Alden Richard’s dimpled smile hides an interesting life story about a boy who initially had no plans of becoming famous. “I still can’t believe that people recognize my name,” he wrote in his new book, Alden Richards: In My Own Words. “To this day, I feel like that eighteen-year-old boy from Laguna who commuted to Manila, driven by a dream.”
Now, Alden Richards is known as our Pambansang Bae and has graced countless magazines and billboards in the country. You may have followed his Kalye Serye and you've probably also seen his latest movie Imagine You and Me, but how much do you really know Alden Richards? Here are a few things about him that are probably new to you:
1. His real name is not Alden Richards.
It’s Richard Faulkerson Jr., and he was born on January 2, 1992 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
2. Alden’s original dream wasn't to enter showbiz.
It was to become a pilot, but he relented for his mom, who thought that he could make it big as an actor.
3. He used to join local pageants.
Although it wasn’t really his thing, he first joined Ginoong Santa Rosa due to the insistence of the wife of their barangay captain.
4. The Pambansang Bae auditioned for GMA7's Starstruck.
He was able to get in the Top 60.
5. Alden almost gave up on becoming an artist.
He went to what he thought would be his last audition for a soap opera, and was surprised when he got the part. And the rest, as they say is history.
Alden shares more about his private life in Summit Books’ Alden Richards: In My Own Words, now out in leading bookstores and department stores for P250.
