Seventeen years since his acting career in ABS-CBN started in 2008, it’s truly amazing how Zaijian Jaranilla has remained relevant and popular despite the influx of new breeds of artists through the years. And just recently—at 23 years old—he made his 21st appearance in “Maalaala Mo Kaya” via the season finale episode entitled “Habal-habal”, in which he astounded us anew with his portrayal of a young snatcher-turned-jail officer.
But prior to the said feat, the celebrated young actor appeared in a recent episode of Kapamilya Chat, wherein he bared more of himself and his remarkable acting career through the special challenges prepared for him.
And among the exciting games he had enthusiastically taken on was the “A to Zaijian Challenge,” wherein he was shown screenshots of his scenes from his past teleseryes and movies, and his task was to complete the line of his character written on each art card by supplying the missing word. Aside from that, he also shared interesting stories about his stints in each series.
The first one was from the 2018 fantaserye “Bagani,” wherein he played the role of Liksi, a slave from the Trade or “Taga-Kalakal” Region, who was the last one to join the elite group of baganis. According to him, one of his most unforgettable memories in the series was filming his first-ever scene, wherein he had to pretend to be watching the fight between Enrique Gil’s character Lakas and the legendary bird Minokawa, as well as do a monologue—when in fact there was nothing for him to see.
The second one was from his breakthrough project “May Bukas Pa,” in which he first captured our hearts with his portrayal of Santino, the wide-eyed orphaned boy adopted and raised by Franciscans, who gained the ability to talk to God and miraculously heal the sick.
When asked how he feels that a lot of people still call him Santino, Zaijian expressed how thankful and utterly in disbelief he is that even young children who haven’t seen the inspirational series during its first airing from 2009 to 2010 also know him.
“Thankful pa rin ako kasi hindi pa rin nila nakakalimutan. Parang kahit ‘yong mga hindi na naabutan ‘yong Santino tapos may lalapit sa akin [na magsasabing], ‘Uy, pinapanood kita.’ Kahit ‘yong mga bata,” he related.
The next one was from “Bagani” again, which was a photo of Liksi and Lakas while talking about his responsibility as the new possessor of the power of Kataw, a mythical merfolk with a reptilian appearance.
It was succeeded by a still from the 2023 mystery teen drama series “Senior High,” wherein he played the role of Tim Castro and was paired with co-star Miggy Jimenez, who portrayed his character’s boyfriend, Poch Robles.
Last, but not the least, was a screenshot from the 2012 romantic comedy flick “24/7 In Love,” in which he was seen interacting with fellow former child star Xyriel Manabat. When asked if he was aware that he was already an actor at the time, he recounted not actually having any recollection anymore of what he had done during his child star days.
When quizzed about how he felt being surrounded by cameras and lights, as well as having to memorize lines and scenes, Zaijian related, “Parang naglalaro lang ‘yong pakiramdam e. Nag-e-enjoy lang ako lalo na kapag kasama ko si [Xyriel]; wala kaming ibang ginawa kundi maglaro lang. Pero siyempre, nandoon pa rin ‘yong trabaho, focus pa rin. Pinapaalala pa rin sa amin na trabaho pa rin ‘to.”