Entertainment

Phil Elam Makes His Film Debut in ‘Bob Trevino Likes It’

Actor Phil Elam makes his feature film debut in ‘Bob Trevino Likes It,’ a touching movie about the power of connection and friendship.

Published

2 weeks ago

04/06/2025

Randy Radic

Phil Elam, photo by Hannah Dexter

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The newly released film Bob Trevino Likes It, written and directed by Tracy Laymon, stars Emmy Award winner John Leguizamo, rising star Barbie Ferreira, and French Stewart. The film was inspired by a friendship Laymon made in real life while looking for her father.

Bob Trevino Likes It narrates the story of a young woman named Lily Trevino whose father, Robert Trevino, checks out of her life. Searching for him on the internet, Lily ‘friends’ a man named Bob Trevino on Facebook, who might be her father. The Bob Trevino on Facebook is not her father. Although he is married, he is lonely and, like Lily, needs a friend. When Lily and Bob meet in real life, their friendship changes both their lives.

Actor Phil Elam makes his feature film debut in Bob Trevino Likes It. A former corporate professional, Elam studied acting at Cleveland’s 1st Team Actors Studio, renowned for its excellent training.

Elam comments:

“Working on this movie was an incredible experience. Tracie Laymon created an atmosphere of free-flowing creativity, allowing us to bring our characters to life with authenticity. Working with Barbie Ferreira was an absolute pleasure—her optimism and presence made every scene vibrant. And of course, John Leguizamo is such a kind, supportive, and giving actor. The entire experience was surreal, and I’m beyond grateful to be part of this project.”

A Detroit native, Elam appeared on WDIV TV’s ‘Live in the D’ on March 24th in advance of the film’s theatrical release in that city.

Bob Trevino Likes It won the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at its premiere at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, along with many other film festival audience awards, including the San Diego International Film Festival.

Ninety-four percent of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with a rating of 7.9/10, while CinemaScore rated the film ‘A+.’ Metacritic gave the film a score of 71 out of 100.