Benjamin Alves
The Comeback Kid
Photos by GMA Artist Center
Kapuso actor Benjamin Alves stands as one of his home network’s most prized talents. We have seen him lead in teleserye projects, star in critically-acclaimed films, and even helm GMA’s prestigious CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) program: the GMA Network Excellence Award or GNEA.
Success, however, didn’t come easy for him. Throughout his career, Benjamin or Ben has had his fair share of rejection, self-doubt, and humbling moments that shaped him into the person he is now.
Destined to be on TV
Born on March 31, 1989, Ben spent a good part of his youth in the City of Dasmariñas, Cavite, where his dad’s family is from. When talking about his earliest memories, Ben cited an instance from his childhood; one that may have prophesied his future career as an actor.
“I think I was maybe three or four, naaalala ko ’to my dad brought home a video cam. Sobrang laki pa nung time na ’yon. I don’t know who has a copy of that but when we watched the old videos, lagi akong may cameo.
“I wanted to be in front of the camera. I remember watching it sa office ng daddy ko and everyone was laughing kasi lahat ng eksena, nakikisali ako kahit hindi naman ako kailangan, I was only a kid. I was fascinated. Even that time, makita ko lang sarili mo sa TV, happy na ako eh.
“’Yung feeling noong bata ka pa na nakita mo ’yung sarili mo sa TV, ganoon pa rin ’yung pakiramdam ngayon para sa’kin. That's why I know I love this job because hindi nawawala sa’kin ’yung pagiging bata na para kang naglalaro, nasa ’kin pa rin.”
In his second year of grade school, Ben migrated to Guam with his family where his father worked. It was in Guam Ben’s world truly changed. The small luxuries he enjoyed back in the Philippines such as his family home where he had his own room or his grandparents who lived nearby, were nowhere to be found.
He had to share a room with his brother and sister, spending nights on his futon, isolated from his relatives in a completely foreign country.
Young Ben, who was used to a more comfortable, more carefree life in the Philippines, didn’t want to be there.
But perhaps one of the main reasons he was so against their new home was because being in Guam meant being away from his dreams.
“You don't understand these things when you’re young. You only realize it now. At first, ayoko talaga, nasanay na nandito eh, masaya naman ’yung buhay. I had that angst na gusto kong umuwi dito, mas komportable ako dito.
“For one, I wanted to go into acting even then. Wala na, I can’t so may galit ako sa Daddy ko na parang ‘Ba’t n’yo ako pinapunta dito?’ Every time we would visit Manila, ine-urge ko na mag-audition and things like that, di ko naman magawa. You’re not able to do any of that. There was no venue for it.”
During one of their many visits to the Philippines, Ben finally got his much needed push to start his showbiz journey when he met his Kuya PJ for the first time. Kuya PJ, of course, being one of the most sought-after actors in the country and Ben’s uncle, is Piolo Pascual.
“When I graduated high school, I came here for vacation, ’yung dapat three days lang, naging two weeks siya because I met him. I went to one of his shows, I was consumed by it. Then when I watched Kuya PJ in Milan, doon ko na-realize I really wanna try to do this,” he recalls, referring to the 2004 Olivia Lamasan-directed romantic drama top-billed by Piolo and Claudine Barretto.
“I wanted to make sure I was paving my own way. That was something I wanted to do for myself. I’m sure it would’ve been easier, he would've helped wholeheartedly but it was something I needed to do for myself na hindi lang nakiki-ride.
“He’s always been somebody I could rely on, he’s like a big brother to me, still is to this day.”
Instead of preparing for college like his peers, Ben went straight to work after high school to fund his showbiz plans in the Philippines.
Then in 2006, he entered the industry under the screen name “Vince Saldaña,” joined a reality model-search competition, and appeared in various other projects.
“I tried showbiz back in ’06 to ’09, nakapasok sa ilang movies, ilang shows pero wala ’yung traction na gusto ko. You really start to question kung anong mangyayari sa ’yo. I didn’t want to end up not having a plan B. Wala namang nangyayari so I really had to be honest with myself.”
Plan B
In 2009, Ben decided to sell everything, move back to Guam, and pursue his studies; he was pretty sure that he was never coming back.
On his last day in the country, he had a chance encounter with Jonas Gaffud, renowned “beauty queen maker” and co-founder of the agency Mercator Artist and Model Management, at a dinner. Ben remembers Jonas telling him that he had potential and a place in the industry
His mind was set, though.
The next few years of his life post-showbiz in Guam were the hardest. He took up English Literature in the University of Guam while working at a warehouse where he operated heavy machinery and handled paperwork.
Despite the work, Ben had to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA (grade point average) in order for him to enjoy a full scholarship. Ben knew it was the only way he could afford his college education.
At the start of every semester, he would borrow money from his mom for his books and then slowly pay her back.
“My Christmases, my summers, dire-diretso ’yung school ko. I didn’t have time to be depressed. I was in school from like 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and I had to go to work from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. tapos between those times, I tried to study. Usually, a course load at our school was four. I was taking six or seven kung puwede."
Ben can barely remember how he managed to survive college back then.
“Wala akong pera the whole time I was in college, I don't know how I survived that time. I was really resourceful when I needed to be.”
Ben admits that at the time he couldn’t bring himself to watch any Filipino shows on television as he couldn’t bear to see his showbiz contemporaries advance in their careers while he had chosen to turn his back on the limelight.
