Rodjun Cruz

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Cruz and the surname or paternal family name is Ilustre.

Rodolfo Othello Cruz Ilustre, Jr. (born October 10, 1987), known professionally as Rodjun Cruz (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈkɾus]), is a Filipino actor, dancer and singer. He is the brother of fellow actor and dancer Rayver Cruz. He is currently an exclusive artist of GMA Network and Sparkle.

Rodjun Cruz
Born	Rodolfo Othello Cruz Ilustre, Jr. (1987-10-10) October 10, 1987 (age 37) Las Piñas, Metro Manila, Philippines
Education	De La Salle Santiago Zobel School Saint Francis of Assisi College
Occupations	Actor dancer singer
Years active	1993–present
Agents	Star Magic Sparkle
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Spouse	Dianne Medina ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	Joaquin Ilustre
Relatives	Sheryl Cruz (cousin) Sunshine Cruz (cousin) Donna Cruz (cousin) Geneva Cruz (cousin) Tirso Cruz III (uncle) Ricky Belmonte (uncle)
Family	Rayver Cruz (brother) Ella Cruz (sister)

Biography

Cruz started as a host, together with his younger brother Rayver, in the children's magazine show 5 And Up. Cruz was a member of the now defunct all-male dancing group Anim-E. The group, previously named Anime—in reference to the Tagalog word "anim" or "six"—originally consisted six members namely: Rayver Cruz, John Wayne Sace, Emman Abeleda, Sergio Garcia, Mico Aytona, and Mhyco Aquino.^[1] Rodjun joined the original members in 2005.

In 2006, he was cast as Jigo in the ABS-CBN TV series Calla Lily.^{[citation needed]}

After a year, Cruz along with 14 other celebrity contestants joined the second season of U Can Dance Version 2,^[2] where he met and started dating fellow Star Magic talent Dianne Medina.^[3] Cruz with his dancing partner Lina Basas were named Grand Champion of U Can Dance Version 2 the following year, where he won the grand prize of 250,000 pesos.^[4] He also won another 250,000 pesos from the "Merrygalo" segment of, the now defunct noontime variety show, Wowowee.^[4] He made a guest appearance in the "Mambabarang" episode of Komiks Presents: Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao in the same year.

In 2008, Cruz was cast as Jake Perez in the teen drama Lipgloss.^[5]

Cruz left Lipgloss after three seasons in 2009. He had minor roles in the ABS-CBN shows Tayong Dalawa and May Bukas Pa. He also made guest appearances in Maynila and Midnight DJ.

He played Calvin in Magkaribal in 2010. He was also cast as Joaquin Buenaventura in Juanita Banana.^[6] The same year, he left ASAP XV and joined, the show's rival, P.O.5 in TV5.^[6]

