Beaver Magtalas wants to make a name for himself  

In pop culture, the family name Magtalas is associated with Sarah Geronimo, who portrayed the character of Laida Magtalas in three memorable, romantic films, opposite John Lloyd Cruz.

No wonder, a real Magtalas gets inevitably teased if he is related to Laida, something that has always been a normal query upon meeting singer-songwriter and newest film star, Beaver Magtalas.

It helps that Beaver’s family name easily precedes him with an instant recall. He is consistently flattered.

Sixteen-year-old Beaver is a multi-faceted talent bent on making a name for himself in local showbiz. An artist of ABS-CBN Star Hunt, Beaver is making his acting debut in the action, sci-fi fantasy film, Genius Teens, megged by Italian director Paolo Bertola, with Mario Alaman as writer and producer.

Beaver plays Hopper, one of the leads in Genius Teens as a teenager, who is capable of teleportation. The film will be streamed on KTX starting July 15, but will have a premiere at SM Megamall on June 25.

He is one of the lucky 27 teens chosen from a pool of over 500 talents who tried their luck to join the cast of the film.

“I’m very thankful to my parents that they did not force me to enter showbiz when I was younger,” shared Beaver. “I was the one who decided when I felt it was really the time. I requested them to accompany me to audition for Genius Teens. They had no idea I wanted to join showbiz.”

Beaver, whose real name is Ernest Jejomar, is the eldest son of Alvin and Filipina Mercado-Magtalas. His dad is the newly-elected councilor of Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, where Beaver’s family hails from.

Beaver was taking a workshop under Star Magic when his friend egged him on to audition for Genius Teens. “Nag-chat ‘yung friend ko kay Mommy and he told her there was an audition for this movie,” Beaver recalled.

“I’m very thankful that I was one of the talents who was taken in. We started shooting in 2019, before the pandemic.”

However, filming was halted when the virus made it impossible for people to normally move around. “So, we were able to resume only this year and they completed post-production.

“It took us two years to finish. I really couldn’t go out before. Teenagers were not allowed. Only my parents were going out of the house. Finally, Genius Teens is going to be shown.

“Doing this film was very exciting for me. I didn’t expect na magiging ganyan ang outcome ng film. It really exceeded my expectations. Getting into acting and improving my talents, the more fun it gets. I’m sure I want to stay long in this industry.”

Beaver also wrapped up filming Julius Bergado’s Tahanan ng mga Pangarap, where he got the chance to work with veteran actress Deborah Sun.

In his future film projects, Beaver is priming himself to do drama, action and romance genres. He also wants to get into adventure.

“I love to do adventure, so those kinds of roles, I am excited to do,” Beaver admitted. “I know I can do those kinds of roles.”

He penned a hugot song, Sayang Lang, about two people who fall out of love, as well as a previous composition, The Town, dedicated to his late sister.

“My older sister, she’s an angel now,” Beaver offered. “She passed on when she was more than one year old. Her favorite bike had Beaver in it and she would always point to it and say the name. My parents nicknamed me Beaver so they will always remember her.”

Majority of Beaver’s fellow talents at ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt came from Pinoy Big Brother, a reality show where he earlier auditioned, but did not get past the final cut.

He took modeling and at present, Beaver is improving on his dancing skills since he will do a lot of TV guestings to promote Genius Teens.

Beaver is an incoming senior high school — Grade 12 — at the College of the Immaculate Conception in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.

He plays the guitar and the piano. He is also into sports and plays basketball and volleyball. He writes songs and sings a mean Favorite Girl by Justin Bieber.

Beaver is not one who will easily give up. When he auditioned for ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt back in 2017 in Cabanatuan, he only went past the second stage. A few years later, when he learned there was another audition in Ilocos Norte, Beaver’s enthusiasm was rekindled, that’s why he convinced his supportive parents to accompany him.

Last year, Beaver signed a three-year contract with ABS-CBN’s Star Hunt.