2010–2012: Career beginnings and breakthrough Padilla's first acting job was in 2010, in a minor role in
Gimik 2010, a remake of the hit 1990s Filipino youth-oriented show, in which he was paired with
Julia Montes. When he joined
Star Magic, he used the screen name Daniel Padilla, using the surname of his biological father. He was next cast as Patrick Rivero in the youth-oriented show,
Growing Up, where he first worked with co-star
Kathryn Bernardo. He and Bernardo paired again in the soap opera
Princess and I (2012–2013), which became one of the most popular shows on
ABS-CBN. His film debut came in 2012 when he was selected to join Star Magic's 20th anniversary ensemble cast movie as Billy Fernandez in
24/7 In Love (2012) with co-star Bernardo. They also had support roles in the film
Sisterakas (2012).
Star Music released Padilla's self-titled debut album,
Daniel Padilla on May 28, 2012. The first commercial and digital single released from the album was ‘’
Hinahanap-Hanap Kita’’ on April 20, 2012. The album sold more than 10,000 copies in less than a week. The album peaked at the No. 1 on the Odyssey Music & Video's nationwide sales reports (overall). It went on to sell more than 30,000 copies and was certified double platinum on March 14, 2013.
2013–2014: Early success In January 2013, Padilla interpreted a hit song for
Himig Handog P-pop Love Songs (2013), "
Nasa Iyo Na Ang Lahat". The music video hit No. 1 on the 2013 Pinoy
Myx Year-End Countdown, and was listed among the top three Filipino Trending Music Videos of 2013. "
Nasa Iyo Na Ang Lahat" won special awards at the Himig Handog finale night, including MOR Listener's Choice, Tambayan 101.9 Listener's Choice, Star Records CD Buyer's Choice, and MYX Choice for Best Video. On March 18, 2013, Padilla released "Kamusta Ka" as the lead single for his first full-length-studio album,
DJP.
DJP peaked at number 1 on Odyssey Music & Video's nationwide sales reports (overall).
DJP album went platinum in less than 24 hours, but listed on
PARI, September 25, 2013, and went double platinum the next day. Padilla held his first headlining concert, "
Daniel: Live!" on April 30, 2013, at the
Smart Araneta Coliseum. It is the first concert to be streamed live via
Sky Cable’s pay per view services in the Philippines. In 2013 he took on the role of Joaquin and Ryan Manansala on his second prime time soap opera with Bernardo,
Got To Believe. The series finale holds the record as the highest rating final episode in 2014." Padilla had finally made a breakthrough in feature films with
Must Be... Love. In the same year Padilla also starred in his first horror film,
Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay (2013). Both film made the Top 10
List of highest-grossing Filipino films in 2013. In 2014, Padilla interpreted a song for the Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs (2014), "
Simpleng Tulad Mo". He was one of the youngest interpreters in the competition. The music video debuted at number 2 and the next week hit No.1 for five weeks. Padilla and
Yeng Constantino held a multi-national tour,
Daniel Padilla Rocks with Yeng Constantino. It began in Dubai on April 10, 2014, continued to London and Rome, and ended in Milan on April 20, 2014, with four legs and shows in total. While his second studio album,
I Heart You was released on April 14, 2014. The digital album peaked at No. 1 on the iTunes Philippines chart, the physical album reached the No. 1 spot on Odyssey Music & Video's nationwide sales reports. Less than a month after its release,
I Heart You achieved platinum record status and was certified double platinum on May 8, 2015. Padilla marked his 19th birthday with a second sold-out concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on April 30, 2014. "
DOS" was another event at the Araneta Coliseum. It was streamed live on SkyCable Pay-Per-View. The concert also featured his own band Parking 5 before they disbanded in July 2014. He recorded single, "Unlimited And Free" as the theme song of ABS-CBN Mobile in 2014. On December 1, 2014, Padilla was given his own stars on the country's version of the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Eastwood Walk of Fame, located at
Eastwood City,
Quezon City. In 2014, Padilla made three films: the action film
Sa Ngalan ng Ama Ina at mga Anak with the Padilla clan, his first historical, action drama;
Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo; and the box office success, ''She's Dating the Gangster'', with his co-star Bernardo.
