Filipino talents continue to gain international recognition as another actress got nominated in an award ceremony in Seoul, South Korea.
The Seoul Drama Awards (SDA), an annual award ceremony that honors excellence in television productions worldwide, is set to hold its 18th edition this September.
On Tuesday, the award-giving body announced that actress Kathryn Bernardo got nominated in the Outstanding Asian Stars category, where she will be competing with well-known actors in South Korea, China, Thailand, Japan, and Taiwan.
Many Filipino artists were nominated at the SDA and so far, five of them have bagged the award.
Let’s get to know these Filipino SDA winners.
Belle Mariano
Belle Mariano is the recent and the first actress to win the Outstanding Asian Star Prize.
She won the award last year, along with China’s Wallace Chung, Japan’s Yusei Yagi, Thailand’s Krit Amnuaydechkorn, and Taiwan’s Alice Ko.
The 20-year-old actress entered the showbiz industry when she was only nine years old, debuting as a supporting role in melodrama Lorenzo’s Time in 2012. She also joined the cast members of the youth-oriented show Goin’ Bulilit.
Mariano was launched as one of the Star Magic Circle artists in 2019, and following that year she was cast as one of the main characters in Four Sisters Before the Wedding, a prequel of the 2013 film Four Sisters and a Wedding.
The actress gained more popularity when she top-billed teen romantic-comedy series He’s Into Her in 2021, alongside actor Donny Pangilinan. The fans began calling their love team DonBelle.
Mariano thanked the cast and crew of He’s Into Her in her speech at the 2022 SDA.
Dingdong Dantes
The Asian Star Prize was bestowed to actor Dingdong Dantes in 2020 for his performance as Captain Lucas Manalo or “Big Boss” in the Philippine remake of the hit South Korean drama Descendants of the Sun.
The 42-year-old actor starred with actress Jennelyn Mercado and Jasmine Curtis-Smith and actor Rocco Nacino in the series.
Dantes, in his speech, also dedicated his award to all frontlines such as soldiers, health workers, and volunteers who risked their lives at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The seasoned actor began his career as a child model at the age of two. He ventured into acting as he played roles in films in the 1980s. He then debuted on GMA’s
youth-oriented T.G.I.S where he was first paired with Antoinette Taus.
Some millennials would probably know Dantes for his role in the iconic romance series Marimar in 2007, where he was the leading man of his wife, Marian Rivera.
The actor is active as a host of Amazing Earth and Family Feud.
Alden Richards
Alden Richards obtained the Asian Star Prize in 2019, following the success of Hello, Love, Goodbye. He starred in the 2019 film along with Bernardo.
Richard was a model before he started his acting career in the Kapuso network, as one of the lead cast in the afternoon soap Alakdana in 2011. In the same year, he also starred in several films such as Ang Panday 2, and became a Party Pilipinas host.
He took on more roles in television dramas and films, and did more hosting until he caught the attention of the public in 2015.
Richards became one of the hosts in the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga, where he was accidentally paired with actress and host Maine Mendoza in the Kalyeserye portion of the show’s Juan For All, All For One segment. It was where the tandem AlDub was born.
In his speech, the 31-year-old actor said he hopes “to make more people happy and inspire them with our passion.”
Gabby Concepcion
Gabby Concepcion is the third Filipino recipient of the award in 2017 for his role in the revenge drama Ika-6 na Utos. His character, Rome, in the series commits adultery.
He is one of the awardees, along with Malaysia’s Debbie Goh, Japan’s Hyunri, India’s Satyadeep Misra, and Thailand’s Sukollawat Kanarot.
The 58-year-old actor started his showbiz career as a teen model for a toothpaste commercial brand. His first acting role was in the 1980 movie Katorse under Regal Films.
Concepcion left for the United States in 1988 despite an ongoing film. He went back to the Philippines in 2008. In the same year, he started appearing again in television dramas including Iisa Pa Lamang and continued to present.
The actor will star in an upcoming series titled Stolen Life with actresses Carla Abellana and Beauty Gonzalez.
Dennis Trillo
Dennis Trillo is the first-ever Filipino to win the Asian Star Prize in 2016.
This is for his role in the 2015 romance series My Faithful Husband, where he gave life to Emman. His character claimed the responsibility of being a father to the child of her friend, Mel, and offered her marriage.
Trillo starred in the drama with his wife Mercado.
Prior to venturing into acting, Trillo was a drummer of a band called Moyg. He started his entertainment career in the Kapamilya network in 2001 as part of Star Circle batch 10. He was joined by actress Bea Alonzo and actors Alfred Vargas and TJ Trinidad.
He became part of Pangako Sa ‘Yo and Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan in 2000s before he transferred to the Kapuso network in 2003. His first project in the network was the youth-oriented drama Kahit Kailan, where he had a supporting role.Trillo top-billed the hit fantasy series Maria Clara at Ibarra in 2022 until 2023. He also appeared in the ongoing Filipino live-action adaptation of Voltes V.
