# Elijah Canlas

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. He then rose to prominence for his award-winning performance in Kalel, 15 where he received Best Actor awards at 43rd Gawad Urian Awards, 68th FAMAS Awards, 17th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy, and 16th Harlem International Film Festival in Harlem, New York.

## Early life and education

Elijah Luiz Madiclum Canlas was born on August 16, 2000, in Manila. He is the second son of Rommel Canlas and Lyn Canlas. Second of three siblings, he is called "Jelo" by his older brother Jerom Andrei, and younger brother, Jamile Matthew "JM" (2005/06–2023). 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, 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. In Junior High School, he studied Theater Arts at the Philippine High School for the Arts and finished Senior High School at MINT College. He is currently taking up his Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Arts at the University of the Philippines Manila 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 entry directed by Janice O'Hara.
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.
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, Joross Gamboa and Ian Veneracion. He also won Best Acting Ensemble together with the other cast members of the movie Kalel, 15 (2019) in the 2020 PARAGON Critics Choice Awards.
In May 2020, he was cast as one of the main actors in the YouTube series, Gameboys. Produced by The IdeaFirst Company, it is a boys love series in the Philippines that tackles the story of two young men who find each other online amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with Kokoy de Santos as Gavreel Alarcon, Elijah starred in the thirteen-part web series as Cairo Lazaro, an up-and-coming online game streamer.
On August 5, 2020, he bagged his first Best Actor award at the prestigious 17th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy for Kalel, 15. On December 22 of the same year, he was named by CNN Philippines as "Actor of the Year".

## Personal life

In 2021, Canlas dated Miles Ocampo and announced their relationship to the public in 2022. In 2023, he admitted that he and Ocampo broke up.
His younger brother, former child actor JM Canlas, died on August 3, 2023, at the age of 17. A cause of death was not revealed, though Jerom hinted that JM had "been struggling with his mental health."

## Filmography
### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Network |
| 2020 | Paano ang Pasko? | Noel Aguinaldo | TV5 |
| 2020 | Almost Paradise | Luke | WGN America |
| 2020–2021 | Paano ang Pangako? | Noel Aguinaldo | TV5 |
| 2021 | My Fantastic Pag-ibig | Dwayne | GMA Network |
| 2022 | Suntok sa Buwan | Dos Laurete | TV5 |
| 2023 | The Iron Heart | Conrado Reyes | Kapamilya Channel |
| 2023–2024 | Senior High | Archie Aguerro | Kapamilya Channel / iWantTFC |
| 2024 | FPJ's Batang Quiapo | Pablo Caballero | Kapamilya Channel |
| 2024 | High Street | Archie Aguerro | Kapamilya Channel |
| 2025 | Incognito | Donato Escalera / Spade | Kapamilya Channel |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Platform |
| 2019 | Past, Present, Perfect? | Marius | iWantTFC |
| 2020 | Pearl Next Door | Cairo Lazaro | YouTube |
| 2020 | Gameboys | Cairo Lazaro | YouTube Netflix |
| 2020 | Unconditional | Arthur | Cignal Play |
| 2021 | Gameboys 2 | Cairo Lazaro | KTX & Vivamax Plus |
| 2022 | Misis Piggy | Jeffrey | iWantTFC |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Production company |
| 2014 | Sundalong Kanin | Badong | Cinemalaya entry |
| 2016 | Sakaling Hindi Makarating | Benjie | Unitel Productions Media East Productions |
| 2019 | Kalel, 15 | Kalel | The IdeaFirst Company |
| 2019 | Edward | Renz | Cinemalaya Entry |
| 2019 | LSS (Last Song Syndrome) | Cedie | Globe Studios Dokimos Media |
| 2019 | Babae at Baril | Jun | Epic Media Cignal Entertainment |
| 2020 | He Who Is Without Sin | Martin Pangan | Solar Pictures |
| 2021 | Gameboys: The Movie | Cairo Lazaro | The IdeaFirst Company October Train Films |
| 2022 | Blue Room | Troy Rodriguez | Cinemalaya |
| 2022 | Livescream | Exo | Vivamax Plus |
| 2022 | About Us But Not About Us | Lancelot | Octoberian Films The Ideafirst Company Quantum Films |
| 2023 | Keys to the Heart | Joselito "Jayjay" Hermano | Netflix |
| 2023 | GomBurZa | Paciano Mercado | Jesuit Communications MediaQuest Ventures |
| 2024 | Uninvited | Tofy | Mentorque Productions Project 8 Projects |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2020 | 17th Asian Film Festival | Best Actor | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2020 | 68th FAMAS Awards | Best Actor | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2020 | 22nd Gawad Pasado Awards | Best Supporting Actor | "Edward" | Won |
| 2020 | 43rd Gawad Urian Awards | Best Actor | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2020 | PARAGON Critics Choice Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2020 | Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino | Special Jury Prize for Performance in a Lead Role | He Who Is Without Sin | Won |
| 2020 | Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino | Best Actor | He Who Is Without Sin | Nominated |
| 2020 | 38th Luna Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Edward | Nominated |
| 2021 | 7th Urduja Heritage Film Awards | Best Young Actor | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2021 | 5th Film Ambassadors' Night | 11 New Film Ambassadors for Acting Performance | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2021 | 16th Harlem International Film Festival | Best Actor | Kalel, 15 | Won |
| 2021 | 4th EDDYS Awards | Best Actor | He Who Is Without Sin | Nominated |
| 2021 | Young Critics Circle | Best Performance | He Who Is Without Sin | Nominated |
| 2021 | Young Critics Circle | Best Performance (Duo) alongside Enzo Pineda | He Who Is Without Sin | Nominated |
| 2021 | Ani ng Dangal Awards (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) | Recipient for Ani ng Dangal Awards | Himself | Won |
| 2021 | 36th PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Best Actor | Kalel, 15 | Nominated |
| 2021 | 36th PMPC Star Awards for Movies | Best Supporting Actor | Babae at Baril | Nominated |
| 2023 | 1st Summer Metro Manila Film Festival Awards (MMFF) | Jury Prize | "About Us But Not About Us" | Won |
| 2023 | 1st Summer Metro Manila Film Festival Awards (MMFF) | Best Actor | "About Us But Not About Us" | Nominated |
| 2023 | 6th EDDYS Awards | Best Actor | Blue Room | Won |
| 2024 | Platinum Stallion National Media Award 2024 | Best Primetime Drama Actor | Senior High | Won |
| 2024 | 7th EDDYS Awards | Best Actor | Keys to the Heart | Nominated |