Zaijian Godsick Lara Jaranilla (born August 23, 2001) is a Filipino actor and model. He began his career as a model before transitioning into show business actor both as child performer. He rose to fame for his role as Santino in the Christian drama series, May Bukas Pa.
Early life and education Zaijian Godsick Lara Jaranilla was born on August 23, 2001, in Gloria, Oriental Mindoro, to Glendelle Lara Jaranilla and Zenon Louis Jaranilla and grew up in Quezon City, Metro Manila. He is the eldest of three siblings, staying and having connection primarily with his father and younger brother Zymic Jaranilla with a mother was separated from the family in 2006 and secondarily since 2009 with the Atayde family. Jaranilla regularly spends vacations locally in various provinces most notably Boac, Marinduque, and internationally abroad starting with his 8th birthday at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2009 and then began to go to visa countries in 2019 with South Korea.
He began his formal education at General Roxas Elementary School in Quezon City. He was scheduled to enroll at Angelicum College for the second grade, but due to acting commitments, he temporarily continued his education through homeschooling and programs for gifted students before resuming regular schooling there in 2010. Jaranilla continued his education at Angelicum College while pursuing an acting career, remaining at the school for eight years and completing his sophomore year of junior high school in 2018.
Due to increasing professional commitments, he discontinued regular schooling after completing his sophomore year. To continue his education, he took and passed the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) administered by the Department of Education, which allowed him to proceed directly to senior high school. In 2023, Jaranilla completed his studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) strand at Colegio de San Juan de Dios in San Rafael, Bulacan.
Career 2004–2008: Start of overall performance career as child performer and model Jaranilla was discovered by talent manager Bryan Ancheta of RDB Talents and Events Management in 2004, marking his debut in the overall performance industry as a child performer. His grandmother, Maria Dulce Jaranilla, who worked with the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society Foundation, Inc., accompanied him after a doctor expressed interest in having him appear in commercials.
He made his first appearance in the McDonald's Good Kuya/Tweens commercial in 2006, playing the role as Paolo, a younger brother of Carlo Lacana who accused of drawing of the latter's assignment, later grabs a toy from Lacana until their mother stopped him from grabbing, and playing around using the said toy afterwards. This was followed by a Lactum MTV (With Supers) commercial in 2007, and a TV ad for Tide in 2008. Together, they went to an audition in Makati, which proved successful.
2008–present: Showbiz career with allegiances at Philippine media companies and freelancing at indie productions Jaranilla then joined showbiz sector after four years as a performer in 2008 upon signing with ABS-CBN Corporation as his primary media company allegiance under Star Magic while also allowing to have secondary allegiance with other companies by having him work with and appear on them conditionally and concurrently through an agreement and permission between both parties which began two years later in December 2010 which obtained him an actor status. Actors that he worked or shown support with outside ABS-CBN initially as a child performer are the hosts of Eat Bulaga! including Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon and Ryan Agoncillo who is the final guest cast on his breakthrough drama May Bukas Pa.
Jaranilla became a regular performer on the Sunday variety show ASAP and made several appearances on ABS-CBN, GMA Network, and TV5 programs, with initially as child performer which are It's Showtime, ABS-CBN Christmas Special, Maalaala Mo Kaya, Eat Bulaga!, Minute to Win It, The Singing Bee, and Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal, with the first four mentioned were carried over throughout his teen and adult performer era.
2008–present: ABS-CBN as primary media company allegiance After being signed at ABS-CBN under Star Magic as primary allegiance, he made his first ABS-CBN and showbiz appearance as a guest on the children's sketch comedy show Goin' Bulilit. That same year, he also appeared in the anthology series Mars Ravelo's Komiks Presents.
Jaranilla portrayed the lead role of Santino Guillermo in May Bukas Pa, the highest-rated Philippine television program of all time and was announced on late 2008. His portrayal of Santino, a young boy who encounters Jesus Christ, earned him widespread recognition and made him a household name in the Philippines. The series marked the debut of his signature praying and bowing pose both on working showbiz and non-working personal and family life. The series and its cast, including Jaranilla, received various awards and accolades.ABS-CBN wins big at 31st CMMAs --- from ABS-CBN News Online
In 2010, Jaranilla voiced the character Otep, a fish, in Agua Bendita, the immediate successor to May Bukas Pa, another religious-themed series, and predecessor to the fantasy-adventure drama Noah in post-TV Patrol timeslot until the latter's premiere in July 2010. Noah, alongside Piolo Pascual and Jodi Sta. Maria, replaced Agua Bendita in its timeslot when it moved to the second primetime slot, aired between the original cut and extended versions of May Bukas Pa, and lasted until February 4, 2011. For his role as Eli/Jacob Perez in Noah, Jaranilla wore a wig starting in June 2010 to portray longer hair, which he kept until July 2011, five months after the series' end. Later that year, he voiced the character Nico in RPG Metanoia, his first animated film.
