Born as Rodolfo Othello Cruz Illustre, Jr., on October 10, 1987, Rodjun is two years older than Rayver. They both joined show business together, which isn’t exactly a surprise considering the presence of the Cruz family in the Philippine entertainment industry. The brothers are related to the deceased actor Ricky Belmonte (real name Jesse Cruz), Tirso Cruz III, Geneva, Sheryl,
Sunshine , and Donna.
Like all members of Star Magic, Rodjun is frequently seen as part of production numbers in
ASAP, a Sunday noontime variety show. He also makes guest appearances in other dramas of ABS-CBN like
Maalaala Mo Kaya,
Pedro Penduko at Ang Mga Engkantao, and talk show
Boy and Kris.
Rodjun’s first major break on television came in 2006 when he was chosen to join the cast of
Calla Lily, a weekday afternoon drama series featuring child star Sharlene San Pedro and directed by Lino Cayetano and Maryo J. de los Reyes. He played the role of Jigo, the love interest of the character of Star Circle Quest 2 winner Erich Gonzales named Diday. Jigo and Diday were the best of friends. Jigo is the youngest uncle of Calla and Lily.
His first movie credit is under Regal Films for the 2007 movie
Happy Hearts, starring his brother Rayver and
Shaina Magdayao . The romantic comedy, which also includes Rustom Padilla, was directed by Joel Lamangan. It was about how young love can stand a conflict brought on by having a gay parent on one hand and an ultra-conservative parent on the other.
Rodjun also polished his ballroom dancing shoes on TV via
U Can Dance Version 2, a dance competition of ABS-CBN with a similar format to Hollywood's
Dancing with the Stars. He wowed the judges and the audience together with partner Lina Basas. The pair became the eventual winners of the competition beating Gem Ramos, Michelle Murenech, Princess Ryan, Tim Espinosa, Saicy Aguila and their respective dance partners. The panel of judges, which include Governor Vilma Santos, Cherie Gil, Chit Guerrero, Jhong Hilario, and Maribeth Bichara, unanimously agreed that Rodjun and Lina both had the heart, the connection, energy, precision and the moves that they were looking for in performing three types of Latin dance.
Rodjun was pleasantly surprised to win the competition considering that he doesn't even like ballroom dancing. He is a self-confessed fan of hip hop like the rest of his Anime mates. But for the competition, Rodjun had to learn the cha-cha, tango, rumba, Fox trot, and paso doble. Rodjun has also won the jackpot in Wowowee’s “Merrygalo” portion.
