This multifaceted actor shares how he fights for queer representation and advocacy in the entertainment industry while staying unapologetically true to himself.

PHOTOGRAPHY Cru Camara
STYLING Maura Rodriguez
You might know him as Angel from the musical RENT or as Dominic from the first Philippine boy&rsquo;s love film The Boy Foretold by the Stars, but backstage he&rsquo;s Adrian Lindayag, an accomplished actor who continues to rise within the film, TV, and theater industry. Currently, he&rsquo;s working on an upcoming queer series called Marahuyo Project. But bear in mind, he isn&rsquo;t just another talented face on screen or on stage. He also fearlessly advocates for LGBTQ+ rights through his platforms as a prominent member of the community. From the get-go, his advocacies aren't something he tucks away behind the scenes &mdash; they&rsquo;re front and center. He shares that his job isn't just to perform but to make statements; to push boundaries and broaden narratives in an industry where queer representation often falls short.&nbsp;
Since the start of his career, Adrian has made known to the public of his identity as a gay man. Though not easy, his journey to becoming a voice for the LGBTQ+ community ultimately shaped his career. His lifestyle of living in authenticity has made him a symbol of queer courage, especially after his recent HIV-positive disclosure. From where he stands, Adrian&rsquo;s determination to create safe spaces for his community within the industry shines bright and will continue to burn even brighter with time.
In this exclusive interview with L&rsquo;Officiel Philippines, Adrian proves that being true to yourself and standing up for the marginalized can be the most powerful role anyone can play.

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Hi Adrian! To start, can you share with us what you do?
I am an actor for TV, theater, and film.
For you, how important is it for the members of the community to be seen, heard, and properly represented in media?
Okay so I remember [when] I was 12 or 13 years old, I watched RENT&mdash;the movie version&mdash;for the first time sa HBO. And there's a character that resonated with me so much. Si Angel. [She] falls in love with Tom Collins and their love is the central love story in that musical. It inspired me so much to live as my authentic self and also made me aspire to have a love like that. Parang, as a 13-year-old living in a conservative household, in a Catholic country, studying in a Catholic school, it's so powerful to witness a queer person being celebrated that way.
I think my love for RENT, my love for Angel, inspired me to have what I have now kasi &lsquo;yun &lsquo;yung pinaka-unang audition na ginawa ko. I auditioned for Ateneo Blue Repertory's RENT in 2018. That was my first ever production. That was my first ever acting experience. I got cast as Angel. I auditioned only because I'm a fan of the show. I didn't have acting experience prior, but that catapulted my career. It was my first acting gig tapos sunod-sunod na and here I am now doing RENT again. And it's such a full circle moment. That's how powerful seeing a queer like you in [the] media can be. For queer kids especially.
Does your sexuality play a big role, if any, in the kinds of work that you do as an actor?
Yes. I feel like a huge part of my work is the advocacy. Tinatanong nga ako ng management ko kung open ako [to] accept straight characters. And, syempre, as an actor, trabaho mo to be able to morph into any character. Pero kasi para sa akin, sobrang halaga na maging authentic, especially sa landscape ng LGBT. Especially dito sa bansa natin. And even sa mundo as a whole, na sobrang limitado ng roles na nakikita natin. Limitado &lsquo;yung narratives na nakikita natin. So, mahalaga for me to be a queer actor doing queer roles, and to be seen authentically. I feel like it's my gift to my younger self, to be there and to be visible.&nbsp;
Speaking of advocacies, how else have you been supporting them?
I am part of organizations that support [the] SOGIE bill, I've been doing HIV/AIDS advocacy, I've been doing roles [for] people who are living with HIV, I'm an ambassador of Love Yourself, I've been working with UNAIDS, Philippine National AIDS Council, and the Department of Health with their projects. I also have a lot of campaigns lined up! We did content recently for Love Yourself for their U = U campaign. [It] means undetectable equals untransmittable, which basically means [that] if you are a person living with HIV and you consistently take your antiretrovirals, then your virus levels are undetectable. And if your virus levels are undetectable, you won't be able to transmit it. Even if you have unprotected sex with your partner&hellip;Technology is amazing.

Your recent disclosure of your HIV-positive diagnosis has sparked important conversations about its awareness. What led you to become an avenue for this topic to be raised?
I actually have been wanting to do it since the beginning of my career, but my family discouraged me. Sabi nila na mahihirapan ako to get work&hellip;to maintain relationships. But I really felt the mental and emotional turmoil of being an actor and being a person living with HIV for all of these years. I'm not a person with a lot of shame in my body. I'm very unapologetic about who I am. And I want to be as authentic as possible, especially to my friends. I'm an open book, usually. I'm very open. But that part of myself, I had to hide. And I didn't want to. I wanted to share it because that's just who I am. But naging burden sakin &lsquo;yung pagiging artista.
And when that [RENT] presscon happened, I feel like &lsquo;yun na &lsquo;yung culmination ng pagod ko to live in shame. I wanted to give that to myself. And to just own my truth. And also, it was such a perfect avenue to share. Kasi that's one of the main issues tackled in the musical. Tapos the journalist who asked about what RENT means to me just happened to be someone I've been friends with for a very long time. So naging komportable ako sa kanya. And I just answered in the most authentic way. I just told her the truth. This is what RENT means to me. That's how much it means to me. I think by freeing myself from shame and by owning my truth I am also sharing the privilege of having a platform to other people who are also living with HIV.
Why is it important not just for men but for women as well to get tested for HIV?&nbsp;
Just to know their status. Especially recently merong [akong] news na napanood. Sabi nila na according to DOH, there are 55 new cases of HIV every single day&hellip;That's alarming kasi ibig sabihin, even if the information is available online, people are still not protecting themselves. I think the best way for us to protect our loved ones, especially our youth, is to inform them.
I remember when I came out publicly, even my teachers from high school and college messaged me asking if I'm okay. Some of them even said &lsquo;I'm so sorry that you're going through this&rsquo; and then I replied, &lsquo;why are you sorry? I am perfectly fine. I am healthy.&rsquo; [It made me realize] na even our teachers are not aware and even our teachers have fear and shame. I mean dahil sila ang teachers natin expect mo alam nila, na informed sila about the facts. Dapat informed sila na U = U, pero hindi nila alam &lsquo;yun. Kaya there's so much work to be done to reverse this issue that we all face now. Grabe, 55 new cases [daily] and most of the people acquiring it are from the age group of 15 years old to 24 years old. So pabata ng pabata &lsquo;yung mga nagkakaroon. And I feel like social media is largely to blame. So &lsquo;yun, let's equip our loved ones with knowledge.

CREATIVE DIRECTION&nbsp;Maura Rodriguez
PRODUCERS&nbsp;Loris Pe&ntilde;a and Maura Rodriguez&nbsp;
MAKEUP&nbsp;Ria Aquino
HAIR Johnglen Aquino
PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANT Lucille Raterta
VIDEO DIRECTOR&nbsp;Kevin Redder
INTERNS&nbsp;Red Binay, Andrei Santos, and Hannah Teng

Adrian Lindayag: Authenticity in Queer Advocacy

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