“Wala akong pera the whole time I was in college, I don’t know how I survived that time. I was really resourceful when I needed to be.”
Through hard work and determination, Ben was able to finish a four-year-course in two and a half years, graduating summa cum laude. He persevered to finish university in such a short amount of time in case there was still a chance for him to stage a comeback. Even when he was certain that there was no way he could, there was a little spark of hope that remained alive in his heart.
This little spark of hope became a reality when a big opportunity came before his last semester in college.
Ben flew back to the Philippines by the end of 2011 to attend his brother’s wedding. While in Manila, he met up with Jonas once more. Through Jonas’s connections, Ben was introduced to the higher-ups from GMA, like Annette Gozon-Valdes, Lilybeth Rasonable, Joey Abacan, and Tracy Garcia.
“They were in a really good mood that day, it really was timing. They offered me work but I told them that I wanted to finish college first, I had one more semester and they said, ‘Yes.’
“Ever since then, I’ve been with GMA and I don’t see myself going anywhere else. They took a chance on me when I didn’t even know I could do it. Ang hirap kasi ’pag may pangarap ka na ’pag ginusto mo, baka hindi matupad, nakakatakot.
“They’re the ones who pushed me, they had more confidence in me than I did. Thankfully, I’m still very blessed, still around.
Presently, Ben’s showbiz career is being co-managed by Mercator Artist and Model Management and GMA Artist Center.
Two days after his college graduation in 2012, Ben found himself in the set of Guni-Guni, the 2012 psychological-horror-medical thriller with Lovi Poe. In the same year, Ben was also launched under his current screen name at a press conference and then introduced to the public as a Kapuso in the musical variety show Party Pilipinas.
Ben has a lot to thank for this showbiz break.
“I really put my trust on Jonas and GMA. Those first few years, they really did take care of me. The way they introduced me in GMA with a press con, I still remember I still have it saved. The way they introduced me in Party Pilipinas.
“Kung ano man ’yung takot ko, they didn't make me feel it. Nawala ’yung feeling ko na dapat mape-pressure ako, they really took care of it. It’s like takot ka but you have a parent who's taking care of you so mas kampante ka.”
After eight successful years in the industry, starring in such teleseryes as Adarna, Beautiful Strangers, and Dahil Sa Pag-Ibig and appearing in such critically-acclaimed films as Sana Dati, Heneral Luna, and Dagsin, Ben has come a long way.
Despite the many stellar projects under his belt, there’s no stopping Ben any time soon.
“I welcome the feeling of uneasiness kahit it’s been eight years now. Pakiramdam ko na I still have something to prove, I mean.
“Complacency is a disease that I don’t want. Maybe in the middle of those first eight years, I’ve gotten complacent. There’s a sense of complacency because I was given the right opportunity in the beginning but ngayon, I don't think that way.”
Ben also sees himself as a friendly figure to the influx of fresh talents hoping to make it big in the industry. He hopes to help them in their careers just like how others have helped him in his.
“Anybody can enter showbiz, I really do believe that. Especially now, you could pave your own way to enter the mainstream or the public eye. They should be welcomed. At some point, I was new then, that’s the cycle.
“Pero the trick is how to stay, what do you contribute to make yourself stay? For the younger people, what are you contributing to them?”
Ben is fully aware that he owes part of his success to the people who helped him (and maybe pulled some strings for him) during the early years of his career.
“Someone helped me along the way, my uncle being one of them, I find it so much more important that you’re able to do that to the people who are coming in. ’Di tulad ng iba parang ‘Bahala kayo diyan. Senior na ako so kayo na bahala.’
“That bitterness is really scary so I try to not have that.”
As a Kapuso, one of Ben’s biggest responsibilities is his being an ambassador for the GMA Network Excellence Awards or GNEA. GNEA is GMA’s CSR program that aims to honor graduating students for their excellence in leadership, academic performance, and social responsibility. Ben has held on to this prestigious position for four years straight and has helped shape the program into what it is today.
“It's really nice our Network takes education very seriously, especially GNEA which is an initiative coming straight from Atty. Felipe Gozon,” he says, referring to the chairman and CEO of GMA Network Inc.
“It used to be called the GMA President's award so that alone already tells you na he’s very hands-on with it.
Ben feels privileged to take the post that fellow Kapuso actor Dingdong Dantes once held.
“Coming from the previous ambassador na si Kuya Dingdong Dantes, ang laking karangalan noon. Again, it’s been nice to be the ambassador for the last four years but for me, I’m more excited moving forward.
“Ever since then, I’ve been with GMA and I don’t see myself going anywhere else. They took a chance on me when I didn’t even know I could do it. Ang hirap kasi ’pag may pangarap ka na ’pag ginusto mo, baka hindi matupad, nakakatakot."
Looking back, Ben couldn’t believe how well things have turned out for him. No matter how many times he got knocked down, no matter how dire his situation, he managed to keep this flame inside of him burning which lit the path toward achieving his dreams.
“Kung sinabi mo sa’kin kung ano ang mangyayari, I couldn’t even plan how that would happen.
“Even when it’s hard, even when things look dark, just enjoy it. You don’t know where life will take you, you really don’t. You just have to take it one day at a time and be grateful.
In the end, Ben has realized that humility, more than hard work, is what matters in this industry.
“At that time when I was young, I was always looking at the problems or looking at something to overcome. Just be grateful and really stay humble because humility will get you further than hard work. You never know what’s going to happen.
“There are so many ways to turn things around, just stay focused.”
