Alden Richards

Richard Reyes Faulkerson Jr. (born January 2, 1992), known professionally as Alden Richards, is a Filipino actor, TV host, product endorser, ambassador, businessman, entrepreneur, and recording artist. Richards is dubbed as the Asia's Multimedia Star after winning the 2019 Seoul International Drama Award, Asian Star Prize award equivalent to best acting award, held in South Korea. His notable works include "Tween Hearts", "One True Love", "Carmela", "The Road", "Imagine You and Me", "Victor Magtanggol", "Hello, Love, Goodbye", The Gift City Hunter. He is also known for his role as Lakan in the reboot series of "Encantadia." During the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television in 2015, Richards won his first Best Actor award for his portrayal of José Rizal in "Ilustrado".
As a recording artist, Alden released albums, under Universal Records and GMA Music. His Self-Titled Album reached Platinum status while "Wish I May" reached Diamond status. He has released his third album, "Say It Again" and is doing well in record and iTunes sales.
Richards, who started as a model, joined various male beauty pageant and appeared in various magazines. He is also known for his philanthropy and took part in charitable works. His life story is featured in an episode of "Magpakailanman" and Richards released an autobiographical book entitled "In My Own Words" in August 2016 under Summit Media. The BBC described AlDub as a "phenomenal television and social media success in the Philippines".
Early life.
Named after his father, Alden Richards was born Richard Reyes Faulkerson, Jr. on January 2, 1992 in Quezon City and was raised in Santa Rosa City, Laguna, Philippines. He is the second child of Richard Peralta Faulkerson, Sr. of Ermita, Manila and Rosario Reyes, a native of Pampanga. He has three siblings, an older brother and two younger sisters. Richards is of American descent of English ancestry through his paternal grandfather, whom he has never met personally. Growing up, Richards wanted to be a pilot but his mother urged him to pursue acting instead. 
After his mother died, to support his family financially and to fulfill his mother's wish for him to be an actor, Richards decided to join various male beauty pageants in Laguna and worked as a part-time commercial model. He holds the titles "Ginoong Sta Rosa 2009" and "Ginoong Laguna 2010". He also tried to be in the reality television shows "StarStruck" and "" but both auditions failed. He also appeared on a television commercial for a telecommunication company, fast-food chains and multivitamins product. He studied high school at Paco Catholic School in Paco, Manila and Colegio de Santa Rosa de Lima High School where he graduated. He studied but yet to finish a Business Management Degree at De La Salle Canlubang in Laguna.
Acting career.
2010–2011: Breakthrough, "The Road" and recognition.
After doing modelling stints, Alden auditioned for an acting role on the GMA Network's afternoon soap, "Alakdana". He passed the audition and played the role of Joma. In "Alakdana," he was paired with the lead actress Louise delos Reyes. When he became an actor, he used the stage name Alden Richards. In 2011, he was included in the teenage series, "Tween Hearts" and also starred in its film adaptation "". He also performed on GMA Network's Sunday variety shows "Party Pilipinas" and "Sunday All Stars". He also appeared in the comedy-horror show "Spooky Nights". Richards was praised with his performance as a psychopath in the film "The Road". By the end of 2011, he replaced Aljur Abrenica's role as Gobi in "Ang Panday 2," which is an entry at the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival. Abrenica was pulled out of the film due to conflict of schedules and Richards re-shoots scenes made by Abrenica. Richards was also praised by some entertainment writers for his performances, predicting that he would be the next big star of GMA Network.
Alden was awarded as the 1st Filipino Amazing Male Newcomer in the first Yahoo! OMG! Philippines Awards in 2011. He also won as Best New Actor in the Golden Screen Awards in the same year. He invited FHM Sexiest of 2011 Sam Pinto for a date on national TV. The latter did accept the invitation and went on a cruise date with Richards in the Manila Bay, but the actress revealed that it was just a friendly date. On Valentine's Day of 2012, "A Date with Alden Richards", a GMA Network promo"," was held on national television and the micro-blogging site Twitter where it trended.
2012–2014: "One True Love", "Ilustrado" and music career.
