Paul Christian Ocampo

EXCLUSIVE: Elijah Canlas says he’d love to work with Xyriel Manabat again: ‘Xyriel is a powerhouse actress’

Article (news)

Jemuel Tandoc

Push Team

<p>Elijah Canlas has taken on many roles in the past, but perhaps one of his most iconic to date is his portrayal of the red flag–turned–green flag Archie Aguirre in the hit series <em>Senior High</em> and its sequel, <em>High Street</em>.</p><p>In an exclusive interview with PUSH ABS-CBN, Elijah shared that the role was actually offered to him.</p><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747540965672it’s senior high night tonight! making this show has been such a wild experience personally but i’m grateful to be part of something that bravely tackles sensitive and urgent themes. let’s stop the stigma. let’s.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>“It was offered to me. And I didn&#x27;t know kung ano pa yung role, or ano yung project. Sabi lang there&#x27;s a potential project that we would do. Nandito pa si Sir Deo (Endrinal) ng mga panahon ngayon. We met with him. We met with the writers of the shows. May focus group discussion kami. They interviewed us about our experience being a teen in this generation. Nagkukwento lang kami, and naghanap sila ng mga pwedeng kunin. So, I guess, part kami nung process ng pagbuo nung show na yun,” he recalled.</p><p>Elijah added that the <em>Senior High</em> we saw was very different from the original concept, as it went through many creative changes along the way.</p><p>“At the time, hindi pa kompleto yung cast. I think it was just like five of us, or six of us pa lang at the time na yun. If nakita niyo yung intro ng <em>Senior High</em>, it’s like very different from the show. Kasi, madaming pinagdaanan yung show na yun. Because of us din, and because of the writers, the showrunners. Nakaka-proud na yung final product is something that a lot of people enjoyed,” he shared.</p><div><iframe width="1265" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wrONb683igY" title="SENIOR HIGH OFFICIAL TRAILER" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Elijah shared that even now, he’s still feeling the impact of playing Archie, a role he never expected would blow up the way it did.</p><p>“I try to set my expectations na not too high all the time. Kasi, you know, it&#x27;s not just me who&#x27;s working on a certain project. It&#x27;s a whole collaboration with a hundred people. Nakakakilig and I&#x27;m very grateful that a lot of people took it as well as they did. A lot of people loved the show. Up until now, may mga lumalapit sa akin, or hindi kaya may tumatawag sa akin ng Archie, or kahit saan pa. Actually, galing ako ng Europe, may tumawag sa akin ng Archie. So, sabi ko, ah, okay, <em>Senior High</em> and <em>High Street</em> were really that successful. And I hope, yung show had a lot of messages to say also. Kaya, sana naihatid namin sa mga nanuod sa amin,” Elijah shared.</p><div><iframe width="1265" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2LMY6QebqZU" title="Roxy talks to Archie about her pregnancy | Senior High (w/ English Subs)" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>But undeniably, what fans loved even more was his team-up with award-winning actress Xyriel Manabat, who played Elijah’s love interest, Roxy. Elijah shared that he has always been a fan of the former child star.</p><p>“Sadly, nung kabataan ko, hindi ako masyadong makanood ng maraming teleserye. Pero, I remember nga, watching this certain teleserye. Kasi, sabi ng acting teacher ko dati, na panoorin siya, kasi mahusay yung bata na yun. Yung bata doon sa show na yun, yung 100 Days to Heaven. Bata pa ako noon, tapos pinapanood ko, sabi ko mahusay nga to. So, when I got to work with her, siyempre, I wanted to bring my A-game. Gusto kong galingan,” Elijah revealed.</p><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@xyrielmanabat_/video/7322409563871890693" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7322409563871890693" id="v47369475258689310" style="max-width:605px;min-width:325px"><iframe name="__tt_embed__v47369475258689310" sandbox="allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-same-origin" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7322409563871890693?lang=en-US&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-17T12%3A11%3A55.832076%3Abbe10e82-4b44-473d-a6cb-2fd2cfa53be6%26action%3Dedit" style="width:100%;height:721px;display:block;visibility:unset"></iframe></blockquote><p>He also revealed his favorite RoxChie scene, a moment that personally stood out to him the most.</p><p>“Favorite ko lahat ng mga bangayan kasi namin. Tuwing nag-aaway kami nung yung characters namin sa show na yun. Laging masaya. Kasi hindi ko alam kung ano yung makukuha ko kay Xyriel. So mayroon na one moment na nagbabangayan kami and then may ginawa siyang face. Then I went like, ginaya ko nalang din siya kahit walang direction na ganoon. Tapos, nakita ko yung reaction niya. Tapos, mas lalo siya ng napikon. Yung mga moments na ganoon, yung very genuine, very improvised and pure. (It’s) “in the moment” talaga. Masayang panoorin, masayang balikan,” he recalled.</p><p>Elijah shared his hope of working with Xyriel again and revealed his dream project for them to collaborate on.</p><p>“I&#x27;m hoping to get to work with Xyriel as soon as possible sana kasi sobrang good time lagi. Well, we did Sunshine together. We were both in Sunshine (but) we didn&#x27;t share any scene together. Pero ako kasi never pa akong nag-comedy. Alam mo yun, yung full-on comedy. Hindi ko alam kung mag-work din sa amin. Pero, Xyriel is a powerhouse actress and I feel like kahit anong ibigay sa amin, kaya naman. Pero, parang masaya din kung light, you know? Bihira kasi ako makagawa ng gano&#x27;n,” Elijah expressed.</p><p>He continued by saying that it would also be exciting to work on another drama with Xyriel. “I know si Xyriel is a dramatic actress as well. So, kung mabigyan kami ng opportunity to do something like that, we&#x27;re gonna have so much fun with it.”</p><div><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@xyrielmanabat_/video/7322409563871890693" style="width:325px" target="_blank"></a></div>

<p>Elijah Canlas expressed his desire to work again with Xyriel Manabat. The young actor also looked back on his favorite scenes with Xyriel from their time together in <i>Senior High</i> and <i>High Street</i>.</p>

Elijah Canlas expressed his desire to work again with Xyriel Manabat. The young actor also looked back on his favorite scenes with Xyriel from their time together in Senior High and High Street .