Rogelio Balagtas is a Filipino Canadian actor from Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1] He is most noted for his performance as Joshua in the 2021 film Islands, for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.[2]
Islands was Balagtas' first-ever leading role in a feature film; his only prior acting experience was in the 2019 short film Piece of Mind.[1] In his review of the film, Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail praised Balagtas's performance, writing that "Joshua’s richness as a character, though, may have delivered less of an impact if not for Balagtas. With just a short film to his name prior to joining Islands, the Winnipeg actor delivers an honest, stripped-down performance so real that it seems lifted from a documentary. Of course, the actor’s virtual anonymity helps, but there is a deliberate, professional control to Balagtas’ work here that bears the hallmark of a gifted actor."[3]
He also won the Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival.[4]