In 2012, Alden played the supporting role of a thief named Rico on the prime time series, "My Beloved" headlined by Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes. He also acted on the episode "UNOS" (Calamity) of the fourth season of a Holy Week special, "Tanikala," presented by Christian Broadcasting Network. Richards starred in his first lead role on a prime time TV series with "One True Love," which premiered on June 11, 2012, and was paired again with Louise delos Reyes. In the series, Richards who played "Tisoy" is a poor guy who is in love with a rich girl. According to him, the series was his biggest break in the show business industry. Richard's earned his first Best Actor nomination for "One True Love" in the 2013 Golden Screen TV Awards. It took a while before he had a new television or film project until he was cast as young Simeon (the character played by Bong Revilla) in the historical drama "Indio" in 2013. According to Richards, he is proud to play the role as young Simeon.
The story of Alden's life was featured on drama anthology, "Magpakailanman" aired in March 2013 (re-aired on September 12, 2015) wherein he portrayed himself. In the same year, Richards and delos Reyes was paired again in the GMA Network melodrama series entitled "Mundo Mo'y Akin" with actresses Sunshine Dizon and Angelika dela Cruz. Richards' portrayal on the show earned him another nomination at the 5th Golden Screen TV Awards. On October 25, 2013, Richards signed an exclusive contract with GMA Network.
Alden debuted as a singer through the #SummerCrush episode of the Sunday noontime show, "Party Pilipinas" in April 2013. He launched his first single, "Haplos", a revival of Shamrock's hit song, which surfaced in My Music Store and iTunes on April 5, 2013. The self-titled debut album, "Alden Richards", under Universal Records, was released on May 26, 2013. The track "Haplos" was used as soundtrack on his prime time show "Mundo Mo'y Akin". Meanwhile, "Di Na Mababawi" and "Sa Aking Tabi" were used as theme songs for the Filipino-dubbed version koreanovela "My Daughter, Seoyoung" and morning drama "With a Smile" respectively. He was featured as Myx Celebrity VJ for the month of June 2013. For his song "Haplos", Richards was nominated in the "Best Performance by a New Recording Artist" category in the 27th Awit Awards. On the 6th Star Awards for Music, Richards was nominated for "New Male Recording Artist for the Year" while his self-titled album was nominated for "Album Cover Design and Concept of the Year".
In 2014, Alden was paired with Marian Rivera in the television series "Carmela". The song "Naaalala Ka" from his self-titled album, served as the ending theme for "Carmela". He also starred in a short film entitled "Kinabukasan" with veteran Filipina actress Nora Aunor. He hosted "Bet ng Bayan," a talent search television program of GMA Network, together with Regine Velasquez. Close to the end of 2014, he had another television series produced by GMA News and Public Affairs entitled "Ilustrado". He played the role of Filipino patriot José Rizal that gave Richards his first Best Actor award from the 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television. He was the only nominee from his home network against a field of respected actors from the rival television network.
2015–present: "Eat Bulaga!'s AlDub" and Asia's Multimedia Actor.
In 2015, Alden became part of the Philippines' longest running noontime variety show, "Eat Bulaga!" He appeared as a host in the segment "That's My Bae". On July 16, 2015, Richards was unintentionally paired to his "Eat Bulaga!" co-host Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza during an episode of the "Juan for All, All for Juan" segment. They instantly became a love team, dubbed as AlDub. Because of their popularity, "Eat Bulaga!" created a mini-series for AlDub labeled by Joey de Leon as Kalyeserye. In Kalyeserye, Richards plays different roles including fictionalized version of himself and as Anselmo.
On August 6, 2015, Alden signed a four-year film contract with APT Entertainment, the film outfit of "Eat Bulaga!" producer TAPE Inc. In the same month, Richards signed a recording contract with GMA Records. Richards' second album, "Wish I May", was launched on October 17, 2015, in SM City North EDSA Cinema 11. The album contains two original songs and the rest are renditions. The first single, "Wish I May," is an original composition by Agat Obar-Morallo and was released earlier for online downloading and streaming in September 2015. The music video of "Wish I May" premiered on October 18, 2015, on GMA Network's Sunday noontime show "Sunday PinaSaya," where Richards is also a co-host. The single landed on the top spot of iTunes Philippines song charts. The song "Wish I May" is used as the theme song for the series with the same name. The sophomore album earned a gold record award from Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) prior to being officially launched.
In September 2015, Alden's self-titled debut album earned a gold record award recognition from PARI and ranked number 10 on "Billboard"s World Albums Charts (Billboard). In October 2015, Universal Records released a special edition of the debut album which included AlDub theme song "God Gave Me You" by Bryan White. In the same month, the album "Wish I May" received a platinum record award from PARI for selling more than 15,000 copies. In November 2015, his debut album "Alden Richards" has been certified platinum. As for the album "Wish I May", it went on to earn a number of recognition from PARI as it received double platinum in December 2015, triple platinum award on January 21, 2016, quadruple platinum award on February 28, 2016, five times platinum record in March 2016, seven times platinum in July 2016, and eight times platinum in September 2016.
