Rodolfo Othello Cruz Ilustre, Jr. (born October 10, 1987), known professionally as Rodjun Cruz (), is a Filipino

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

r and

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

. He is the brother of fellow actor and dancer Rayver Cruz.

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 Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

word "''anim''" or "''six''"—originally consisted six members namely: Rayver Cruz,

John Wayne Sace John Wayne Sace (born May 9, 1989) is a Filipino character actor and dancer. He first rose to prominence from being a former child actor to a teen idol. Life and career Sace was a member of ABS-CBN network's circle of homegrown talents called St ...

, Emman Abeleda, Sergio Garcia, Mico Aytona, and Mhyco Aquino. Rodjun joined the original members in 2005. In 2006, he was cast as Jigo in the

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Philippine commercial broadcast network that serves as the flagship property of ABS-CBN Corporation, a company unde ...

TV series '' Calla Lily''. After a year, Cruz along with 14 other celebrity contestants joined the second season of '' U Can Dance Version 2'', where he met and started dating fellow Star Magic talent

Dianne Medina Maria Patricia Dianne Perez Medina-Ilustre (born November 5, 1986) is a Filipino actress, dancer, television host, anchor and part-time model. Medina is also a former member of ABS-CBN's developmental talent agent Star Magic. Early life Dianne M ...

. 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. He also won another 250,000 pesos from the "''Merrygalo''" segment of, the now defunct noontime variety show, ''

Wowowee ''Wowowee'' () is a Philippine noontime variety show that was broadcast by ABS-CBN from 2005 to 2010. The show premiered on February 5, 2005, and aired live on weekdays and Saturdays. The show was also broadcast worldwide through ABS-CBN's The ...

''. He made a guest appearance in the "''Mambabarang''" episode of ''

Komiks Comics in the Philippines ( fil, Komiks}) have been widespread and popular throughout the country from the 1920s to the present. Komiks were partially inspired by American mainstream comic strips and comic books during the early 20th century ...

Presents: Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao'' in the same year. In 2008, Cruz was cast as Jake Perez in the

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

'' Lipgloss''. Cruz left Lipgloss after three seasons in 2009. He had minor roles in the

shows ''

Tayong Dalawa ''Tayong Dalawa'' (International title: ''The Two of Us'') is a Philippine primetime drama series broadcast on ABS-CBN and worldwide on TFC from January 19, 2009 to September 25, 2009, replacing '' Dyosa'' and was replaced by '' Lovers in Paris ...

'' and '' May Bukas Pa''. He also made guest appearances in ''

Maynila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

'' and ''

Midnight DJ ''Midnight DJ'' is a Filipino reality drama- horror- action-thriller television series about DJ who works at night and at the same time, together with his team, they work to find solutions to the paranormal problems of his listeners. The series d ...

''. He played Calvin in ''

Magkaribal ''Magkaribal'' (International title: ''Rivals'') is a 2010 Philippine drama television series starring Bea Alonzo and Gretchen Barretto. The series ran on ABS-CBN from June 28, 2010, to November 5, 2010. Premise Two sisters, Anna and Angela A ...

'' in 2010. He was also cast as Joaquin Buenaventura in ''

Juanita Banana ''Juanita Banana'' is a Philippine comedy soap opera created by Pablo S. Gomez. It stars Binibining Pilipinas 2009-Universe, Bianca Manalo in the title role. It aired on ABS-CBN from October 25, 2010, to February 18, 2011, replacing '' Rosalk ...

''. The same year, he left '' ASAP XV'' and joined, the show's rival, P.O.5 in TV5.

Personal life

Cruz is a cousin of entertainers

Sheryl Cruz Sheryl Rose Anna Marie Sonora Cruz (born April 5, 1974), better known as Sheryl Cruz, is a Filipino actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Divina Ferrer in 2007's television drama series ''Sinasamba Kita'', as Valeria in ''Bakekang ...

Sunshine Cruz Sunshine Cruz (born July 18, 1977) is a Filipino actress and singer. She is the part of the Cruz family of actors. Personal life Cruz was married to actor/director Cesar Montano in September 2000. They have three daughters Angelina Isabele, Sa ...

, Geneva Cruz and

Donna Cruz Donna Cruz Yrastorza-Larrazabal professionally known as Donna Cruz is a Filipina singer and actress. She is a member of the Philippine showbiz family Cruz. Her self-titled debut album ''Donna'' was well received by the general public and ear ...

. In October 2017, Cruz announced his engagement to actress

after dating since July 23, 2007. The couple married on December 21, 2019. In April 2020, they announced that they were expecting their first child together.

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * https://www.gmanetwork.com/sparkle/artists/rodjuncruz {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Rodjun 1987 births Living people 21st-century Filipino male actors Filipino male television actors Filipino people of Spanish descent Reality show winners Participants in Philippine reality television series Star Magic ABS-CBN personalities GMA Network personalities Rodjun People from Las Piñas Male actors from Manila