2015–present: Transition to adult roles and continued success Concert, 2015 Padilla, along with Bernardo, dubbed as "KathNiel", visited
Dubai to hold a concert titled "Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo Live in Dubai" on January 1, 2015. In February, Padilla was named Nickelodeon's Global Slime Star at the
2015 Kids' Choice Awards, making him the first Filipino to receive such an award. He was also in the Favorite Asian Act category but lost to
Indonesian group
JKT48. Padilla's film with Bernardo in 2015 titled
Crazy Beautiful You set three records, with P32 million, making it the first Filipino movie to register such a box office gross on its first day. The film passed the P300million mark, and was the second film to earn $2 million in international screenings. It was listed in the
Top ten grossing films of 2015 . Padilla returned to television on May 25, 2015, for the remake of the 90s soap opera ''
Pangako Sa 'Yo'' as Angelo Buenavista. The finale episode raked in a 44.5% rating. The show also top ABS-CBN's top selling international distribution programs. His third studio album
I Feel Good premiered on
Spotify on June 7, 2015, before officially being released on June 13. Padilla hand-picked most of its songs, and says it is his favorite album. The
I Feel Good album reached gold status in less than a week. The album peaked at number one on Odyssey Music & Video's nationwide sales reports. Padilla held his third major concert, "Most Wanted" on June 13, 2015, at the
Mall of Asia Arena. He sang 14 songs in total, including songs from his latest album
I Feel Good. The concert streamed live via Sky Cable's pay per view services and also streamed live in the cinemas of malls in
Davao,
Cebu,
Iloilo,
Cabanatuan,
Pampanga, and
Legazpi. The Most Wanted concert also could be played during a limited period from ABS-CBNmobile-powered mobile devices. In the same year Padilla along with co-actor Bernardo released a
Christmas album,
Christmas Love Duets. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Odyssey Music & Video's nationwide sales reports (overall) The title track, "
Perfect Christmas", earned a nomination at the 29th Awit Awards for Best Christmas Recording. Padilla, along with over 50 Filipino performers from the Philippines and the US, performed at "ASAP Live in New York" at
Barclays Center. During the show Padilla with Bernardo promoted their upcoming movie
Barcelona: A Love Untold. The movie officially released on September 14. Padilla starred as Ely Antonio, which earned him compliments from director
Olivia Lamasan and critics. George Vail Kabrisante of
The Manila Times said that Padilla is one of the worthies to earn 2017 best actor awards. The movie grossed total ₱240,000,000 (locally), making it the second of the
Top 10 Grossing Philippine Films of 2016. On November 27, 2016
Star Music head Roxy Liquigan confirmed Padilla's fourth major concert dubbed "DJ’s Classic Back at Araneta". It was supposed to be staged at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on February 5, 2017. Due to his busy schedule, the concert was reset to October 2017. Padilla released his first
compilation album, titled
DJ Greatest Hits, on December 19, 2016. The album consists of eighteen songs; including sixteen of his all-time hits since the start of his music career, as well as two additional new songs, "Reyna Ng Puso Ko" and "Bastaw Ikaw". Padilla played the role of Jose Ibarra "Dos" Gonzales Jr. in the romantic-comedy film ''Can't Help Falling in Love''. His performance was praised by critics. ABS-CBN released the first trailer of Padilla and Bernardo's upcoming Philippine horror-action fantasy drama television series sequel to the 2010 fantasy drama
Imortal,
La Luna Sangre (Spanish for
The Blood Moon) in 2016. Padilla as Kapamilya signed on February 12, 2024, another contract with
ABS-CBN's
Carlo L. Katigbak-
Mark Lopez for 15 years. Since 2025, Padilla stars alongside an ensemble cast as Andres Malvar in an action drama series
Incognito. == Personal life ==