The theme song for GMA Network's Christmas station ID entitled "MaGMAhalan Tayo Ngayong Pasko" was performed by Alden in 2015. Aside from singing the theme song, Richards also appeared on the station ID music video with Maine Mendoza and the Kalyeserye's "lolas" (Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Paolo Ballesteros). In December 2015, Richards and Mendoza starred in the 41st Metro Manila Film Festival entry "My Bebe Love#KiligPaMore". The film headlined by Vic Sotto and Ai-Ai delas Alas and was directed by Jose Javier Reyes. Also in December 2015, Richards together with Mendoza were also given a German Moreno Power Tandem Award. Richards received a star at the Philippine Walk of Fame on December 1, 2015, at Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City along with his "Kalyeserye" co-stars.
In March 2016, Alden and Maine starred in "God Gave Me You", a Lenten season drama special of "Eat Bulaga!" In July 2016, "Imagine You and Me" was shown in cinemas as AlDub's first anniversary offering to fans. In the film, Richards and Mendoza played star-crossed lovers and were lead actors for the first time. In the August 2016, Richards released a book entitled "Alden Richards: In My Own Words" under Summit Media. Aside from being a regular host in "Eat Bulaga!" and "Sunday PinaSaya", Richards' television appearances in 2016 included his participation as a contestant in "Lip Sync Battle Philippines" and as a guest in the television series "That's My Amboy", where he portrayed himself.
In September 2016, Alden was included in the reboot series of "Encantadia" as Lakan (a Mulawin character). His first appearance in said fantasy series generated public interest and became a trending topic in a social media website. In the same month, Richards renewed his contract with GMA Network.
In February 2017, "Destined to be Yours"; Alden Richards' first television series opposite his love team partner, Maine Mendoza was shown on GMA network.
Alden played the lead in the docudrama "Alaala: A Martial Law Special" as real-life activist Bonficacio Ilagan. Richards said it was the most difficult role he has had to tackle as an actor. The show, first broadcast in September 2017, co-starred Bianca Umali as Rizalina Ilagan, Rocco Nacino, and Gina Alajar, and was directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. and written by Bonifacio Ilagan. The special won the silver medal in the docudrama category at the New York Festivals television and film awards. Richards and program manager Joy Madrigal received the award for GMA at the awarding ceremonies.
In October 2017, Alden and Maine headlined in an "Eat Bulaga!" produced television film entitled "Love is..." with Adolfo Alix Jr. as the director.
In 2018, Alden starred in Philippine television drama action-fantasy series Victor Magtanggol.
In 2019, Alden got his first movie after being hiatus for almost 3 years under Star Cinema, to be paired with Kathryn Bernardo and directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina. The film became the highest grossing Filipino film of all time beating The Hows of Us which is also starred by Bernardo.
He also starred in Philippine television drama-suspense series The Gift
In 2021, Alden Richards and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, whose chemistry was first tested in the first season of I Can See You, will finally be paired in a full-length drama series titled The World Between Us. They will be joined by Tom Rodriguez.
In 2022 Alden Richards Action Star Japanese Manga Tsukasa Hojo City Hunter together with Maricel Soriano Cesar Montano Diether Ocampo Sophia Reola and Claudine Barretto Upcoming Action Drama criminal justice Ryo Saeba Superstar Jackie Chan and Lee Min Ho soon on GMA Telebabad 
Alden Richards will also be starring in the Filipino adaptation of the 2004 Korean film A Moment to Remember together with Bea Alonzo. According to a report by PEP.ph, Richards and Alonzo will play characters originally played by Jung Woo-Sung and Son Ye-Jin, respectively. Inspired by the 2001 Japanese drama series Pure Soul, A Moment to Remember is a love story revolving around a woman with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The film will be produced by Viva Films, GMA Pictures and APT Entertainment.
Other ventures.
Modeling and endorsements.
Aside from being an actor, Alden Richards also do modeling stints. In 2010, he was 4th on the list of Candy Magazine's "Celebrity Cuties" and had his earliest modeling gig at the Candy Fair held in Pasig. Richards is a brand ambassador for a clothing brand along with co-actors JM De Guzman and Enrique Gil. In July 2012, Richards, along with Bela Padilla, Kris Bernal, and Sarah Lahbati, appeared on the cover of "MEGA" Magazine dubbed as "GMA's new breed of rising talents". Since then he has continued to appear in a number of magazines, while featuring in several"" endorsements.
