TikTok artist Eli Padilla wants to break into show biz—one clip at a time

Eli Padilla —RJCK

He may not be as popular as actor Daniel Padilla with whom he shares his name, but this Cebuano looker who’s now based in Manila is determined to take a piece of the show biz pie.

He first blew up on TikTok four years ago after posting a clip of himself dancing and mugging for the camera. Padilla, who now goes by Eli (long “e” and long “i”), has since garnered 620,000 followers on TikTok who have liked his videos 4.9 million times. Aside from uploading short clips of himself dancing in his room or in what looks like an actual dance studio, he also used to market an aunt’s coffee shop in Cebu by tying on an apron and serving drinks to patrons.

Realization

Eli played a bit part in a 13-minute short released last year, “New Hope Club: School Year 2007,” but wants to do more. We caught up with him at the recent Watsons event, “Hair Finds for All Kinds,” where he was one of the attendees.

“I initially went by Daniel [when I first started in 2020], but after I signed up with Cornerstone Entertainment, they decided to change my name to Eli…but Padilla is really my last name,” he said.

He moved to Manila two years ago for a chance to realize his “goal” of being an actor.

Eli is now more conscious about how he looks and presents himself. He admitted to using readily available hair styling products like Bench Fix and Gatsby as a newbie, but has since developed a taste for prestige skincare brands like Dr. Jart. “I use their moisturizer now. In the past, I was fine using plain bar soap.”

If there’s one thing he can’t live without right now, it’s his mobile phone. “Hindi na mawawala sa tao ’yan. It’s already considered an essential because everything is there: work, music, social media.”

He said he has considered disconnecting or setting aside his phone at times, but that it’s a struggle. “Di mo talaga mapipigilan.”

While he’s waiting for his show biz dreams to take off, Eli has been going to auditions and loading content on his social media accounts whenever possible.

“I used to post more often, but now it’s once a week,” he said.