Alex Diaz is really a ‘sweetheart’

When Alex Diaz was launched as part of Star Magic Circle 2013 last year, showbiz-watchers predicted big things for the then 17-year-old. Now 18, the Filipino-Scottish celebrity  who began his career as a commercial model  is well on his way to fulfilling those predictions. He has appeared on ASAP 18 multiple times to show off his dancing skills. Alex has also done several TV shows, most notably the teleserye Got to Believe.

Alex considers Got to Believe, which starred Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, his biggest and luckiest break. He got to play the role of Kristoffer “Kit” Rosales for the entirety of the show’s nearly eight-month run and learned about the ins and outs of the business from the show’s director, filmmaker Cathy Garcia-Molina.

“I was definitely very lucky na napasama ako sa Got to Believe,” Alex says. “I was blessed to have such a nice director. Direk Cathy gets down to business but she’s very forgiving, especially if it’s your first time. Our set was a great learning environment.”

Alex says he came away from working on Got to Believe with direk Cathy with a deeper understanding of what it means to be an actor. “She taught me to believe in what you do in front of the camera and to stay true to my character. I learned that you can’t let your scene fall just because you’re not sure of what you have to do,” he shares. “So you need to do the work, you need to study your character, and you have to commit to it.”

Alex has since guested in many Kapamilya shows including the legal drama Ipaglaban Mo. (His most recent role in that show was in the episode that featured child star Katrina Legaspi — who also appeared in Got to Believe — as a rape victim.) The lessons he learned from working with direk Cathy helped him bring more depth to his roles. ABS-CBN bosses took note of his hard work and awarded him a plum role in a new Kapamilya show. “I’m doing this coming of age teleserye called Bagito,” Alex reveals. “It just started to air. It also stars Nash Aguas, Alexa Ilacad and Ella Cruz. My character is the boyfriend of Ella’s character.”

Beyond that, Alex can’t say much more about his latest project but he promises that those who enjoyed his previous projects will find that Bagito is something of a return to form for him. “My character isn’t a very nice guy. He’s not naman a villain, but he’s just not a very nice guy. Masaya naman ako with my role kasi hindi ako nahihirapan mag-prepare. I have past experiences with that kind of role like in Ipaglaban Mo parang ganun din yung character ko. It’s always fun to play those kinds of roles.”

However, Alex admits that finding out that he would be playing someone who is not very nice in Bagito gave him a pause. “I started thinking, ‘Am I getting roles like this because this is the way I come across to other people off-cam?’” he says. “But I’m actually such a sweetheart in real life. I will super hug you, that’s how sweet I can be.”

Alex has definitely come a long way since his first sit-down interview with reporters a year and a half ago at the Star Magic Circle 2013 presscon. But even though he has achieved a lot already, Alex still wants to do more.

“I want to establish myself as a host talaga,” says the one-time radio DJ. “I definitely want to get into hosting and, if it’s meant, I also want to get into singing. But after acting, hosting is my next big dream.”