“Forgotten Island” Is Filled With a Stacked Cast of Filipino and Filipino-American Stars
DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming movie, Forgotten Island, is teeming with Filipino representation. From its story, which revolves around two female friends who find themselves on the magical island of Nakali, its setting, and the heavy use of Filipino folklore and mythology, Forgotten Island stands out for how deeply embedded Filipino culture is in its DNA. Even the movie’s co-director, Januel Mercado, is Filipino.
Forgotten Island is poised to be a love letter to friendship and the Philippines in a way we haven’t seen from a film of this caliber yet. But the representation isn’t just on the screen, but also behind the camera. A majority of Forgotten Island’s voice cast is appropriately composed of Filipino and Filipino-American stars, which feels like a breath of fresh air for a mainstream American production. From homegrown stars to Filipinos who have been making waves in Hollywood, get to know more of the Pinoy voices behind Forgotten Island’s characters below.
RELATED: Forgotten Island Is Putting Filipino Folklore Front and Center Like Never Before
Liza Soberano – Her Hollywood Moment
Liza Soberano needs no introduction. She is a certified star ever since she broke onto the local entertainment scene in the 2010s. But these past few years, Soberano has been focusing her time and attention on building a Hollywood career. With Forgotten Island, that slow but steady pace is paying off. In the film, she voices Raissa, one of the two lead characters.
The project marks Soberano’s second Hollywood project after her well-received debut in 2024’s Lisa Frankenstein, as well as the second time she voiced an animated character following 2021’s Trese, which coincidentally was also based on Philippine mythology. It’s a milestone for Soberano as this is her first time as a DreamWorks movie lead and her first leading role in a Hollywood film.
H.E.R. – Fil-Am R&B Star
Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, or more known by her stage name H.E.R., has been making waves in the R&B scene for years. The musician has multiple hits under her belt, and to date has 5 Grammys and an Oscar to her name, making her one of the few Filipinas to have won an Academy Award.
On the acting front, she’s most known for portraying Belle in the Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration in 2022 and playing Mary “Squeak” Agnes in the 2023 version of The Color Purple. Forgotten Island, which sees the Oscar winner voice lead character Jo, marks H.E.R.’s first animated voice work.
Lea Salonga – Broadway Legend
A Broadway and musical theater icon, Lea Salonga will be voicing the fearsome Manananggal in Forgotten Island, which will serve as the film’s antagonist. It’s not every day we see Salonga play the villain, which makes her turn as the mythological creature that much more exciting. And going by her work in animation and voice-over, we have a feeling she’ll deliver. Her providing the singing voice of Princess Jasmine and Mulan was enough to grant her Disney Legend status, after all.
Dolly de Leon – International Impact
Active in the local movie, TV, and theater scene for decades, Dolly de Leon gained international recognition for her role as the maid Abigail in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness in 2022. It was a performance that not only earned the veteran actress numerous nominations, such as a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, but also served as a catalyst for a new era of her career. Her as-yet-to-be-revealed role in Forgotten Island is de Leon’s latest in a growing list of Hollywood project, which includes Nine Perfect Strangers and the live-action Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, among others.
Manny Jacinto – Asian Leading Man
Joining the voice cast of Forgotten Island is Manny Jacinto, who many may know from his breakout role as Jason Mendoza in The Good Place and his highly underrated performance as the Stranger/Qimir in the Star Wars series The Acolyte. He most recently appeared in the Freaky Friday sequel, Freakier Friday, playing Lindsay Lohan’s wife, further solidifying his status as a rising Asian heartthrob in Hollywood.
Amielynn Abellera – Breakout Star
Amielynn Abellera is no stranger to the industry, but it was only in the past year that most people got to know the Filipino-American actress thanks to her breakthrough role as Filipina Nurse Perlah Alawi on The Pitt. The show has been acclaimed for its accuracy in portraying what it’s like to actually work at a hospital, and that means featuring a handful of Filipinos in the cast since Pinoys make up a sizable portion of healthcare workers in America. Nurse Perlah is one such Filipino character, and Forgotten Island serves as Abellera’s next Hollywood project to highlight Filipino representation.
Jo Koy – Funny Man
Jo Koy is a Filipino-American stand-up comedian known for incorporating his upbringing and Filipino mother in his jokes. One of the few Filipino-American comedians to have made it to the mainstream, Jo Koy has regularly filled theaters and arenas, including in the Philippines.
Photos: LIZA SOBERANO (via Instagram), H.E.R. (via Instagram), LEA SALONGA (via Instagram), MANNY JACINTO (via Instagram), ASHLEY CORNETT (via Instagram), JO KOY (via Instagram), MEGA ARCHIVES
The post “Forgotten Island” Is Filled With a Stacked Cast of Filipino and Filipino-American Stars first appeared on MEGA.
“Forgotten Island” Is Filled With a Stacked Cast of Filipino and Filipino-American Stars
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