Personal life

Cruz is a cousin of entertainers Sheryl Cruz, Sunshine Cruz, Geneva Cruz and Donna Cruz.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2017, Cruz announced his engagement to actress Dianne Medina after dating since July 23, 2007.^[7] The couple married on December 21, 2019.^[8] In April 2020, they announced that they were expecting their first child together.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Source
1993–2002	5 and Up	Himself – Host	ABC GMA Network
2005–2010	ASAP	Himself – Host / Performer	ABS-CBN
2006	Calla Lily	Jigo
2007	U Can Dance Version 2	Himself – Contestant		Grand Champion (season 2)	[2]
	Komiks Presents: Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao	Rickey
2008–2009	Lipgloss	Jake Perez	TV5		[5]
2009	Tayong Dalawa	Stanley, Jr.	ABS-CBN
	May Bukas Pa	Young Ringo
	Maalaala Mo Kaya	Anton		Episode: "Tattoo"
	Midnight DJ	Miguel	TV5	Episode: "Mambabarang"	[9]
2010	Magkaribal	Calvin	ABS-CBN
2010–2011	Juanita Banana	Joaquin Buenaventura			[6]
2010–2011	P.O.5	Himself – Host / Performer	TV5
2011	Fan*tastik	Himself		Himself - Performer
	Maalaala Mo Kaya	Isyot	ABS-CBN	Episode: "Bulaklak"
2011–2012	Hey it's Saberdey!	Himself - Performer	TV5
2011	Carlo J. Caparas' Bangis	Musang
	Maalaala Mo Kaya	Rene	ABS-CBN	Episode: "Itak"
2012		Jeff Bringas		Episode: "Saklay"
		Teen Lito		Episode: "Kabibe"
2013	My Husband's Lover	Martin Savanal	GMA Network	Recurring guest star
2013–2015	Sunday All Stars	Himself – Performer
2014	Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real	Allan Real		Supporting Cast
	Magpakailanman			Episode: "Girl Boy Bakla, Tomboy"
2015	My Faithful Husband	Young Arnaldo		Special Participation
	Maynila			Episode: "Love vs Dreams"
		Rainier		Episode: "My Imported GF"
	Princess in the Palace	Kenneth
	Magpakailanman	Shem		Episode: "Love Me for What I Am"
2016	Karelasyon	Ricky		Episode: "Nagjakol"	[10]
	The Story of Us	Gino	ABS-CBN
	Conan, My Beautician	Prince	GMA Network	Guest
	Karelasyon	Michael		Episode: "Webcam"	[11]
	Magpakailanman	Paul		Episode: "Sa Kabila ng Lahat, Ikaw Pa Rin"
	A1 Ko Sa 'Yo	Johnny / Juanito		Episode guest
	Karelasyon	Arman		Episode: "Anino"	[12]
	Encantadia	PaoPao (warrior form)
	Dear Uge	James Villamayor		Episode: "GGSS vs. GGSS "
2017	Legally Blind	Joel Apostol
	Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko	Arnulfo
	Love is...	John
	Road Trip	Himself / Guest
2018	Imbestigador	Ruel Cabatingan		Episode: "Mag-Ina sa Cavite"
	The One That Got Away	Hugo
	Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka	Edward Salazar
	Imbestigador	Jessie Tesoro		Episode: "Nueva Ecija Massacre"
	Daddy's Gurl	Bomber
	Magpakailanman	Elmer		Episode: "Impiyerno sa Dagat: A True Story of Filipino Bravery and Preserverance"
2019	TODA One I Love	Robert			[13]
	Imbestigador	Glenn Ford Manzanero		Episode: "Bata sa Eco-Bag"
	Hanggang sa Dulo ng Buhay Ko	Ben Dela Cruz
	Maynila	Apollo		Episode: My Little Angel
2019–2020	One of the Baes	Martin Rivera
2020–present	All-Out Sundays	Himself – Performer			[14]
2020	Imbestigador	Francisco Zorilla		Episode: "Pedophile ng Tondo"
2021	My Fantastic Pag-ibig	Amadeus / Amado	GMA News TV	Episode: "Love Wars"
2022	Little Princess	Jaxon Pineda	GMA Network
2023	Mga Lihim ni Urduja	Min Feng
	Love Before Sunrise	Enrico "Rico" Domingo
2024	Jose & Maria's Bonggang Villa 2.0	Fabio
	My Guardian Alien	dancer
	Abot-Kamay na Pangarap	Dr. Gabby Cifra

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result	Source
2012	I Love You, Pare Ko	Carlo
2013	Raketeros
2013	Tuhog	Mark

References

1. Navarro, Mell T. (October 30, 2009). "Former Animé member Mhyco Aquino Leaves ABS-CBN to Spread his Wings". News. pep.ph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
2. Liabres, Aprylle (July 15, 2007). "All's fair for Rodjun Cruz". City Times. Khaleej Times. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
3. Franco, Bernie (September 30, 2008). "Dianne Medina on Rodjun Cruz: 'I love everything about him.'". Celeb Highlight. ABS-CBN News. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
4. Erece, Dinno (October 24, 2007). "Star Magic talent Rodjun Cruz is both Victorious and Virginal at 20". News. pep.ph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
5. Alamo, Nerissa (August 16, 2008). "TV5 Brings back Teen Drama on Saturday Afternoon Block via "Lipgloss"". Entertainment Guide / Television. pep.ph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
6. Sancon, Allan (February 1, 2011). "Rodjun Cruz Describes his Sweet Kissing Scene with Bianca Manalo for Juanita Banana". Entertainment Guide / Television. pep.ph. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
7. "Rodjun Cruz at Dianne Medina, engaged na". GMA News and Public Affairs (in Filipino). October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
8. "Rodjun Cruz at Dianne Medina, ikinasal na" (in Filipino).
9. "A Mother's Revenge on Midnight DJ". The Philippine Star. November 28, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
10. "Max Collins, Rodjun Cruz, at Chynna Ortaleza, Bibida sa Karelasyon ngayong Sabado". GMA News Online. August 18, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
11. "Lalaking Kapit sa Patalim para sa Pamilya, tampok sa 'Karelasyon'". GMA News Online. November 5, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
12. "'Karelasyon' Presents 'Anino'". GMA News Online. August 9, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
13. Eusebio, Aaron Brent (March 6, 2019). "Rodjun Cruz at Christopher de Leon, mapapanood sa 'TODA One I Love'". GMANetwork.com. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
14. Donato, Jerry. "All-out Sundays is back on air". Philstar.com. Retrieved April 22, 2023.

External links

• Rodjun Cruz at IMDb
• https://www.gmanetwork.com/sparkle/artists/rodjuncruz