Cover After being evicted and voted back into the “Pinoy Big Brother” house, Ralph de Leon proved his resilience—emerging as part of the Big 4 and winning hearts with his authenticity and charm (Photo: courtesy of Pinoy Big Brother ABS-CBN)
After being evicted and voted back into the “Pinoy Big Brother” house, Ralph de Leon proved his resilience—emerging as part of the Big 4 and winning hearts with his authenticity and charm (Photo: courtesy of Pinoy Big Brother ABS-CBN)
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Discover Ralph de Leon’s journey from being evicted on “Pinoy Big Brother” to making a powerful comeback as part of the Big 4
Before becoming an actor, Ralph de Leon was an award-winning judoka for Ateneo de Manila University. He later became known for his roles in Zoomers and High Street, but it was his stint on Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) that truly showcased De Leon's resilience. Despite being evicted, De Leon returned to the PBB house after receiving mass votes from viewers nationwide. “I was finally able to show who I really was to the people... and I wasn’t doing anything differently,” he says. “It’s just that this time, I had the opportunity to show my personality.”
De Leon’s natural charm quickly made him a fan favourite. As he navigates the spotlight and takes on more projects, he reminds aspiring artists to stay grounded. “No matter where you go or who you become,” De Leon says, “keep your feet on the ground.”
See also: Who is Brent Manalo? Meet the actor who almost gave up before his big break
How did your journey into showbiz begin, and was it something you had always envisioned for yourself?
Actually, funny thing—I never imagined myself going into showbiz. I started as a model, doing commercials, photo shoots and a bit of hosting for Miss Universe Philippines backstage. Then I realised that I wanted to try everything. Eventually, I got the opportunity to join Star Magic, and that’s where it all started. Parang dati kasi, it was all about sports and school for me, and I saw myself pursuing a career in business. But after going into showbiz, I just really fell in love with the craft.
You’ve been in Zoomers, and you’ve also been in High Street. How important were your roles in these shows to you?
Well, I’ll always have a soft spot for my role as Atom in Zoomers. Atom was my first ever character, the first role that was given to me. And as you may know, we actually auditioned for our roles, and the whole process was shown on our Youtube page. That role is very close to my heart because Atom was pretty much who I was. He was a high achiever in school, the student council president and overall, it was just a great experience for me.
It was my first time experiencing acting and all of that. So just having Atom as my first role, and being able to portray him for not just one but two seasons, was really important to me. It’s a big blessing, and I think it’s what really kick-started everything for me.
As for High Street, I played the role of Dr Kevin, and it was a challenge. It was my first time working with more veteran actors who were my age. These people had been in the industry for years, and I was just trying to keep up with them. But I really tried to do my best, and I wanted to learn from them as well. Playing Dr Kevin, who was my first really challenging role, pushed me to work harder and made me want to pursue acting even more.
The entertainment industry can be both exciting and demanding. What have been some of the biggest challenges you've had to overcome?
Since I joined, at this point in my career—yung bashing talaga [it’s really the bashing], all the attention—it’s something I haven’t really learnt to deal with yet. Because first, I’m known for my characters, and not really for who I am, for who Ralph is. So now, receiving all this attention, with millions of eyes on me and the other housemates, it simply gets pressuring. It gets overwhelming at times, especially when I first came out of the house.
When I first got evicted, I didn’t know how good or bad the season was going, so going into it and being blasted with all of that information right away was something I really had to learn to deal with. Thankfully, with the help of the people around me—my ex-housemates and friends from the industry—they really guided me and helped me throughout the whole thing.
Do you remember the lesson that you learnt during the first time you got evicted?
Probably, at the time, I didn’t yet know that there was a possibility I could come back. I was just really grateful for everything because this whole PBB journey pretty much switched things around 360 degrees in my career. It boosted everything for me, and for some reason, I was finally able to show my personality to the people and show who I really was.
And that’s something I think is uniquely found only in PBB, kasi in all our other shows, we’re only known for our characters, for our acting. Pero itong show talaga is real life. So the fact that I was able to have that opportunity to show who I really am, and that I shouldn’t be afraid to do that—kasi, in the end, I found that people liked who I was, and I wasn’t doing anything differently. It’s just that this time I had the opportunity to show who I was, and having that kind of platform was really a blessing for me.
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Above De Leon has starred in hit series like “Zoomers” and “High Street”
De Leon has starred in hit series like “Zoomers” and “High Street”
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You’ve mentioned your role in High Street is really challenging. How do you prepare for a role? Can you walk us through your process, from script to screen?
Actually, we were blessed to have workshops because this was the second season, and the transition had to be pretty seamless since it’s a five-year jump. It’s a big gap from Senior High. So, with the workshops we had, I was able to understand how the characters worked before, and how I was going to be able to insert myself into that whole world of the High Street cast.
During the workshops, we were able to build the relationships between our characters, and I was also able to work on my acting personally. I want to keep getting better and keep doing more workshops because I feel that, for me, that’s the most effective acting style there is.
Other than that, I’m really focused on studying the script. I’m always up late memorising my lines. I haven’t reached the point where, like some people say, they don’t practice their lines too much at home because they want the lines to come out as naturally as possible.
So I want to get to that point where I’m comfortable doing that, and I’m not too stuck on memorising lines. Sometimes, for me, it sounds too practiced or memorised. But I believe I’ll get there eventually. That’s the goal.
With growing competition in the local scene, how do you stay grounded and focus on yourself?
You stay grounded mainly because of the people around you who keep reminding you that no matter where you go, no matter who you become, it’s always important to keep your feet on the ground. I live by that quote. As cliché as it sounds, dapat marunong ka lumingon sa pinanggalingan mo [you should know how to look back to where you came from].
So it’s always important for me to uplift the people who were there with me before, to try and maintain those relationships, and really, at the same time, just go back to my core—to who I am, to who I was before—and stay humble.
Are there any dream projects, genres or collaborations you’re hoping to explore in the near future?
For the near future, 100 per cent, I want to have a show with all my cast—with all my housemates. The fact that I already got to know them on a personal level just makes it so much easier for me to work with them in a professional setting. I want to see them in their lives as actors. I want to work with them and learn from them.
But other than that, something I really want to push for, hopefully, is action. I really want to get into action, not just romance or drama. Action is really something on my mind.
What message would you like to share with aspiring artists who look up to you and your journey, and who want to break into the industry themselves?
It’s important to never stop dreaming. Lagi mong ipaglaban yung pangarap mo [always fight for your dreams]—whether that’s going into showbiz as an actor, a dancer or a singer—just keep fighting for it. I’ve learnt that everyone will get their chance. Everyone, in God’s perfect timing, will get their opportunities to truly do what they’re meant to do, to do what God has planned for them. So just keep fighting, keep going and don’t give up. Everyone’s going to have their own time.
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Images: courtesy of Pinoy Big Brother ABS-CBN
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Jessica grew up writing letters for everyone, on every occasion. Little did she know that her hobby would eventually turn into a true passion. She believes that content should be relatable yet factual, engaging yet straightforward.
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A journalism graduate, Jessica never stops learning and honing her craft. She began her career as a Global Content Editor for a travel company, inspiring readers and travellers to explore the world. Currently, she writes on topics ranging from entertainment, health, sports and travel to in-depth stories about influential and impactful personalities.
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