Brother to fellow actor Fred Montilla, he began his acting career in the early 1950s at Sampaguita Pictures. However, he left acting after he passed the bar exam. Despite his short acting career, he returned to the said film studio as a legal counsel until his retirement in 1997.

In 2001, he became well-known for playing Karen's grandfather in the McDonald's commercial, with then-newcomer Karen Delos Reyes (whose real name is Glomirose Delos Reyes) playing the said granddaughter.