Award-winning actor a protégé of ex-Iloilo broadcast exec

“The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.”

—John C. Maxwell

By Alex P. Vidal

BEFORE he received an award for his role in “Tinubdan”, an independent drama film directed by Ricky Dumapit in the International Film Festival Manhattan on October 19, 2019, I met award-winning Filipino actor Leon Miguel at New York City’s Pennsylvania Station.

It was not a chance meeting. 

Miguel (Noel Aparilla in real life), 51, who arrived from Fairfax, Virginia via Amtrak, was waiting for me and Direk Dumapit.

He had cuts on the fingers he accidentally incurred during the two-

LEON MIGUEL (Right) being interviewed by the author.

hour trip and couldn’t carry all the luggages containing his costumes.    

Miguel, also a model and an engineer, visited his kababayan in Masbate, his former mentor, Edgardo “Jun” Arbolado, who is based in Virginia.

Brother Jun (he is a spiritual leader in the communities of Fairfax, Richmond, Springfield, and Alexandria) asked me to meet his childhood friend Miguel, who has been greatly preferred by international directors and producers because of his exotic Asian face and notable acting that fitted for various Asian and native roles.

Unassuming and always proud of his heritage, Miguel has been acting since 1994 and considers Arbolado as “one of those who helped motivate and inspire me to become who I am today.”

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Miguel played a bank robber and vicious killer in “Metro Manila,” directed by British director Sean Ellis, who was an Oscar nominee for best short for “Cashback”.

He described Ellis as “so meticulous” that one scene had to be repeated 50 times and drained the lead star John Arcilla.

Miguel said he first developed his acting prowess when he was Arbolado’s protégé way back in their younger years in Masbate, where Arbolado acted as their mentor in acting and stage play.

Miguel eventually graduated in the Actors Workshop Foundation, where he learned to strive constantly to achieve realism in his performances.

“Brother Jun was one of those who believed in my talent and capacity to act,” recalled Miguel, who has appeared in American, Japanese, Italian, and British films, sharing the screen with the likes of David Hasselhoff (“Legacy”), Dean Cain (“Subject I Love You”), Hiroyuki Sanada (“Emergency Call”), and Satoshi Tsumabuki (“Pandemic: Kansen Retto”), among others.

Miguel, now based in Los Angeles, didn’t forget his roots. He said he always wanted to visit Brother Jun and his wife Cathy and their children each time he was in the East Coast. 

Miguel described his friend and mentor Arbolado as a “cool person” who “tolerated” his imperfections and shortcomings as a fledgling actor in Masbate. 

Arbolado went on to become a successful broadcast journalist in Roxas City, Capiz and was the regional manager of the IBC-TV 12 in Iloilo City before he settled in the United States.

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Miguel saw his first exposure in 2012 in the Tribeca Film Festival, founded by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro in 2001, to be one of his greatest achievements having notched the best actor award in the past.

The Tribeca Film Festival has been showcasing a diverse selection of independent films and has become an outlet for independent filmmakers in all genres to release their work to a broad audience.

Miguel made his debut as a Katipunero in Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara’s TV series “Bisperas ng Kasaysayan.”

Tribeca was considered as a fitting reward for Miguel, who worked as civil engineer before becoming a show biz bug.

Miguel’s star shone in the film, Ron Morales’ “Graceland,” which premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in 2012.

The film was one of three Filipino films in the fest, along with Miguel Calayan’s short, “Prima,” and Ramona Diaz’s documentary, “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.”

Miguel said he always enjoyed being the “underdog” and was once cast as kidnapper (“Graceland’), gangster, thief, guerrilla, rebel and murderer. He has played an Abu Sayyaf bandit a number of times, notably in Brillante Mendoza’s “Captive” and Sigfried Barros-Sanchez’s “Tsardyer.”

“I make sure that even if I play a criminal, I still show the human side. I want the audience to understand why a person turns to crime,” said Miguel, claiming he didn’t mind being typecast.

Now in Texas as shown in his latest Facebook post, Miguel will be back again soon in the film,“Reaching The Sky”, directed by Nicholas B. Cinco.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)