Philanthropy.
In 2014, Alden became an ambassador for Habitat for Humanity Philippines. In January 2015, Richards celebrated his birthday by building homes alongside other volunteers and families involved with the non-profit organization in Payatas, Quezon City. While in February 2016, as part of his post-birthday celebration, Richards visits Aeta community in Tarlac for an outreach program. After the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, Richards had been part of relief efforts initiated by GMA Network. Richards was also part GMA Network's 2014 Christmas campaign, "#ShareTheLove", where he chose children with cancer as his beneficiaries.
Alden became Boardwalk's ambassador for Young Emerging Sociopreneurs (YES) in September 2015. The campaign is focused on encouraging students to earn money while still in school. Richards also participated in Boardwalk's "Share Campaign" where part of the proceeds goes to charity. Richards was part of "Eat Bulaga! Sa Tamang Panahon" concert on October 24, 2015, held at the Philippine Arena where 14 million pesos was raised for the program's "AlDub Library Project".
The GMA Network Christmas station ID theme song "MaGMAhalan Tayo Ngayong Pasko", performed by Alden, was released for online downloads. All proceeds went to the beneficiaries of GMA Kapuso Foundation's relief efforts for Typhoon Lando victims. Richards also appeared on a charity event for children with serious diseases and a benefit concert entitled "For The Love Of Mama" on November 23, 2015, at the Mall of Asia Arena where proceeds were used for building Kristong Hari Parish Church in Quezon City. On April 3, 2016, Richards joined other artists in a worship concert entitled "Reborn: 1 Walker Worship Concert" at the Mall of Asia Arena. Organized by 1Walker Band headed by Regine Velasquez, the worship concert's proceeds were given to the Anawim Lay Missions Foundation, Inc.
In August 2016, Alden announced that he plans to set up his own foundation to reach out more people who are in need.
Ambassador.
In July 2020, Alden was chosen as an ambassador of "Bida Solusyon", an informative campaign formed by the Department of Health about the health protocols in preventing COVID-19, He is also the ambassador for the Philippines of "End Tuberculosis", a campaign formed by the USAID.
Personal life.
Richards credits his paternal grandmother, Linda, with rearing him in the Catholic faith. According to Richards, he would visit seven churches, read the epic poem "Pasyon", and watch Christian-themed films such as "The Passion of the Christ", "The Ten Commandments", "Jesus of Nazareth", and "The Gospel of John" during Lent.
Alden resides in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Accolades.
Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza (AlDub).
The prestigious Guinness World Records recognized AlDub as a record-breaker in Twitter history for generating 40,706,392 tweets in the "Tamang Panahon" event at the Philippine Arena.
Solo Awards.
Aside from major award giving bodies, Richards was given recognition by other organizations and magazines. In the 1st Yahoo! Philippines OMG! Awards in 2011, he was recognized as the Amazing Male Newcomer, while in 2012 and 2013, the same award-giving body nominated him as the Breakthrough Actor of the Year but lost. Richards together with Louise delos Reyes also got nominated in the Yahoo! Philippines OMG! Awards in 2013 as Love Team of the Year but they lost.
During the "MEG" Top Choice Awards In 2012, the magazine MEG gave Richards the Top Fashion Forward Celeb (Male) award. While in the "Inquirer Bandera"'s 1st Bet ng "Bandera" Awards, he was given the title Male Celebrity of the Year. As for the PUSH Awards 2015 by ABS-CBN Interactive, he was nominated Awesome OOTD King but did not win. Stargate "PeopleAsia" magazine granted the title People of the Year (People's Choice Award) to Richards and Mendoza in 2016.
In the 5th OFW Gawad Parangal in 2014, Richards became the Favorite Young Actor. Being an endorser, he was given the Trinitian Awardee for Most Valuable Male Advertising Endorser during Platinum Stallion Awards (Awards for Advertising) in 2016. The actor was also given a "Makabatang Alagad ng Telebisyon" (Child-friendly Artist on Television) seal by Anak TV in February 2016. During the 32nd PMPC Star Awards for Movies in 2016, he was nominated but lost the Darling of the Press award. He also won Male TV Star of the Year and Male Stylish Star of the Year for 2016 and Best PEPTalk episode on PEPList Awards Year 3 given by Philippine Entertainment Portal.