Meet Alex Mallari Jr., the Filipino-Canadian Actor in Netflix's The Adam Project
From an early age, Alex Mallari Jr. had always envisioned becoming an action star. "My mom recently went through my childhood notebooks from school. I had drawn a Hollywood sign. There, I play a villain and I'm saying, 'Put your hands up!' This was in the second grade," he recounts. Little did he know that this seemingly inconceivable dream would soon turn into reality.
Hailing from Lubao City in Pampanga, Mallari migrated with his inang to Toronto, where he spent most of his formative years. He initially pursued a career in martial arts and criminology until eventually deciding to chase his dreams.
Despite having no connections in the industry, Mallari slowly established his presence in primetime television—eventually bagging roles in shows like Nikita, Beauty and The Beast, Dark Matter, Designated Survivor, and more. Now, he's ready to take his career a step further.
"My past experiences are really TV. The pace of that is so quick, you don't have the time to get the most out of the scene," he says. "In films, you can work on a scene until you get to the emotional part of storytelling. I want to do more movies as it fulfills my artistic needs," he adds.
Selected to play Christos in The Adam Project, by none other than box-office director Shawn Levy himself, it's safe to assume that the fast-rising actor is on the right track. Christos, who is the menacing villain and accomplice in the film, travels through different points in time with one goal: to make Adam's life miserable. And, when your on-screen rival is the Ryan Reynolds, it can be quite intimidating.
"From the moment I found out, I was on a very strict diet because I had to stand beside Ryan Reynolds!" Mallari humors. He also admits that it was overwhelming to learn that he would be cast with veteran stars, including the likes of Zoe Saldana and Jennifer Garner, but he says the whole crew got along well.
"Wrapping my head around the fact that I would be with the giants… that was the most difficult part. But when we started working together, it came so naturally. Everyone on set had such awesome energy," he says.
Getting the part was only the first hurdle. Taking on a physically demanding role, Mallari had to work closely with a stunt team. "It's just like playing. Yes, it's a professional job and you have to put your big pants on. But, when you get there, it's fun to be around such creative minds. If you happen to hit someone in the chin or take a punch, you laugh about it. Not that it happened," he says. As his own little way of representing the Philippines, he also especially requested some scenes featuring arnis sticks.
Besides the action-packed scenes, Mallari tells us that the enigma surrounding the concept of time travel will definitely hook viewers in. "You can't really die. There's something about it. It makes you question immortality. Is time linear or not? I like the fantasy of being able to toy with time because in reality, you can't: time is borrowed, it belongs to no man. You just have to keep trucking." He also hopes that the film encourages people to appreciate the present moment and their loved ones while they still can.
That said, Mallari is optimistic that his recent successes may open doors for future generations of Filipino creatives to break into the industry–not just for actors but for homegrown publicists, writers, and directors as well. "Things are opening up, one step at a time. I may not reap the rewards of my work. But, it feels good knowing that I'm helping, no matter how small," he says.
