Filipino actor John Arcilla is nominated for Best Actor at the Asian Film Awards 2016 for his portrayal of the title role in the historical biopic "Heneral Luna." His fellow nominees for the category are Hollywood actors Donnie Yen and Lee Byung-yun for their roles in "Ip Man 3" and "Inside Men," respectively.
Yen plays the title role "Ip Man 3," which also stars retired boxer Mike Tyson. The Hong Kong action star is also set to star in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" opposite Michelle Yeoh and Harry Shum Jr.
In the South Korean political thriller "Inside Men," Lee plays a political henchman. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," "RED 2" and "Terminator Genisys" and he will serve as one of the presenters at the Academy Awards 2016.
In "Heneral Luna," Arcilla plays General Antonio Luna, who was the leader of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine-American War from 1899 to 1902. Directed by Jerrold Tarog, the film recently set a record as he best-selling DVD of any historical Filipino film of all time, Inquirer reported.
"Heneral Luna" was the Philippines' entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the Academy Awards 2016 but was not nominated. The Filipino historical biopic also starred Mon Confiado as the Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Philippines.
In 2013, Arcilla was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the British Independent Film Awards but he lost to "Starred Up" actor Ben Mendelsohn. Aside from Yen and Lee, his fellow nominees at the Asian Film Awards 2016 for Best Actor are "An" actor Nagase Masatoshi and "Mr. Six" actor Feng Xiao-gang.
If Arcilla beats Yen, Lee, Masatoshi and Feng at the Asian Film Awards 2016, he will be the second Filipino to wins the Best Actor award from the award-giving body. In 2013, Eddie Garcia won Best Actor for his role in "Bwakaw" while Nora Aunor won Best Actress in the same year for her role in "Thy Womb" by award-winning Filipino filmmaker Brilliante Mendoza.
The 10th Asian Film Awards will be he held at the Venetian Theater in Macau on March 17. Presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To, the jury has 15 members including Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan and Hong Kong actor Sean Lau, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Watch the "Heneral Luna" trailer here: