The Whole Story
Childhood
Growing up in Minnesota, Alexander was raised on multiple cultures. His father: Jean-Duc Villareal was born in Vietnam and grew up in Paris, he loved motorcycles, the emergence of computers/the internet, and made himself a life as an IT worker. JD shared his world values and views with Alexander very early in his life. Leading Alexander around the world, making sure his lineage and ties to his roots, would never disappear. Taking trips to both Vietnam and France in order to meet family and friends alike, Alexander learned that even though his family came to America for a “better life”; there were still many things from the old lives and cultures they held onto and cherished that should never be forgotten. With this Alexander found himself the only grandchild on his father’s side, which in turn led to a lifetime of pressure and expectations to hold up the family name. Along with a journey of finding where Alexander would not only fit in, but find his home.
On Stage
It’s safe to say that Alexander did NOT live up to those expectations. He found acting extremely early in his life and took to the stage before ever making sure his grades were top of his class. Finding his passion in creativity and art with acting and singing, Alexander found every opportunity he could to be apart of a production. Gaining over 10 years of experience spanning from 25+ stage plays and musicals, to hundreds of singing competitions and showcases. Alexander knew what he wanted to do with life, but also lived with the pressure of carrying on his family name. Would his family approve, would this business be “good enough” for them? These questions would be answered by the disapproving Father with a resonating: “No.” This response made Alexander lean away from the stage to pursue something his family would be “proud” of. Through the next few years Alexander found himself at various “odds and ends” jobs. From factories, to restaurants, to retail. Trying to find his sense of self and what he wanted in life.
The Drowsy Champerone - Circa 2010
MidwestElectronicGamingCON - Circa 2013
Live Commentary
Just like any other young adult in the late 2000’s Alexander looked into his other love: Video Games. His father being in IT, Alexander had a inner understanding, and felt he could make a good living, in the technical side of Video Games. In turn, hopefully gaining the approval of his father. During this time he found his way online and onto the E-sports scene where he found a way to scratch his little performer itch in the form of live commentating. He didn’t realize it at the time, but it would be the small reminder of what the true love of his life is: moving people emotionally. Gaining hundreds of hours in live commentating with crowds of up to 5000+ people, Alexander felt like he might have found his niche, only for him to find a bit of the same bad energy he found on stage with acting: a lot of competition, and people that just wanted to be “big” in the industry, so they’ll throw anyone under the bus to get there. Yearning for a more human and compassionate line of work, this threw Alexander right off the tracks again and had him starting again at ground zero.
Voice Acting
It’s strange how much something can elude a person for so long, in this case: Voice Acting and Alexander. Driving himself into the immersion of video games and animation, he never really connected to dots when it came to acting and the entertainment media. Then in 2016 Alexander heard of a local expo that highlighted radio commercials and Voice Acting. From there Alexander’s life would never be the same. As certain local recording studio owners would mention people coming in to record video games, it’s like a nuclear bomb went off in Alexander’s head. Realizing that it was the biggest mesh of his two passions in life: Alexander knew he found his lifetime goal and the people he wanted to be surrounded by. Coming with all the things Alexander loved about the industry, it surprisingly left out all the things he didn’t like about it. At the time though, Alexander was finding his bearings in life. Couch surfing and living paycheck to paycheck wasn’t going to fund this vast dream he had, so he waited patiently.
Get Your Game On LA - Circa 2023
Current Day
Two years later he’d find his time. This was at least after finding a better paying job, a loving girlfriend/wife, and a stable home to be living in. Shortly before the pandemic, Alexander found himself immersing himself in the wonderful classes at Blumvox, only to dive more into it once the pandemic hit. Going over six years of content in a span of two, Alexander found himself in need to a place to practice and hone these skills, and shake the dust off a few of them. Step in: Jennifer Hale and SkillsHub. He found a solid community and place to really hone his profession. From there Alexander’s life has been on one wild rollercoaster, being given the opportunity to train with some of the biggest and best in the business: Jennifer Hale, Steve Blum, JB Blanc, and Tom Keegan.