John Lloyd Cruz

John Lloyd Espidol Cruz (born June 24, 1983) is a Filipino actor.

Regarded as the "King of Contemporary Cinema" by the media, Cruz has top-billed several box-office successes.

He has more than ten films with box office grosses of ₱100 million in the Philippines.

CNN describes Cruz as "the quintessential image of the contemporary leading man."

He began acting at the age of 15 and has over 30 productions to his credit.

A breakthrough role on the soap opera Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, where he first started working with actress and frequent co-star Bea Alonzo, followed his starring role in the well-known Filipino TV drama Tabing Ilog, which he appeared in as a teenager.

With around 80 awards won throughout his career including 2 FAMAS Awards and 2 Gawad Urian Awards, Cruz is one of the most awarded Filipino actors in the business.

He was the first Filipino and Southeast Asian actor to receive the Star Asia Award at the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).

Cruz finished his grade school at Marikina Catholic School in 1996.

He has 4 godchild Keith Martin R. Cruz, Reiner Cruz, and 2 other that lived in Doroteo Street Santolan Pasig City.

He was later discovered by a talent scout in a mall while hanging out with friends to watch Magic Temple.

Due to his father's failing marble business, Cruz decided to enter showbiz to help his family recover from financial problems.

He first appeared in GMA Public Affairs' reenactment legal talk show Compañero y Compañera, followed by the crime and investigative series Calvento Files.

This was followed by several guest appearances and shows.

At age 14, Cruz became a member of ABS-CBN's Star Magic, where he became an alumnus of Batch 5.

He was also a member of the then-teen trio called Koolits with Baron Geisler and Marc Solis.

Since he started his showbiz career in 1996, he was a contract talent for ABS-CBN.

In 1999, Cruz played the role of Rovic in the teen drama Tabing Ilog, alongside Kaye Abad, which lasted for almost four years.

His breakthrough role came in 2002 by portraying the character of Yuri in Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay, where he is paired with Bea Alonzo.

He was later cast in It Might Be You and Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin.

In 2006, Cruz was cast in the highly successful soap opera Maging Sino Ka Man along with Bea Alonzo, Anne Curtis and Sam Milby.

In early 2007, he began endorsing Unilab's medication Paracetamol (Biogesic).

In 2009, he made another collaboration with Bea Alonzo and played the male protagonist Armando in I ♥ Betty La Fea, a Philippine adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea.

He was the fifth highest-grossing Filipino actor in the 2010s decade, raking over a total of 2.3 billion in box office receipts.

A Second Chance is the sixth highest grossing Philippine film in history with ₱556 million.

He is currently managed by Maja Salvador's Crown Artist Management.

On November 9, 2021, he signed a contract with GMA Network as part of his TV comeback.

His first comeback appearance was on GMA's Wowowin, and currently he leads the role of GMA's sitcom entitled Happy Together (pronounced as Happy To Get Her) which airs every Sunday night.

John Lloyd Espidol Cruz is the youngest child of Luisito Llora and Aida Espidol Cruz.

He was called by nicknames "Juward" and "Idan" among his family and some close friends.

In 2010, Cruz was paired with Angel Locsin in the critically acclaimed dark fantasy series Imortal, a sequel of the original series Lobo.

As a TV host, Cruz had recurring appearances in the longest-running Sunday noontime variety show, ASAP.

He was also recruited as one of four members of the Kanto Boys alongside ASAP mainstays Vhong Navarro, Billy Crawford and Luis Manzano.

In 2014, Cruz played the role of Romeo in the Saturday sitcom series Home Sweetie Home with Toni Gonzaga, which lasted until he left the show in 2017.

He went on indefinite leave from show business after a controversial relationship with model and actress Ellen Adarna, who was his fellow co-star in Home Sweetie Home.

Since 2019, Cruz makes occasional cameos in commercial ads.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruz was approached by Willie Revillame to make a television comeback by transferring to GMA Network.

On May 16, 2021, he signed up with Crown Artist Management.

On June 6, 2021, he made an appearance at GMA's broadcast of Shopee's "6.6. Mid-year Sale" TV event.

He would officially sign a contract with the network on November 9, 2021.