Alden Richards: Beneath the dimple
One of the country’s most eligible heartthrobs and star of some of the country’s biggest box office and pop culture hits from AlDub to Hello, Love, Again, Alden Richards is introspective and spiritual and can quote popular clichés as readily as he does Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He’s deeper than his famous dimple.
In a recent interview, I unearthed nine things about him that are hardly known by the public, including myself:
1. He cried behind a tarpaulin after meeting Tom Cruise during a Mission Impossible event in Seoul.
“Prior to flying to Seoul, we asked Paramount Pictures if we would get a chance for a meet-and-greet with the one and only Mr. Tom Cruise, and there were no commitments. But it was more than enough for me just to be invited to Seoul to see him in person because Tom Cruise is my childhood idol, hero and inspiration. I watched all his films, from the Mission films to Jack Reacher, from Top Gun to Top Gun Maverick. He is a jack-of-all-trades, but he is a master of all.
“And then I was actually surprised when I was told that I was going to meet him. And the instructions were, you can only ask two questions from Tom. I was made last in line because they said, ‘I think you have the best story to tell. Tom will be very glad to hear your story’.”
“So I told myself, I’m not going to ask any question. I’m just going to tell him my story in one minute and 30 seconds. I wanted to be brief, but I wanted to be impactful. That’s why when I approached him, I told him, ‘I’m an actor from the Philippines, and I’ve been in the industry for 15 years, and you’ve inspired me a lot. I’ve seen all of your films.’ And I enumerated all the titles and then he was just saying, ‘Wow, wow!’ over and over again.
“Then I told him, ‘Thank you for your work. Thank you for the inspiration you’ve given a lot of people, most especially me. I hope I can work with you soon.’ So that’s when he hugged me. Then after, he said, ‘Come on, let’s take a photo.’ He also said, ‘You have to take care of yourself because some of the actors they just you know, jump off the cliff without being prepared.’
“It was a surreal moment. Then right after that, I was feeling really emotional. I hid behind the tarpaulin for the film and cried…”
2. He is taking flying lessons.
“I’m pursuing my training in a flying school in Clark, the Alpha Aviation Group. It’s a two-year program. So by the time I graduate, I can already fly commercial aircraft and be a pilot for commercial airlines.
3. He wants to be a Reservist pilot for the Philippine Air Force.
4. He looks at the bright side of things.
“I always see the bright side of things. Life is how you see it. It’s not what is actually happening in your life right now.”
5. The secret to his staying power in the industry is “purpose.”
“It’s to contribute to the common good. It’s a holistic decision that I realized when I reached my thirties. Di ba, meron tayo nung Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? I think as early as now, I’m at the self-actualization stage. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that individuals are driven by a hierarchical order of needs, from basic physiological needs to higher-level needs like self-actualization). Right now, I’m not doing things for myself anymore. Although there are parts of my life that I still do it for myself, but more parts of how I can give back and pay back.”
6. He is a successful businessman.
“My first business venture was with restaurants. I have four branches of Concha’s restaurant in the South — in Silang, two in Tagaytay Highlands, and then one in Santa Rosa, Tagaytay Road, going Lemery. My dad and I are into build-and-sell as well, construction. Also, I’m one of the owners of a bar here in Makati. My company Myriad Entertainment does live events. We have done quite a few huge projects already, and we just started way back, September of 2022. So, in just a short span of time, I’m just so proud with how the company has evolved.”
7. There were times when he hit rock bottom, financially and emotionally.
“I actually hit rock bottom, or kung may mas mababa pa sa rock bottom. Kasi when you’re selfless, you always take into consideration the needs of other people around you. When you always give and give and give and don’t leave something for yourself, one day, you will look back and see that your cup is already empty. And I think that’s when you realize that you have done so many things, you have given so much of yourself to other people, but you haven’t given attention to yourself. That’s what happened to me.”
8. He’s unattached.
“I’ve come to a point in my life where I decided, I’ll just wait for love. I’m not into the concept that your happiness is determined by the love of your life, who is your wife. I’m not enclosed in that concept. I’m enclosed in the concept of my happiness revolving around life itself, because right now, with the things I’ve experienced and with the things I’m experiencing and will be experiencing in the future, life is so beautiful. I just want life to surprise me more. That’s what keeps me going.
9. Though single, he’s in love.
“And now I discovered a new love of my life, which is cycling. For me, cycling is more than just a sport. It’s my therapy. It’s my way out, and my outlet. It’s something that’s very hard to describe to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. I recently posted a cycling photo, and then I just realized the caption was, ‘There’s peace in pain.’ There will always be peace in pain. You just have to keep on pedaling.”
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(Catch more of my interview with Alden on peopleasia.ph)
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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