Alden Richards gets real about why he first wanted to be an actor: 'We were in dire need of financial aid'

Alden Richards is currently among the country's biggest stars, but that hadn't always been his reality.

In an interview on "Updated With Nelson Canlas," the Kapuso actor revealed that it was his family's difficult financial situation that led him to audition for the reality talent competition show "StarStruck."

"We [were] in dire need of financial aid na feeling ko pag-aartista 'yung makakasagot no'n," he said.

"Need na siya e, wala pa 'yung passion doon na gusto kong mag-artista kasi gusto kong maging aktor, gusto kong makainspire ng maraming tao. Wala pa siya sa picture, wala pa 'yung konsepto no'n, no'ng time na 'yun it's just about the money," he added.

Alden then got real about the troubles his family was experiencing at the time.

"When my mom passed away, my dad had to quit his job of 10 years to get the severance pay to pay for the funeral and sa kung anu ano pang mga gastos that time," he said.

"Tapos sa cremation, tapos naalala ko pa no'n 'yung ibang sobra no'n pinambili namin ng mga bagong appliances kasi 'yung appliances namin no'n kawawa naman kami. So ilang months walang work 'yung dad ko no'n and mahirap 'ang buhay talaga na nakaasa kami sa tulong ng mga ...sa mga kapatid ni Dad abroad," he added.

His grandmother also helped take care of them, and thankfully, his father found another job, although it was only contractual. The salary was only seasonal, Alden said, so it wasn't sustainable.

And so Alden decided it was up to him.

"Sabi ko sa sarili ko sino, sinong kikilos sa aming magkapatid, sa aming tatlo e 'yung kapatid kong panganay nagtatapos ng pag-aaral. I was also going to school... Pero that time kasi no'ng time na 'yun ang pinangpapaaral ko is 'yung mga talent fees na nakukuha ko sa mga gigs and commercials ganyan, sa modeling. So 'yun 'yung pinangbabayad ko ng tuition fee ko. Hindi rin ako pwedeng umasa doon kasi inconsistent din 'yun e," he said.

Alden then considered dropping out of school for showbiz. When "StarStruck" auditions came around, he prioritized that, even skipping a lot of classes. Adding to his difficulties was the fact that he lived in Laguna, so he struggled through finding ways to commute to Metro Manila.

He joined the fifth season of the show in 2009 and bowed out early.

However, he said that at that moment, he was really hoping to get into the top candidates.

"Kasi when you're in that situation, siyempre ang gusto mo talaga pasok ka. Ayaw mo ng syempre when you're exerting effort into something you expect something in return, a reward in a way," he said.

And so when he failed to advance to join the top candidates of the show, he was severely let down.

"Ang sakit sakit ng bow na 'yon. Kitang-kita ko sa mukha ko disappointed so sobrang nasaktan ako nung time na 'yun kasi sometimes hindi pa tama 'yung oras," he said.

"Ako naniniwala ako sa tamang timing at sa pasensya, pero that time hindi pa masyadong malinaw sa akin 'yung konsepto ng parang try, you fail and then try again the next time... hindi siya malinaw sa akin, kasi ang point of view ko lang no'n ang perspective ko no'n was sa lahat ng mga bagay na pinaghihirapan ko I want to be successful in that. Pero unfortunately I was so young and parang masyadong  oblivious with the facts na hindi gano'n kadali lahat," he added.

Asked if he lost hope, Alden said, "Ayoko na, ayoko na no'n."

"Hindi tayo nakuha so sa dami ng sacrifices na ginawa ko for me to be able to penetrate the industry, parang do'n sa moment ng StarStruck parang ayaw ko na. Ayoko na siyang ituloy."

Alden said he cried a lot after his defeat.

"Parang that time sinasabi ng mga taong kasama ko, okay lang 'yan, kaya mo 'yan bawi na lang tayo. Pero sabi ko okay lang ba iiyak ko lang 'tong moment na 'to, kasi hindi ko kaya kasi sobrang bigat na for me," he said. "Sabi ko... gusto kong i-acknowledge tong moment na to as a moment of defeat, a moment of rejection, failure, a moment of parang 'yun 'yung time na talunan ako, talunan ako that time so I had to acknowledge that at gusto ko siyang...gusto ko lang maging malungkot that time. So iyak ako ng iyak gano'n."

After that, Alden went back to school.

It was during one school day that his manager called him to say that there were auditions for a soap, and asked him if he wanted to go.

This time, he hesitated.

"Nag-we-weigh ako that time, sabi ko ano papasok ba ako o pupuntahan ko 'tong isang uncertain na bagay na inayawan ko na? Lord, help me that time parang saan ba ako pupunta dito, sa mas sure o sa uncertain pero... 'Pag napasok mo naman e todo ka naman," he said.

"I've decided sige... Iwan ko school punta ako audition. So no'ng pumunta akong audition 'yun na 'yung audition ko for my very first soap sa GMA which was 'Alakdana,'" he added.

That was only the start for Alden. In 2015, he was unwittingly paired with Maine Mendoza during an episode of "Eat Bulaga," kickstarting the AlDub phenomenon that shot them to unbelievably popularity.

In 2019, Alden soared to higher heights after starring in Cathy Garcia-Molin's "Hello, Love, Goodbye" alongside Kathryn Bernardo.

And just this year, Alden held his documentary concert "Forward: Meet Richard Faulkerson, Jr." It was produced for the benefit of the AR Foundation Inc., which Alden founded himself.

Through it, he aims to put children through school, driven by his own financial struggles growing up. —JCB, GMA News