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Xyriel Manabat’s remarkable TV roles that magnified her dramatic gift

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Liezel dela Cruz

Great talents may come even in small packages – that’s what Xyriel Manabat proved as a child wonder back in the years 2009 to 2015. Now that she’s blossomed into a beautiful young lady, still with the natural charm we all loved, 18-year-old Xyriel surprised everyone with her transformation and put us all in the mood for reminiscing. So here’s a mesmerizing throwback to her past portrayals and TV appearances.Child actors need to possess extraordinary magic in order to stand out from the crowd. For Xyriel, natural dramatic talent and wit, as well as an impressive stint in Star Circle Quest: Search for the Next Kiddie Idol (2009) served as her golden ticket to showbiz. She placed 3rd runner-up in the kiddie reality talent show and it didn’t take long before she started to appear in major primetime teleseryes. At 6, Xyriel rose to the challenge of donning twin characters with clashing personalities in the fantaserye <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/throwback-the-star-of-agua-bendita-2010-14806" target="_blank">Agua Bendita</a>. She’s the young Agua, the kinder twin, and also Bendita, the evil sister, both of whom will be played by Andi Eigenmann as adults.Making us love her more, she also shined as a lead star opposite Grand Slam Queen Lorna Tolentino in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/throwback-photos-of-xyriel-manabat-as-momay-2010-14817" target="_blank">Momay</a>, which tells the story of a little ghost girl who begged the heavens for a second chance on earth.She captured hearts anew in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/08080317-kapamilya-throwback-noah-2010-14804" target="_blank">Noah</a> topbilled by no less than Piolo Pascual, and which also stars her fellow child wonder Zaijian Jaranilla.But the most pivotal year in Xyriel’s career as a child actress would be 2011 when she played Coney Reyes’ mini-me in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/100daystoheaven/articles-photos/throwback-the-cast-of-100-days-to-heaven-2011-14354" target="_blank">100 Days to Heaven</a>. She’s Anna Manalastas, a terror boss who died and was given the chance to make amends with the people she wronged, but in a little girl’s body.Xyriel was also part of a special Christmas-serye titled Ikaw Ay Pag-Ibig that ran from November 2011 to January 2, 2012. Then in 2013, she had a remarkable appearance in the superhero-series and Coco Martin-starrer <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/01100517-throwback-juan-dela-cruz-2012-13295" target="_blank">Juan Dela Cruz</a> where she played Tata.Besides guestings in Kapamilya shows including <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/maalaalamokaya" target="_blank">Maalaala Mo Kaya</a> and <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/ipaglabanmo" target="_blank">Ipaglaban Mo</a>, Xyriel continued to play young characters in drama series. She breathed life to the young Angel Locsin in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/thelegalwife" target="_blank">The Legal Wife</a> and young Julia Montes in <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/throwback-the-stars-ikaw-lamang-2014-14411" target="_blank">Ikaw Lamang</a>.Xyriel reunited with Piolo and Zaijian as one of the three lead orphaned characters in the inspirational family drama <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/throwback-2014s-hawak-kamay-14687" target="_blank">Hawak Kamay</a> which also had Iza Calzado, Nikki Gil, and child actress Yesha Camille in the ensemble cast.Not even the so-called awkward stage waned Xyriel’s teleserye charm. In 2015, she played Camille in another inspirational series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/articles-photos/throwback-the-cast-of-nathaniel-2015-14602" target="_blank">Nathaniel</a> and in 2017, although her last TV appearance, she proved her dramatic prowess as young Maja Salvador aka Lily Cruz/Ivy Aguas in the revenge-drama series <a href="https://ent.abs-cbn.com/wildflower" target="_blank">Wildflower</a>.Xyriel had such a dazzling showbiz career as a child actress and we passionately hope we get to see her on TV again after she completes her college education. But for now, here’s a video from <a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/" target="_blank">PUSH Evolution</a> that showcases Xyriel’s TV journey and highlight scenes.