Asian HeatWave: Luis Alandy

The young Filipino television and movie actor Luis Alandy is not only strikingly handsome, sweet and now hunky, but is also down-to-earth and intelligent.

At 25, Luis has already appeared in several ABS-CBN television series, in a few movies, and has been busy with the just concluded hit stage play “All About Men, Part II”. Not only that, Luis is also a member of the all-male singing group “Barako Boys”.


Luis first ventured into showbiz in 1998 at the age of 18 when he auditioned and was accepted at the GMA-7 television network. In 2000, he switched to the rival network ABS-CBN, and has been there ever since.

The middle child of a family of three brothers and one sister, Luis grew up in a comfortably middle class family in Antipolo, Rizal, after being born at St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City on Feb. 7, 1980. Luis was not spoiled by many maids and nannies while growing up, as his mother even had to work to help support the family when he was a child.

He later studied psychology at San Sebastian College, but dropped out in his third year to try his luck in show business.“I love the hardships of acting,” Luis says when I ask what attracted him to becoming an actor.He is also a passionate defender of Philippine cinema, which after a period of decline is, in his opinion, experiencing a rebirth with the advent of digital cinematography.

He recently starred in a digital film called “Tuli” (Circumcision) along with Desiree del Valle, Carlo Aquino and Vanna Garcia. The film, directed by Auraeus Solito, won best local film and local director awards at the 7th International Film Festival in Manila last October. Despite tabloid rumors that he has split up with his girlfriend Desiree del Valle, Luis says that they are still together despite not having the time to see each other every day.
“We’re both career oriented, and with the schedule I have I rarely see her. But I talk to her on the phone,” said Luis.After joining the “Barako Boys” group, which recently released their first album of songs under BMG Records, Luis began working out religiously three times a week to turn his body that originally looked like the one of a boy next door, into the hunk that he is now.

But don’t get Luis wrong. He’s not a spendthrift. Instead, he’s saving up his paychecks to buy a housing lot in Antipolo and to pay off an educational plan for his future child. “I want to get married in my thirties and have 2-3 kids,” said Luis.And I have no doubt that he will.

He confessed that in his eight years in show- business, he experienced being at the bottom of the wheel. He remembered contemplating if he will land TV or movie projects because of competition becoming stiffer with the emergence of newer actors.

Studied at San Sebastian College (Philippines) and AMA Computer College-East Rizal (Philippines).

Buffed up his body for Bench underwear fashion shows, and for the musical revue “Penis Talks (2004).”

Personal quotes

“At first, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull it through. But with my determination to do well in the play, I just considered it a challenge. I found it to be very difficult especially since I didn’t know where to get the motivation because I have yet to meet in person a child who was a victim of molestation. I only got to know about real-life situations like that on TV and reading about it in the papers. But the hardest was playing the father because I was just there sitting down and yet I had to act and look really vicious.” - Interviewed about his significant 3-role performance in the 2004 musical revue “Penis Talks.”