Early years
Richards was born on January 2, 1992 in Sta.Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. He is the second child of Richard Faulkerson Sr., a native of Laguna, and Rosario Reyes, a native of Pampanga. He was a Business Administration student of De La Salle Canlubang in Biñan City, Laguna before he became an actor. Growing up, he wanted to be a pilot but his mother dreamt of him becoming an actor and urged him to pursue acting although he was hesitant to do it initially. After his mother died, to support his family financially and fulfill his mother's wish for him to be an actor, he decided to try his luck in show business by joining various male 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 auditioned for StarStruck, but failed to be a part of the reality show. He appeared on a television commercial for a multivitamins product.
2010-2011: Breakthrough, The Road and awards
After passing the auditions, Richards was launched as an actor in GMA Network for the afternoon soap, Alakdana playing the role of a disabled man Joma. He was paired with also then, up and coming actress Louise delos Reyes. He also signed a 5-year contract with the network. In 2011, he became a part of the successful teenage series, Tween Hearts and also starred in its film adaptation Tween Hearts: Class of 2012. He also performed on GMA Network's Sunday variety shows Party Pilipinas and Sunday All Stars. He graced two episodes of Spooky Nights in Singil and in the Christmas episode of Spooky Nights as Elmer. Richards was praised by critics with his performance as a psychopath in the movie The Road. By the end of 2011, he played Gobi in the box office hit movie Ang Panday 2 which is an entry at the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival. Richards was also praised by some entertainment writers for his friendliness and his remarkable performances, predicting that he will be the next big star of GMA Network.
Richards was awarded as the 1st Filipino Amazing Male Newcomer in the first Yahoo! OMG! Philippines Awards (2011). He also won as Best New Actor in the Golden Screen Awards. The newcomer actor garnered two awards in one year which signifies a smooth soar for his career. He is never hesitant to share his love life with the media, the fact that he invited the FHM Sexiest of 2011, Sam Pinto for a date on national TV. The latter did accept the invite and later on held a cruise date in the Manila Bay, but the sexy actress revealed that it was just a friendly date. On Valentines Day of 2012, a GMA Network promo A Date with Alden Richards surfaces in television and the micro-blogging site Twitter where it trended.
2012-2014: One True Love, other shows and music career
In early 2012, GMA Network's morning show Unang Hirit reported that Richards took on new challenges and made bolder steps with his career by posing topless for his first ever sexy pictorial for the summer collection of the clothing brand, Folded & Hung along with co-actors JM De Guzman and Enrique Gil. Richards played a supporting role of a thief named Rico on the primetime 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 that is presented by Christian Broadcasting Network. Richards starred in his first lead role on a primetime TV series with One True Love which premiered on June 11, 2012. It is about the enduring power of love between two people from two different walks of life. In this series, he was once again paired with his love team Louise delos Reyes. The success of the series resulted in five weeks extension, approved by the network on August 20, 2012. According to GMA Network on their press release, it has been extended due to its phenomenal ratings success over its rival program since it premiered. Richards who played "Tisoy" is a poor guy who is in love with a rich girl. Viewers and critics praised Richards with his performace in the TV drama. According to him, the series has been his biggest break in the industry. While One True Love proved Richards' acting skills, it took a while before he had a new TV or movie project until he was cast as young Simeon (the character played by Sen. Bong Revilla) in the historical drama Indio, one of the biggest projects of GMA Network for 2013. According to Richards, "I am proud to have played the role of the young Bong Revilla. It didn't sink in that i did not have show for a long time, but when I counted the days, I realized I have not acted in six months in a regular show...".
The story of Richards' life was featured on drama anthology, Magpakailanman aired in March 2013 wherein he portrayed himself. In the same year, Richards and Delos Reyes joined together once again in the GMA Network melodrama series entitled Mundo Mo'y Akin with actresses, Sunshine Dizon and Angelika dela Cruz. It is a family drama that follows a compelling storyline that explores the insatiable quest for beauty, and wealth. The characters find themselves ensnared in a game of deceit, and betrayal and will stop at nothing to gain power and prestige.
Richards debut as a singer through the #SummerCrush episode of Sunday noon time show, Party Pilipinas. 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 album is under Universal Records and was released on May 26, 2013. He was featured as Myx Celebrity VJ for the month of June, 2013.
In 2014, Richards proved to be one of the most sought-after leading man when he was paired with GMA Network's primetime queen Marian Rivera in the TV series Carmela. He also starred in a short film entitled Kinabukasan with the Philippines' superstar Nora Aunor. Close to the end of 2014, he had another TV series produced by GMA News and Public Affairs entitled Ilustrado. He played the coveted role of Jose Rizal.
2015-present: Eat Bulaga! and AlDub
In 2015, Richards became a part of the Philippines' longest running noontime variety show, Eat Bulaga!. He is currently appearing as a co-host in the segment That's My Bae. His popularity did further skyrocketed not only because of the everyday TV exposure as a mainstay co-host, but also because of the formation of an accidental love team between him and his Eat Bulaga! co-host Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza.
The love team, labeled by fans as AlDub, has been a consistent Twitter trending topic in the Philippines and worldwide. Because of their huge popularity, Eat Bulaga! created a mini-series for AlDub labeled by Joey de Leon as kalyeserye within the segment Juan For All, All for Juan. Fan-made trailers requesting for a movie or TV show have gone viral online, one is a pitched remake of the koreanovela My Love from the Star which has been acknowledged by GMA Network. On August 6, 2015, Richards inked a four-year movie contract with APT Entertainment, the film outfit of Eat Bulaga! producer TAPE Inc. This rose the fans' speculations that an AlDub movie is being planned.
Richards also became one of the hosts of GMA Network's Sunday noontime show Sunday PINASaya.
On August 13, 2015, Richads signed a recording contract with GMA Records. The upcoming album will contain at least two original songs and renditions.
Aside from being an actor, Richards also act as a part-time model. On 2011, he was 4th in the list of "Celebrity Cuties" of Candy Magazine and had a first time performance in Candy Fair held in Pasig City. According to him, he is already a regular cutie on the list even before he became an actor.[46] Alden Richards posed topless for the first time, wearing a pair of board shorts with star prints for the promotion of the 2012 Summer campaign of a clothing brand, Folded and Hung (F&H). The photo trended in Twitter as the photo is confirmed to be already up as a billboard on EDSA-Guadalupe. On the past interviews, he told the media that he is already prepared for posing sexy on magazines. Richards is also one of the newest endorsers of a cellphone product, My|Phone along with co-teen stars from ABS-CBN and TV 5. On July 2012, Richards along with Bela Padilla, Kris Bernal, and Sarah Lahbati graces the cover of MEGA Magazine dubbed as, "GMA’s new breed of rising talents". He also featured to cover various local magazines such as Men's Health, Garage, and Cosmopolitan.
