Spotlight: Why we’re excited for Alden Richards’ upcoming teleserye

More than a year after his last teleserye The Gift ended in February 2020, Alden Richards is set to star in the upcoming GMA drama series The World Between Us. 

The World Between Us marks Alden’s second pairing with Jasmine Curtis-Smith, after being paired in a one-week episode of the drama anthology “I Can See You: Love on The Balcony.” 

Here’s why we’re looking forward to Alden’s newest project: 

Alden says this is his most challenging character yet

Alden will play Luisito “Louie” Asuncion in The World Between Us. Loosely based on Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, Alden says that his character will veer away from his past “good boy” roles, since the story revolves around vengeance.  

 “Basically, Louie is a stereotype of a good boy,” Alden told GMA News Online. 

While this might sound similar to his previous characters, Alden said he made sure to provide a different take and flavor for this new project. “[It’s my] obligation and my task to differentiate [Louie] from all the other good boys I’ve done before,” he said. 

“It’s really a conscious effort to really develop certain differences with the roles that you play and hindi ka lang laging nakakahon sa isang stereotype, (and you’re not just boxed in a certain stereotype).” 

Alden said viewers should anticipate the character arc of Louie. “Because of those struggles that my character experienced within the story, there’s a certain learning and certain twist within my character itself,” he said during the media conference for The World Between Us. 

“This time, I’ll be playing a role na hindi lang puro good boy (he’s not just a good boy.) There will come a time in the story that I will take vengeance on the people who have done me wrong, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.” 

Alden said he’s never portrayed a character like this before. “Nooong magkaroon ng ganoong anggulo ang character ko (When my character had that angle), all the more I have so much to give, I have so much to learn from it,” he said. 

“Gusto kong maging malinis ang transition sa bawat stages ng character ni Louie and to be reasonable as well. (I want to have clean transition for each stages of Louie’s character and be reasonable with it.)” 

The 29-year-old actor also shared that he is happy with how different this series is from his previous projects. “Through the cast, story, director, I think this is gonna be one of my best teleseryes in five years,” he said. 

Alden also expressed his excitement in knowing that the viewers can relate to his character. “Iyon ang culture natin as Filipino viewers (that’s our culture as Filipino viewers): to really watch a teleserye and look for characters that we can latch ourselves onto.”

Alden is already an established actor

In his latest teleserye The Gift, Alden played the visually impaired Divisoria vendor Sep who was blessed with the gift of vision. His performance in the drama series earned him a Best Actor in a TV series recognition from the 4th Gems Award. 

Prior to The Gift, Alden was also nominated for Best Actor at Gawad Urian 2019 for portraying Ethan del Rosario in Star Cinema’s Hello, Love, Goodbye. The movie, which top-billed with Kathryn Bernardo, became the highest grossing Philippine movie of all time. 

Alden has been vocal on how he considers Hello, Love, Goodbye as one of his best decisions. “It was my first time to work with Direk Cathy [Garcia-Molina], and she’s a very talented, very hands-on director. I’m so happy that I was able to work with her. Sobrang dami kong natutunan,” he told Preview Magazine. 

Aside from his two recent and well-known projects, Alden also has several other accomplishments under his belt. 

In 2015, Alden portrayed the national hero Jose Rizal in the historical series Ilustrado. Ilustrado was named “Best Drama Series/Program” in the 37th Catholic Media Awards. In the 29th PMPC Star Awards, Ilustrado also won the “Best Drama Mini Series” award with Alden being named “Best Drama Actor” for his performance in the series. 

In 2017, Alden starred in Alala as Bonifacio Ilagan, an activist-writer who served as the chairman of Kabataang Makabayan during the Martial Law era. Alala won the silver medal award for GMA News and Public Awards at the 2018 New York Festivals. 

“Thank you to the New York Festivals for this great recognition. Congratulations to Team Alala for the win. To God be the glory,” Alden wrote on his Instagram after receiving the award. 

Alden is celebrating his 11th year in the showbiz industry

He might now be one of the most in-demand leading men of his generation, but this wasn’t always the case for Alden. It took years of grit, of signing up for numerous modeling stints and acting gigs before he became a household name as part of AlDub. 

In 2015, he was unintentionally paired with Eat Bulaga! co-host Maine “Yaya Dub” Mendoza during the “Juan For All, All for Juan” segment. As a result, the AlDub loveteam was formed and fans followed their “love story” unfold on the show. 

Alden told Preview Magazine that there was a point when he was unsure of his showbiz career. “Darating ka sa point na parang wala ka nang pupuntahan (You’ll reach a point where you feel like you just don’t know where to go anymore), you feel lost. There’s no moving forward and the only option is giving up,” he said. 

But suddenly, he was blessed with another chance. “There’s going to be another opportunity, hindi ka papabayaan ni Lord. (The Lord will not fail you),” Alden said.  

The AlDub love team has headlined movies, teleseryes, and product endorsements, but the two have since been working on separate projects.

Alden recognizes the need to constantly explore and hone his craft. Aside from acting, he has also released several singles and albums. In 2016, his Wish I May album has exceeded 8-times platinum, and has reached Diamond Record status. 

In December 2020, Alden the Alden’s Reality: The Virtual Reality Concert to celebrate his 10 years in showbiz. The virtual concert combined “cutting-edge technology and performances to produce a full-length concert and online interaction” with the fans. 

Alden’s Reality: The Virtual Reality Concert earned a finalist slot at the 2021 New York Festivals “World’s Best TV and Films” competition. “I was really happy to hear about the news, and very thankful of course! Shooting in VR was a new experience for all of us. Honestly, it was not easy, but the team is just happy that it gained international recognition,” said Alden. 

Being in the entertainment industry for a decade is already a celebration in itself. But with Alden’s talent and work ethic, it’s clear that the past decade is only the beginning. – Rappler.com

The World Between Us premieres GMA-7 on July 5.