MANILA — He’s one of the lucky ones to have his career actually shoot up despite the pandemic.

And this episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” shows why JC Alcantara, the breakout star of the BL series “Hello Stranger,” deserved this success —tracking how he went from enduring abuse just to be able to study, to being ridiculed for being poor as he chased his dreams, to now ranking among the industry’s most promising young talents.

Alcantara, portraying himself, felt strongly that he wants to be an actor. It’s not because he was overly confident about his looks and talent, but he saw it as the only way to lift his family out of poverty.

It’s a delicate dream, not helped by his horrifying experience of living with his abusive uncle and cousin. Treated more akin to a servant than a relative, he had to run away at one point after his drunken uncle pointed a gun at him.

His own mother also didn’t support his dream initially. This pessimism was understandable, though, given how she was physically abused while working abroad to provide for her family.

She was scared that chasing lofty ambitions such as this one will only lead his son suffering the same fate.

The boost for Alcantara came in the form of winning local pageants, paving the way for him to catch the attention of scouts. Countless failed auditions —where he was often ridiculed for being poor— soon followed, but it did little to deter him, hardened by all the things he had went through just to get a whiff of these opportunities.

Eventually, he passed one.

It was for a TV commercial, at the age of 16. It led to further projects and in 2018, he became part of ABS-CBN’s Star Magic Circle.

It was a crazy fast rise but fully deserved.

One of the first things he did with the money he earned was to move his family into a new home.

The rest of the episode showed how the pandemic and the non-renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise laid down fresh obstacles for Alcantara. He continued to work hard, however, and now, he is gearing up for his first lead role in a movie, the sequel to “Hello Stranger.”

You can check out the full episode below:

Part 1

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Part 2

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Part 3

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Part 4

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Part 5

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