Anthony Angel Labrusca Jr. (; born August 7, 1995) is an American actor, model, and singer that is based in the Philippines. Labrusca first gained his popularity via a

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Philippines TV ad in 2016, ''Tuloy Pa Rin''. In 2016, he joined the Philippine reality search '' Pinoy Boyband Superstar'', but did not make the cut to be part of the band. He was thenpart of a horror-fantasy drama series called '' La Luna Sangre''. The trailer of his latest film ''Glorious'' reached more than 5 million views on its first day of release.

Early life

Labrusca was born on August 7, 1995, in

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, in the United States. He is the son of Filipino actor Boom Labrusca and Filipina singer Angel Jones. He grew up in Los Angeles, California with his mother, step father (Boom Dayupay) and sister. When he was 9, his family moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada. He then flew to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to pursue his career in show business.

Career

Before Labrusca auditioned for '' Pinoy Boyband Superstar'', he was already a face of various TV commercials. He became more popular when he played the guy who broke a girl's heart ( Elisse Joson) in the viral

TV ad entitled ''Tuloy Pa Rin'' in 2016. During his audition in ''Pinoy Boyband Superstar'', he was unexpectedly reunited with his biological father Boom Labrusca. He successfully became one of the top contenders and went up to the Top 7 for the grand finals. He did not make it to the Top 5 as the final member of BoybandPH. He made his acting debut in 2017 via TV5's ''Wattpad Presents'' with

Louise delos Reyes Mary Grace delos Reyes Perido (born September 1, 1992), better known Louise delos Reyes, is a Filipino actress. She starred on various television series such as ''Alakdana'' (2011), ''One True Love (2012 TV series), One True Love'' (2012), '' ...

. Later, he joined '' La Luna Sangre'', which is considered as his first break playing the role of Jake Arguelles. In June 2020, Labrusca starred in the hit Filipino BL series, '' Hello Stranger''. The series proved popular even among international fans, which led to the Hello Stranger film in 2021. From 2023 to 2024, he played the main antagonist, Lucas Buencamino, in '' Nag-aapoy na Damdamin''. Labrusca's

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is a Philippine talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila. Founded in 1992, Star Magic ha ...

contract expired in December 2024, after which he moved to

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

. His first role after signing was a part in ''

Binibining Marikit ( / international title: ''Hello, Miss Beautiful'') is a 2025 Philippine television drama romantic comedy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Jorron Lee Monroy, it stars Herlene Budol in the title role. It premiered on February 10, 20 ...

'', with

Herlene Budol Herlene Nicole Policarpio Budol (; born August 23, 1999), also known as "Hipon Girl" () or "Magandang Dilag" (), or "Binibining Marikit" (), is a Filipino model, comedian, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was a co-host of the Phi ...

Controversies

On January 3, 2019, shortly after landing at

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...

(NAIA), Labrusca allegedly yelled curses at Bureau of Immigration officers after they stamped his passport for a 30-day stay only, which is the maximum visa-free stay in the Philippines for US passport holders. Labrusca was using his American passport at that time and had no work visa. However, he mistakenly believed that he was covered by the ''Balikbayan Programs one-year visa-free stay. A spokesperson of the Bureau of Immigration explained that the ''Balikbayan Program'' "is for former Filipinos and their immediate family members who are traveling with them. If these family members are not traveling with them, then they are not qualified." Labrusca was not accompanied by an immediate family member at that time. Labrusca was widely criticized for the incident, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. suggested his deportation. The following day, Labrusca apologized to the immigration officers and admitted that he did not know the full details of the ''Balikbayan Program'', but maintained that he did not curse or shout at any officer. In June 2021, Labrusca was charged with alleged acts of lasciviousness and slight physical injuries for an incident that happened 5 months before, on the night of January 16, 2021, where allegedly, a drunk Labrusca unstrapped a woman's top to expose her breasts before forcefully pulling her to sit on his lap. He also allegedly choked a man on that same night. In July, the physical injuries case was dismissed by the

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

prosecutor's office since the complaint was filed "more than two months from the date of its alleged commission, the crime is already extinguished by reason of prescription." In March 2022, the acts of lasciviousness case was dismissed citing no probable cause.

Filmography

Television / Digital series

Film

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Labrusca, Tony 1995 births Living people Male actors from Metro Manila Filipino male television actors Star Magic ABS-CBN people GMA Network (company) people Filipino male models Male actors from Houston 21st-century Filipino male actors American expatriates in the Philippines Filipino male film actors