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Alex Mallari Jr.'s family left Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines to live in Canada when he was four years old but he never forgot his Filipino roots.

So when he booked his first feature role in 'The Adam Project,' the actor asked the film's stunt coordinator Jim Churchman if he can incorporate part of his culture in his character's fighting style. He plays the villain Christos in Netflix's sci-fi action adventure film.

"I was on the phone with Jim. I was like, 'I'm Filipino. I want to give a little head tilt to my people, so can I use these arnis sticks?' And then he goes, 'Well, yeah, man, we'll try to squeeze that in there.' It starts as the two sticks. I was like, 'Thank you. I just needed something that shows I'm Filipino.' So there's that, and that was my input. And I was like, 'You guys could do whatever else you want with me. And I will abide. I just have one request, and that was it.' So I was happy that they allowed it," Mallari shared.

In the movie's pivotal scenes, Mallari goes up against 'Deadpool' star Ryan Reynolds who plays a man trying to save the world.

The film's theme of making peace with your own mistakes and history is something that resonated with Mallari. He was a taekwondo champion at six years old, but his athletic career was cut short by an injury which, devastating as it was, paved the way for him to pursue acting.

"It was a point where I had to face world and say 'Look, I can be here and keep trying, or I could find a different avenue.' And so I went to University of Toronto for a year, and I heard an advertisement on the radio, you know, 'if you want to be on in commercials, call this number.' I called the number, and that was the beginning of that journey, and here I am."

From childhood, he had an unspoken dream of becoming an action star. He knew, however, that historically, there was a lack of opportunities for Filipinos in Hollywood.

"There are challenges in everything. But I think, as a Filipino earlier on in my career, I mean still now, I really go for open ethnicity roles. I think I've had maybe two or three Filipino auditions and lucky enough I was able to book them all. It's finding the recognition that Filipinos exist in the world at all, and that we deserve to be on the big stage and on the big screen with everyone else," Mallari said.

Mallari starred in the Canadian SyFy TV series 'Dark Matter' which ran from 2015 to 2017. Frequently cast in villainous roles, the actor is thankful to fellow Asian Canadian and 'Shang Chi' Marvel hero Simu Liu for giving him an opportunity to play a romantic lead in the upcoming CBC Gem digital series 'Hello (Again)' which the latter co-produced.

Mallari is also filming season 2 of the Netflix series 'Ginny & Georgia,' continuing his role as a private investigator.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Filipino with a Texan accent, so I was like, 'Can I just do it and try it?' And lo and behold, they let it happen, and here I am. Season 2 still doing the thing."

'The Adam Project' also stars Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, and Walker Scobell.