ACTRESS Bea Alonzo is set to star with Alden Richards in a Filipino adaptation of a hit 2004 Korean movie. But even before production started, the two briefly met last year during the filming of a commercial.
There, the avid gamer brought up his quarantine hobby.
“Nakakatawa si Alden. Talagang ine-encourage niya ako na mag-gaming,” she recalled to SPIN Life during a lengthy interview session with Summit Media editors. “Sabi niya pa nga daw, makakaipon ka sa gaming, yung mga ganun.”
She added: “He's very business savvy. Sinasabi niya sa akin, ganito yung suswelduhin. And then sabi niya, he enjoys it very very much.”
Alden Richards’ love for gaming has been well-documented, with reports about how he spent almost half a million pesos to construct his custom PC build. (Read all the details here.)
According to the actor, he's been a gamer all his life, starting from the Famicom days. He was into CounterStrike, Tekken, Final Fantasy, and the first MMO to hit mainstream success in the country, Ragnarok Online.
In a previous interview, he also told SPIN Life that he found a higher purpose in gaming. Aside from using it as a way to let off some steam, he’s also raised P222,559 for the victims of last year’s typhoons, thanks to his streaming channel ARGaming.
“Nahiligan ko siya kasi I really appreciate the people seeing me do the things I love while they watch and support me," he said.
Alden isn’t the first famous face to try and convince Bea Alonzo to get into gaming.
“My friend, si Paulo Avelino, he's also a gamer. So talagang sinasabi niya na anlaki-laking industry niyan,” she said.
Alonzo continued: “I have so much respect for gamers, sa totoo lang. Anlaki-laki pala ng industry niyan.”
But despite her famous friends’ sales pitches, Bea would not be swayed.
“Sabi ko sa kanya, saan dito ang mukhang mag-ge-gaming ako? Di ko kaya. Wala [nga] akong games sa phone ko! Kahit Flappy Bird.”