What AKTOR PH Is Leaving Behind For the Next Generation of Storytellers

AKTOR PH members reflect on the discipline, resilience, and responsibility they hope to pass on to the next generation.

When the League of Filipino Actors (AKTOR PH) was formed, it emerged not just as a union of professionals but as a movement. From industry veterans to rising stars, AKTOR’s members are bound by the conviction that the craft must be honored, the community uplifted, and the generations that follow guided with wisdom.

For Jasmine Curtis-Smith, who entered show business in the 2010s, the early years felt strangely solitary despite the industry’s glare. Surrounded by management teams and polished marketing, she often longed for a space where actors could exchange stories freely, unfiltered by contracts or networks. “The era of needing to be alone is over,” she says now. “With AKTOR, we finally have a common space to talk, to share, to lift each other up.” For her, the organization is not just about visibility in casting or industry negotiations. It is also about creating a safe harbor where actors, whether represented or not, can be recognized and celebrated, both locally and abroad.

Piolo Pascual, a veteran of Philippine cinema, remembers an industry that once felt looser, almost familial, until it tightened into exclusivities and rivalries. Longevity has taught him that artistry cannot be sustained by individual ambition alone. “It’s not just about being an individual,” he reflects. “It’s about being part of a movement. Discipline, love for the craft, and responsibility, those are what we pass on to the next generation.”

For younger actors like Ruru Madrid, the language of purpose is just as essential. He entered the industry through a reality competition, driven at first by a simple desire: to help his family. Over time, that personal mission widened into something collective. “I want to leave behind the message that nothing is impossible if you don’t give up on your dream,” he says. “Determination and love for the craft can defy everything.”

The veterans speak with a different kind of clarity, forged in the heat of an earlier industry. Agot Isidro recalls the 1990s, when formula films dominated the box office and women’s roles were often secondary. Her advice, distilled from decades in the craft, is both pragmatic and pointed: “Focus on the craft. The fame and money will come later.”

Cherry Pie Picache, whose career spans theater, television, and film, emphasizes longevity as the truest measure of success. Her career took off without the backing of networks or the validation of social media likes, relying instead on reputation earned set by set, role by role. “At the end, it’s the craft that will hold you together,” she says. “Discipline and attitude are your real tools for staying power.”

For Dolly de Leon, who has become a global figure after her breakout role in Triangle of Sadness, AKTOR is about courage in the face of an industry still learning to value fairness. “It takes a courageous bunch of people to speak up,” she says. For too long, actors who demanded respect were labeled difficult, even ungrateful, she says. De Leon hopes her legacy is not just about roles played but about systems changed: shorter hours, equitable treatment, and a culture where calling out injustice is not a scandal but a norm.

And then there is Iza Calzado, who speaks now as both an actress and a mother. Having grown up in the shadow of network wars and industry politics, she has seen the best and worst of the system. “How am I going to leave this industry? Do I want my daughter to inherit it just as it is?” she asks. For Calzado, AKTOR is no longer just about survival; it is about transformation. “It’s my North Star. I want the next generation to inherit something better.”

Taken together, these voices, seasoned and new, form a collective vision of what being a Filipino actor can be. The legacy they hope to leave is not measured by marquee names or box-office numbers, but by their standing together for their craft, for their rights, and for those who will step into the light after them.