The Crocodile Kid's Hard Road Forward.

Alex Breden, the kid from the HBA ads story since.

A promising beginning that unfortunately encountered tragedy and hardship, the “crocodile kid” from that HBA ad in the early 2000’s has had a rough life. At age 3 and a half, Alex Breden was the standout star of the show when cast for that ad, “I was going to say shark but when filming started, shark turned to crocodile and it all sort of fell together. They turned the camera on and I was just… me,” he said reminiscing of a simpler time.

Alex’s acting career was off to a flying start but a few short years later at the age of 11 his life fell to pieces with the loss of his mother, Kim. “I fell into depression… things started not to matter, doing well didn’t matter, getting parts didn’t matter,” he said, “I did everything with mum, she was every other part to my part… trying to set a scene without her was almost impossible.”

“I was a wreck, I was getting bullied and school just wasn’t the place for me,” he said. “I eventually completed year 12 through Chisholm with distinctions.” At the time, TAFE was the thing that complemented his fitness aspirations at the time.

At 17, Alex suffered a debilitating, near disabling back injury. “I have a perforated L5-S1 disc, lordosis of the lumbar and kyphosis of the cervical spine. I’ve had severe back pain since I was 17, it’s been a real hindrance” he said.

Alex worries that his back will forever be an issue which has resulted in a pervasive and acute anxiety. “I’ve considered medical marijuana but it isn’t as accessible as it should be… as a result I take daily medication for my back, anxiety and the depression,” said Alex.

Just two years later, he lost his Grandmother and Aunty. These setbacks have understandably put his acting career on hold. “The last role I remember was on Woodley [2012] as a gang leader,” he said, “people still wonder what I’m doing, they want to see me acting.”

 After all the loss, setbacks and disappointment in Alex’s life, he still has one person left that he can truly rely on. “The one person who really did help was my aunty but she could only do so much,” he said, “She’s been the cornerstone of my life since my mother passed away, she’s the person I compare every other person to. I want to do something, be something before she moves on.”

Catherine Franks or as Alex affectionately calls her, Aunty Rene has been there for Alex since the very beginning. “I was there when he was born,” she said, “He fell apart for a very long time… Alex has never really recovered from the death of his mother.”

Aunty Rene is the primary female figure in his life. She’s the one he turns to when he needs advice however, Catherine says “I don’t feel that I’m a role model, I just love him… I hope I don’t let him down.”

Alex is now reminded every time the ad does the rounds on social media, “I stuffed up hundreds of auditions… I didn’t have my rehearsing partner, I need to do it all myself.” Now, his focus has changed, “I need to find an agent that can promote me as me, not as ‘old Alex’ but as new Alex, as back Alex.”

“I encouraged him to contact Rove McManus because Rove was the one that put him on the map once the ad was released… he took a fancy to him” Catherine said when talking about Alex’s time on Rove Live in the early 2000’s.

“Hopefully, his confidence can be returned if he mixes with the right people and gets enough encouragement,” Catherine said. Perhaps with those ingredients we could see Alex on screen yet again.

“Hopefully, I get a shot.” Alex said.