Seth Rafael was born in Manila, Philippines. He moved to Sydney at the age of seven with his loving parents, his brother and a bit too much energy for all of them to handle.
Although acting wasn’t his first passion, his relentless desire to play make-believe, a hard drive full of endless skits on the family digi-cam and a certain affinity for being the centre of attention as a kid garnered him the childhood nickname “drama king”.
His initial pursuits in music and sport— most notably as a chorister for St Mary’s Cathedral College and playing representative soccer, created opportunities to sing and play in front of large crowds regularly. In a sense, Seth Rafael has always been to drawn to performing on stages in different capacities. These experiences served to be a great foundation for him to build resilience, focus and a strong desire to keep challenging himself.
Seth Rafael’s passion for acting truly blossomed in high school after taking part in a few musicals and taking Drama up as an elective for years 9-12, finding his own confidence and his people. During his time at Actors Centre Australia, Seth Rafael has played a range of beautifully complex characters including Joe Pitt in Angels in America, Len in Saved, Roo Webber in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Malcolm in The Tragedy of Macbeth, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, The Doctor in States of Decay, Hughie Darcy in Harp in The South and Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko in The Seagull, to name a few.
Seth Rafael’s extracurricular interests such as taking on the role of musical director for multiple productions, involvement in the ACA Writers Group and participation in physical theatre workshops are only a small reflection of his eagerness to break into the Australian film and theatre industry, paving his own path as a multi-faceted Filipino-Australian artist.
