If it weren't for his stubbornness, Kapuso actor Benjamin Alves wouldn't be where he is now.
This is his revelation during a recent interview as he renewed his contract with his home network of nine years, GMA.
Note that prior to being Kapuso, Benjamin started his career using Vince Saldaña as his screen name in 2006. But three years later, he decided to go back to Guam, where he was born and finished his studies.
In 2012, Benjamin graduated summa cum laude at the University of Guam with a degree in English Literature.
Asked what he did those years, Piolo Pascual's nephew recalled how hard it was for him. Though he learned so much about himself.
Benjamin noted how, first and foremost, he didn't want to leave the Philippines at that time. But because he wasn't able to achieve the traction he wanted for his career, it made him terrified for his future.
"Hindi ko masyado kayang i-risk yung uncertainty kung di mag work (yung showbiz career ko)," he said.
He admitted: "Nawala yung confidence ko siguro. Yung excitement ko from when I started in 2006. Talagang ito yung mundo na gusto mong pasukin pero ayaw bumukas ng pinto and you feel that door kept closing and closing as the years came so kailangan kong (mag-isip) baka hindi talaga to. So I really have to be honest with myself. So I went home."
Benjamin worked hard while in Guam.
"Kasi kahit konting taste ng showbiz, tuwa ka na. When you go home, you're going back to school, no one cares about that, no one even knows that... I was working at a warehouse, naglalabas ng gamit sa container, nag-a-ayos ng forklift, nag-de-deliver ng newspaper, may mga Pinoy na kikilala ka somehow na 'Di ba ikaw?...' nag-de-deliver ka ng newspapers. You really have to, a lot of swallowing your pride, realizing na, you know, ito yung dues na kailangan, ito yung bigas na kailangan mong kainin bago may mangyari sayo. That's what I learned. More so yung summa cum laude - bigger achievement. Mas naging appreciative ako sa mga bagay."
Asked what pushed him to return and pursue acting anew, he said: "stubbornness."
"To really do whatever it takes to make it happen," was how he put it.
Well, the rest is history.
Now, Benjamin deem his success as heartthrob and leading man a "dream come true."
And for 2022, he will be returning to television via "Artikulo 247."
He also has two films in the works.