Elijah Canlas has already achieved so much at his age, earning multiple acting awards, including major ones. But despite his accolades, some netizens have pointed out that he often takes on so-called “red flag” characters.
During a recent event, Elijah reacted to these comments, clarifying his perspective on the roles he portrays and how he chooses his projects.
“That means hindi pa nila napapanood yung mga gawa ko. You know, that means they've only seen Senior High. They've only seen Batang Quiapo. But, not to brag but mas marami na rin ako nagawang ibang characters na hindi lang pumapasok sa archetypes na iyon, sa stereotypes na iyon,” he said.
He also acknowledged the stereotype that stemmed from his past villainous roles, but said audiences should look forward to seeing him in more diverse characters in the future.
“Someone told me recently, you should do something na mabait ka naman. So ito na iyon guys (referring to his current and upcoming projects). Mabait ako dito sa mga pelikula na ito. Pero mabait ako generally sa lahat ng mga ginagawa ko nowadays. Kung hindi mo mabait, like going through something, you know, na struggling, and easier to empathize with kaysa sa mga masasamang ugali na characters. We're working on it,” he explained.
He also shared that while some projects intimidate him, he views them as challenges that make him want to take them on even more.
“As a Leo, gusto ko talaga ng challenge. Gusto ko na yung mahirap. Yung kapag ma-offeran ka ng something na matatakot ka, parang mas lalo kong gusto kong gawin. Like, kunwari ‘yung ‘About Us But Not About Us,’ when it was offered, I was scared to do it. Pero, mas na-challenge ako lalo. Mas gusto ko tuloy siyang gawin. So, I guess, doon din yung drive pumapasok na pag mas feeling ko hindi ko kaya, mas gusto kong gawin. So, ganoon yung mindset,” he said.
Elijah recently appeared in the hit movie Sunshine as well as the action-packed series Incognito.