ABS-CBN aired two specials in connection to Pope John Paul II leading to sainthood, with the first being which are Banál on May 22, 2011, where Jaranilla reprised his role as Santino to narrate about his beatification and then cumulated with the canonization three years later and after the December 5, 2013 end of extended version of May Bukas Pa on April 27, 2014, named John Paul II and John XXIII Mga Bagong Santo: The ABS-CBN News Special Coverage with it reported on TV Patrol Weekend that followed. Jaranilla and Jaime Fabregas, who portrayed Father Anthony, presented the life of Pope John Paul II and his significance for Filipinos on the former. On November of that year, he appeared in the Christmas-themed TV series Ikaw ay Pag-Ibig alongside fellow child stars Mutya Orquia, Louise Abuel, and Manabat.Four child wonders will topbill ABS-CBN's Christmas-serye, Ikaw ay Pag-ibig retrieved via www.pep.ph August 11, 2011 The series aired until January 2012.
In 2012, Jaranilla took on the lead role in the melodrama series Lorenzo's Time, alongside Carmina Villarroel.Carmina Villarroel excited about playing "leading lady" to Zaijian Jaranilla in her first soap as Kapamilya returnee (Pep.ph, 17.04.12)Zaijan plays kid with progeria in next soap (ABS-CBN News, 17.04.12) He portrayed the titular character, a boy with progeria. Members of the production staff described Jaranilla as a "boy wonder" and referred to him as a natural and a "born actor" on set.
In 2013, he starred in the TV series Juan dela Cruz as Tonton. His character Tonton was a juvenile and young aswang. Jaranilla also portrayed the role of Brian in the Maalaala Mo Kaya episode, Alitaptap.
In March 2014, Jaranilla also appeared in the TV series Ikaw Lamang as Young Samuel Severino, the younger version of Coco Martin's character, marking a brief reunion with Martin after their time together in Juan dela Cruz.
He starred in Hawak-Kamay as Raymond "Emong" Agustin in July 2014. Jaranilla turned 13 during the production of the series, officially marking his transition into a teenage actor. This marked Hawak-Kamay as the first series he worked on as a teen performer.
In November 2014, Jaranilla expressed interest in taking on more teen-oriented roles following his work in the family drama Hawak Kamay. He stated that he was ready to accept more mature projects offered by ABS-CBN.
In 2015, he appeared in several episodes of Maalaala Mo Kaya. That same year, he starred in the film Hamog, playing Rashid, a Muslim boy who spends 48 hours trying to seek help for his Christian friend who died under tragic circumstances. Hamog was one of the 12 official entries in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP). Jaranilla's performance received critical praise, and the film won the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Golden Goblet Award at the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival. His role also earned him his first Best Actor nomination at the Cinema One Originals Awards. Hamog was also screened at the 15th New York Asian Film Festival. In the same period, Jaranilla returned to television with a minor role in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano as Cocoy Amaba, marking his third reunion with Martin. He also appeared as Young Macoy in the television drama-romantic series, The Story of Us, in early 2016.
In 2018, Jaranilla appeared in Bagani, portraying Liksi, and starred alongside Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil. In 2019, he acted in his first digital series, Story of My Life, produced by Big Reveal Digital and streamed on iWantTV. Jaranilla also joined the list of Filipino guest actors in the American crime drama Almost Paradise, appearing in the episode titled Lone Wolf. He later starred in Ang sa Iyo ay Akin.
Jaranilla returned to Bacolor Church in June 2019 as part of ABS-CBN's year-long 65th anniversary celebration. The 2009–2010 Christmas ID Star ng Pasko was used in two station IDs from the 2010s to 2020s: Ngayong Pasko Magniningning Ang Pilipino () (2010–2011), and Family is Forever (2019–2020). The 2010–2011 ID was linked to May Bukas Pa, which was the highest rating show on ABS-CBN for the period of February 2009 until Mara Clara on February 3, 2011. The 2019–2020 ID was part of the network's 65th anniversary from 2018 to 2019. Both featured Jaranilla, highlighting May Bukas Pa as the top-rated show on Philippine television since the nationwide TV ratings system was introduced in 2009. The Star ng Pasko ID remains notable since its release on November 4, 2009. It is his practice every year after the show's production ended on February 5, 2010, to film tour at the church.
In 2020, Jaranilla expressed interest in portraying a gay character and had at least two films lined up. He took on the challenge of playing a gay character in the coming-of-age comedy Boyette: Not a Girl Yet, directed by Jumbo Albano and produced by Star Cinema. In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Jaranilla explained, "...I agreed to do the project because I wanted to change my image. I want people to know that I can portray different roles. Boyette has given me an opportunity to prove myself to people." He acknowledged that his breakout role as the orphan boy Santino in the 2009–2013 inspirational teleserye May Bukas Pa had a lasting impact on his image. However, he was able to move on from that role work-wise after the series ended its extended run on December 5, 2013, stating that all of the show's contents were already originally aired while keeping its characteristics in a long-term. Jaranilla emphasized that Boyette would give his fans the chance to see him in a different light both on working and viewing aspects.
In February 2020, Jaranilla was interviewed about the comparisons between his responses when he portrayed Santino and his answers as a grown-up and teenage actor in a segment titled "Same Interview, Ten Years Apart.".