more, but Fil-Canadian Alex Mallari Jr. also shares the spotlight in the full length feature as Christos. Mallari's character, Christos is an old colleague of Adam (Reynolds) and Laura (Saldana) who's now a ruthless security enforcer. Let's take a look at his journey and career with these 5 facts about the Fil-Canadian actor.
1. Alex migrated to Toronto from Lubao City, Pampanga
He moved to Toronto or Scarborough, Ontario to be exact at 4 years old with his Inang (grandmother). He became a Taekwondo athlete, rising to the national level as a third degree black belt. He studied criminology at University of Toronto until he decided to chase his entertainment dreams.
2. He started acting after a sports injury
As a Junior Canadian National Taekwondo champion, he had to give up that dream at 13 years old. Although he then turned to basketball, his athletic career came to a close because of an injury and had to find a different avenue. While attending the University of Toronto, he heard an ad looking for models or individuals interested in acting. Luckily for us, Alex gave them a call and the rest is history.
3. Alex looks to take on more roles on film than TV
Although he got his big break on the Syfy series, Dark Matter, Alex's credits extend to other series like Nikita, Beauty and The Beast, Designated Survivor, and Netflix's Ginny and Georgia where he plays a Filipino Texan private investigator with the deep Texan accent. Many of the roles he auditions for are open ethnicity roles, but luckily the few Filipino characters he's auditioned for he got! Alex hopes to see more representation and help others recognize that Filipinos exist in the world.
"In films, you can work on a scene until you get to the emotional part of storytelling. I want to do more movies as it fulfills my artistic needs."
4. He gave a small nod to Filipinos in The Adam Project.
While making the film, Alex had one request for the stunt coordinator, Jim Churchman. He wanted to use the baston or arnis sticks which are traditionally used in Filipino martial arts. Luckily Alex was able to persuade the stunt coordinator and squeeze in 2 arnis sticks during the fighting sequences in the film.
5. Alex can go from action films to playing a rom-com leading man
He's set to star in a Canadian digital series, Hello (again) created and co-produced by Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings star, Simu Liu. The series will be a combo of rom-com and a little bit of a k-drama. It's about an overworked line-cook (Mallari Jr.) who rescues a supernatural girl. He'll try to break out of a time loop after traveling back in time to say "hello again" to an ex-girlfriend. Watch out for the series as it's set to drop March 25th on CBC Gem.
Cover Photo Credit: Alex Mallari Jr. Twitter
Actor and model Martin Martinez lands a recurring role in the CBS series Magnum P.I. We'll get to see him throughout Season 4 as a new character Cade Jensen. According to Deadline, he'll play a determined but troubled teenager who attempts to charm his way into a job at La Mariana. Over the course of several episodes, ultimately Cade finds a surrogate parent in TC (Stephen Hill).
This reboot of the 1980s series follows private investigator Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez), a former Navy SEAL who returns home to Hawai'i from Afghanistan. As Magnum looks to repurpose his military skills, his investigations often require the help of friends and colleagues. The new season of Magnum P.I. premieres on October 1st on CBS and you can also catch it on streaming platforms.
Before landing the role of Cade Jensen, Martin has also appeared as a guest star on various shows like Netflix’s Never Have I Ever as Oliver Martinez, Marvel’s Runaways, Chicago P.D., Station 19, Shameless, and The Fosters.
Want to know more about Martin? Check out his vlog where he takes you to his high school and some of his old stomping grounds.
Cover Photo Credit: Martin Martinez Twitter
Marc delaCruz pushes for AAPI Representation as he became the first Asian-American to portray Alexander Hamilton on Broadway's hit Hamilton. Now that Broadway is back for the time since the pandemic, Marc reprises his character as the Founding Father. He is of Filipinio-Japanese descent and first took the spotlight in this role in 2019.
Playing opposite of him is Jin Ha as Aaron Burr, a Korean-American. AAPI excellence is on the rise and they're here to show the next generation that they're capable of doing it too.
Marc went from joining the Broadway cast at Richard Rodgers Theatre as an ensemble member to the lead role. In addition to the title role, he is the understudy for Philip Hamilton, John Laurens and King George, and covers the roles of Philip Schuyler / Doctor / James Reynolds. His Playbill shows that Marc has had 20 roles to date in the productions of Hamilton and If/Then.
His first “big break” came as a sophomore in college at the University of Washington, when Northwest Asian American Theatre cast delaCruz as Matt in The Fantasticks. It was his first large-scale performance, but was on stage for the first time at 9 years old. He was casted in a production of A Christmas Carol at ACT Theatre in Seattle.
Even after the production of Hamilton ends, Marc plans to stay in New York. If you're in the NYC area, let us know if you check out the production. We want to know your experience, tweet us at @myxnews!
Cover Photo Credit: Marc delaCruz Facebook
