At only 16, new actor Beaver Magtalas is 5’10” and still growing.
He takes after his father, Palayan City Councilor Alvin Magtalas, who stands at 5’11”, and his mom, businesswoman Filipinas Mercado Magtalas, who has kind, smiling eyes.
But his ambition is neither to go into politics nor business. Beaver wants to be in showbiz — and at age 12 already showed his determination to enter the business by joining auditions in his native Nueva Ecija to as far as Ilocos Norte. He also took acting workshops under Star Magic and Ogie Diaz.
And slowly, his determination is paying off. At age 14, he landed a major role in the movie “Genius Teens,” directed by Italian Paolo Bertola and produced by Utmost Creatives. After two years, the movie, originally a six-episode series, will have its premiere on June 25 at SM Megamall Cinema 10. The action-sci-fi project will stream starting July 15 on KTX.ph.
Five hundred teens, kids and adults auditioned for the action-fantasy film.
“I had to adlib during the audition kasi magbibigay lang sila ng situation sa ‘yo. Thankfully, out of 100 na na shortlist, nakasama po ako sa ‘Genius Teens’,” related Beaver.
“Genius Teens” features 51 Filipino, American, and Italian actors.
“I was super excited when I learned I landed the role in my first ever film,” he said, “With an international cast pa na super professional, but I also felt some pressure to be with actors na magaling na.”
His role as Hopper, who has the power to teleport, has a lot of exciting scenes, including one where he is supposed to fall from the fourth floor of a building.
“I had a scene I had to fall from the fourth floor of the building. Dinaya po siya. Hawak hawak ako ni Daddy, parang half of my body was floating. Si Daddy ang naghawak para may tiwala ako. After po nun, pumunta kami sa first floor at tumalon sa mattress,” he related.
Apart from acting, Beaver also plays the guitar and sings like his idol, Daniel Padilla. He also wants to be a versatile actor, like another of his idols, Kathryn Bernardo, who is also from Nueva Ecija. Right now, he is working on his dance moves. But aside from his talents, what Beaver has going for him is his eagerness to do whatever it takes to bring joy.
“Na inspire po ako ng YouTubers, vloggers nung bata ako. They bring so much joy, so I also want to bring joy kahit sa maliit na paraan. I started vlogging at Grade 4, and I edited my own videos. Pinaka viral na video sa BEAVERifics is ‘yung hanap hakot challenge. We made it during the quarantine and we gave random strangers the chance maghakot for their daily necessities for thirty seconds to one minute. Our main goal was to be able to help and makagawa ng vlog. Kami ang nag pay sa nahakot nilang gamit.”
