John Arcilla was born in Quezon City, Philippines to Filipino parents, Dominador Gil Alemania Arcilla and Eustaquia Gonzales, a descendant of President Manuel L. Quezon. Arcilla and his family moved to his mother's hometown in Baler, Aurora due to the declaration of martial law in 1972. Arcilla began to show interest in acting at age 7.^[6][7][8][9]

He was a member of the community-based Philippine Educational Theater Association-Metropolitan Teen Theater League (PETA-MTTL).^[10] In 1986 he graduated from Saint Joseph's College of Quezon City (SJCQC).^[6] He was also an acting scholar of the Actors Workshop Foundation under Laurice Guillen, Johnny Delgado, and Leo Martinez from 1987 to 1990.^[11]

1988–1996: Theater debut and early television work edit

Arcilla joined Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas in 1988 and was a member until 1989. There, he was trained by stage director and National Artist for Theater, Tony Mabesa. From 1989 to 1990, Arcilla worked as a casting director for Foote, Cone & Belding.^[12]

From 1991 to 1997, Arcilla was a resident actor and senior member of Tanghalang Pilipino's Actor Company, the resident theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.^[13] At the Cultural Center, he played lead roles in several productions, including Orosman and Zafira, Walang Sugat, and Ryan Cayabyab's Rizal musical trilogy: El Filibusterismo in 1993, Noli Me Tángere in 1995, and Illustrado in 1996.^[14][11] Arcilla was also part of the main cast of Rama at Sita, a 1999 Filipino musical adapted from the Indian epic Ramayana. In 2000, Arcilla became a guest actor for Repertory Philippines and played Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman.^[15][16]

Arcilla has also been in various television commercials for brands including Tide and Gold Eagle, and companies such as National Steel Corporation and Development Bank of the Philippines. Arcilla gained exposure through a 1994 TV commercial for Purefoods with the slogan "Coffee na lang, dear" ("Just coffee, dear"), which led to his involvement in more projects outside theater.^[17][11]

Arcilla appeared in various television shows in 1987, including the variety show Goin' Bananas as a "gag artist", as well as in the drama anthologies Lovingly Yours, Helen and Star Drama Theater Presents.^[18]

1993–2009: Career expansion and recognition edit

One of Arcilla's early film appearances was as a photojournalist covering the release of political detainees in Lino Brocka's Orapronobis (Fight for Us, 1989). Arcilla had a bigger role in Raymond Red's first full-length feature, Bayani in 1992. Arcilla played General Mariano Noriel, who was a member of the War Council that oversaw Andrés Bonifacio's case in 1897.

In Sakay (1993), Arcilla played General Leon Villafuerte, the revolutionary chief of staff in Macario Sakay's Tagalog Republic. Arcilla's film break was in Sa 'Yo Lamang (1995), where he played Hector, the loving elder brother of Andrew (played by Richard Gomez). Arcilla won Best Actor at the 1996 Manila Film Festival for his role as Lino in the film Mulanay. A year later, he starred in Ligaya ang Itawag Mo sa Akin and won a Best Supporting Actor Award at the Gawad Urian.

From 1998 to 2005, Arcilla starred in several supporting roles in film and television, including the 2000 drama series, Pangako sa 'Yo, the 2003 action-crime drama, Basta't Kasama Kita, and 2005 fantasy drama, Sugo. He played the lead role in the film adaptation of Tony Perez' play about infidelity, Sa North Diversion Road. Arcilla and co-star Irma Adlawan had also performed in the theater version. They were each nominated at the 2006 Golden Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress in a Leading Role (Drama) respectively.^[19]

In 2006, Arcilla starred in the film Compound. He was nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Drama) at the 2007 Golden Screen Award and earned a nomination for Movie Actor of the Year at the Star Awards for Movies. In 2009, he earned his third Gawad Urian nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the film Manila Skies.

2010s edit

Arcilla starred in three films in 2010: the indie film Halaw, for which he won a Best Actor Award at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival,^[20] Amigo, an American-Filipino drama film based on the Philippine–American War, and Petrang Kabayo, a comedy-drama. He returned to television in 2010 in the suspense drama Magkaribal. In 2011, he played supporting characters in two television shows, Machete and Mana Po. He was also in two films, Thelma and No Other Woman.

