Rising theater actor Omar Uddin is featured in Newport World Resorts’ “Delia D.”
Omar Uddin is a featured performer in the newly opened musical at the Newport World Resorts called “Delia D,” based on the songs of prolific songwriter Jonathan Manalo.
Omar began singing at the age of four, performing and competing in barangay singing contests. His passion didn’t stop there — he also auditioned for talent shows, including “The Voice Kids.” However, without formal training, he focused on local competitions, eventually winning Woobie’s Kid Idol in 2015.
“I won tons of prizes and one of those prizes changed my life and led me to the path of musical theater,” he recalled.
He earned a scholarship to a musical theater workshop, which sparked his interest in pursuing more opportunities. After the workshop, he began auditioning for stage plays and TV commercials. However, it wasn’t until he was cast in “Bata sa Bus Stop” for Virgin Labfest 2017 and landed his first musical, “Tagu-taguan, Nasaan ang Buwan?” by PETA, that the theater community began to take notice of Omar.
He said: “To be honest, at first, I was just looking for a way to make money to put food on the table. But then I slowly realized that every time I set foot on a stage, it felt so exciting — knowing I could show what I could do. And it came to a point that I wasn’t thinking about the money anymore, I wanted to show off my talent, so other kids like me who watched would be inspired and make use of the talents they have.
“And the feeling of telling a story of another person or telling a story of a must-heard issue, making it louder than it is and teaching a good lesson in life to the audience through art will always be fulfilling, making us feel that we are contributing to the world.”
Omar started as a normal, gregarious kid at Legarda Elementary School in Sampaloc, Manila, until he discovered his love for performing. He enrolled in a modular Christian school called Jedidiah Christian Academy in Caloocan. He paused his studies in senior high to concentrate on his career.
Omar was first noticed when he became part of “Lion King,” the International Tour in 2018 and but later, he considers “Bar Boys” musical in 2024 as his real turning point. “After doing that prod I was getting noticed by more producers, more directors, more people who aspire to perform or people who hasn’t heard the story before and changing their perspective or maybe leaving them a powerful message that they could take home and share to other people. I enjoyed every single bit of the process from day 1 till our last show, and now still missing my cast mates’ energies,” said Omar.
Before “Delia D,” Omar was in “Next To Normal.” He accepts a project if he think it’ll help him improve as an actor and as a person. “For me it’s a matter of whether the company treats their actors well — not based on the experiences of their previous actors and if the text of the play is important for the audience to know. “
In “Delia D” Omar’s character is one the contestants of the singing competition where he meets Delia and where a friendship develops between them. He is sort of the leading man of the show. It is also one of the most important roles in his career because this is his first time originating a role in an original play. Omar acknowledges, “It is a good challenge for me, pushing through my limits and discovering new choices in acting. It took me time to get comfortable with my role, thanks to Phi Palmos for helping me get to know my character more alongside Delia. I took this role because I know I could grow from this.”
Asked about his similarities and differences from his character and real life, Omar said, “Raymond, my character in the play and I are both good looking, but I guess he has more confidence than me. Hehe! We both got that good voice and we have the same singing style as well so it was easy for me to sing his songs. Raymond is older than me by three years but we have the same passion for performing and would always try to find a way to survive. Although we have different perspectives towards love, we both would always show genuine feeling towards the person we love and we both get hurt when the person we fall for, misunderstands us.”
After “Delia D,” Omar might slow down in theater — taking time to cool off and do productions one at a time so he can also focus on his academics. But we’ll never know what happens next — maybe something big is coming, or maybe he’ll take it as a sign to focus on school and finish college. Although he hopes to explore more of the entertainment industry — like joining a pop group or starring in a film — finishing school remains a major consideration.
