He moved to Canada from the Philippines with his family when he was 12. At age 22, he won a talent competition in which the winner received a chance to audition in the Philippines. He had continued to speak Tagalog at home after his family went to Canada, so he had no trouble getting movie and TV acting gigs in his native country. After years of soap-opera stardom in South Asia, he moved to Toronto to raise his family. He became a police officer.