Arcilla had a cameo role in the 2012 spy thriller The Bourne Legacy, playing the head security guard.^[21] He also played Mariano Trias in the Emilio Aguinaldo biopic, El Presidente. Arcilla was also in the cast of Lilet Never Happened, which won the Best Cast Ensemble at the 2013 International Film Festival Manhattan.

In 2013, he starred in the British-Filipino independent film Metro Manila which was selected as the British entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards. Arcilla earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 16th British Independent Film Awards.^[22] Metro Manila won the Audience Award from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It also received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the 2014 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.

In 2014, Arcilla was part of the cast of Muslim Magnum .357: To Serve and Protect. He was also in episodes of Magpakailanman and Maalaala Mo Kaya.

In 2015, Arcilla played General Antonio Luna in the historical biopic film, Heneral Luna. To prepare for the role, he analyzed the positive and negative sides of Antonio Luna's personality, taking note of his temper and vulnerability.^[23][24] The film broke the record for highest-grossing Filipino historical film of all time.^[25] For his performance as Luna, Arcilla won the Best Actor Award at the 34th Film Academy of the Philippines. He also received a Best Actor nomination at the 10th Asian Film Awards. Owing to the popularity of his role as Antonio Luna, Arcilla would later reprise or parody his role as the general in various television commercials.^[26]

In 2016, Arcilla was part of the cast of Mikhail Red's Birdshot, where he played the senior police officer Mendoza. For his role, Arcilla won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2018 Film Academy of the Philippines. Birdshot was the Philippines' entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. He also starred in the short film Supot, directed by Phil Giordano.^[27][28] Arcilla won the Craft Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 First Run Festival, New York.

From 2017 to 2022, Arcilla played Renato "Buwitre" Hipolito, the main antagonist in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, a power-hungry and corrupt government official.

In 2019, Arcilla made two horror movies, Second Coming and Kuwaresma. He also starred in the comedy film, The Panti Sisters, where he played Don Emilio, the stern father of three gay sons. Arcilla was also part of the main cast of the Filipino adaptation of the Korean film Miracle in Cell No 7, where he played the prison warden Johnny San Juan.

2020s edit

In 2020, Arcilla played the lead role as Fernando Suarez in the biographical film, Suarez: The Healing Priest. He received a nomination as Best Actor in a Leading Role for the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) and won the Best Actor of the Year at the 37th PMPC Star Awards for Movies.^[29]

In 2021, Arcilla starred in Erik Matti's On the Job: The Missing 8 as the local journalist Narciso "Sisoy" Salas, a role for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

He also appeared in two other films in 2021, Big Night! and A Hard Day. Big Night! is a dark comedy that tackles the "war on drugs" in the Philippines. A Hard Day is a Filipino adaptation of the 2014 Korean action-thriller film of the same title. Both were entries at the 2021 Metro Manila Film Festival where Arcilla earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for both films. He received a Best Supporting Actor Award for A Hard Day from the 24th Gawad Pasado in 2022.^[30]

In 2022, Arcilla starred in the suspense thriller film Reroute. Arcilla was also in a romantic comedy, How to Move on in 30 Days, a TV series streamed via the YouTube Channel of ABS-CBN Entertainment. Arcilla played Carlos Fiero, the main antagonist on ABS-CBN's 2023 drama series Dirty Linen.^[31][32] Arcilla also starred in Jun Lana's Ten Little Mistresses,^[33] a murder mystery/comedy. In September 2023, Arcilla became the host for the TV5 game show SpinGo.^[34]

Television edit

Film edit

Arcilla has earned numerous acting awards and nominations in the Philippines and abroad. In 2013, Arcilla received his first international acting nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for the film Metro Manila. In 2016, he earned a Best Actor nomination at the Asian Film Awards for the film Heneral Luna.

In 2017, Arcilla received his first international Best Supporting Actor Craft Award from the First Run Festival for the short film Supot. In 2021, Arcilla was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival for the film On the Job: The Missing 8.

Arcilla received a Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the film Ligaya Ang Itawag Mo Sa Akin from Gawad Urian in 1997. Director Jerrold Tarog cast Arcilla in the leading role of his film Heneral Luna after seeing his performance as the devil's advocate in Anino, and in Metro Manila.

Arcilla was awarded the Dangal ng Aurora by his home province in 2005 for his work in theater, film, and television.^[56] In 2009, he also received an Outstanding Citizen Award from the municipality of San Luis, Aurora for his achievements in the field of performing arts.

For performance in film and television edit

Other awards and recognitions edit

• John Arcilla at IMDb