Cesar Montano was born in Manila. His father, Genovevo Q. Manhilot is from San Roque, Baclayon, Bohol and his mother, Emma De Montano is from Carlec, Iloilo. He is an expert in Ikido, Judo and Karate. He also spearheaded an Ikido workshop among Boholano youths by his brother Monsour del Rosario. He plays basketball, tennis, table tennis, golf, chess, scuba diving and motocross. He graduated Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Lyceum of the Philippines in 1983. He enrolled in the Actors Guild Workshop and the ECP Acting Workshop.

Even as a teen-ager he had already learned to strum the guitar and sing. Other seminar-workshops and exposures followed to hone his craft. In 1987 he was taken in as Facilitator of the Actors Workshop Foundation. He leaded the cast of “Esteremenggoles,” a comedy staged and was followed by “El Sentido del Indio,” “New Yorker in Tondo” and “Romeo and Juliet,” all staged at the University of the Philippines. He also won several awards as the Best Supporting Actor in the Manila Film Festival (1990) and Catholic Mass Media Awards (1999). Also in 1999 he won 3 Best Actor Awards: Metro Manila Film Festival, FAMAS, and Teachers Association Philippines. The following year, his film “Rizal” was entered in the Benodet International Film Festival in France, where he won a global recognition as Best Actor. He duplicated his feat by winning two more Best Actor awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival in 2002 and 2004.

At the same time, his film which he acted in, produced, and directed was declared Best Picture in the same filmfest in 2004. He won as Best Director in Gawad Urian and Golden Screen Award also handed him trophies for Best Actor. “Omnia mutantor et benefecia sint munta” which means “all things change and may the changes be of help” is his favorite dictum.