SINGAPORE – Fans of Thai singer-actor Bright Vachirawit Chivaaree beware, because he is coming for your money.
The 25-year-old leading man of dramas such as 2gether: The Series (2020) and F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (2021) will soon be playing a “rude and mean” debt collector in The Interest, a remake of the South Korean film Man In Love (2014).
“The most challenging part about this movie is that we’re very different,” Bright tells The Straits Times at an interview held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on Wednesday evening, ahead of his attendance at French luxury house YSL Beauty’s pop-up event that night.
“I have to create a new personality and try to understand his thinking because we’re from such different backgrounds. He didn’t even study (in school), so I really had to adapt myself to the role,” he adds.
While Bright has no other announced acting projects slated for 2023 aside from The Interest, he will still be busy with his music, including his upcoming mini-album.
Speaking in English, he says: “It’s my personal story. When you listen to the album, it’s the story of my whole life, from my love story when I was very young.”
Was that a sad or happy story? “Sad,” he teases. “But you’ll see.”
Bright’s mini-album will also include the English single Lost And Found, released in August 2022 – something he did in part because of his international fan base. (He had previously sung With A Smile, the English theme song for the release of 2020’s Still 2gether in the Philippines.)
“The first reason is that it’s my own dream to have an English song,” he says. “The second is because of my fans, who message me to ask me to produce an English song because they want to understand it.
“And the last reason is that I want to go on tour. I want all my fans to sing with me. Because I know that when I sing in Thai, it’s hard for them to sing along with me.”
Indeed, the Thai star is a sensation with fans well beyond his home country.
Hordes crowded outside Ion Orchard for YSL Beauty’s pop-up event for its line of Libre fragrances, hours before Bright appeared at around 7.30pm.
Ms Nur Sarah, a 19-year-old polytechnic graduate, arrived with two friends at around noon to secure a front-row spot to catch Bright in action. The group sat in the sun and took turns to use the bathroom.
She says: “I just think he’s really charming and talented in his music and his photography. And he loves the same football club – Manchester United – as me.
“He’s quite well-rounded outside of acting. He doesn’t label himself and he’s very adventurous to try new things in all fields.”
With more than 17.6 million followers on Instagram, the actor and singer is also a fashion and beauty darling, with front-row seats at London Fashion Week.
The heart-throb – who has his own clothing brand, Astro Stuffs – likes to keep things classy and comfortable in his day-to-day style.
“I love timeless pieces because I want to look at my photo 10 years later and be, like, ‘I still look good’,” he says.
“As for essential items in my wardrobe – my black shirt, black T-shirt, white shirt, white T-shirt and jeans, of course. I love jeans, but not skinny jeans. I don’t actually like to wear things that are really tight because I love to feel cosy in my outfits.”
Bright’s beauty routine is also fairly basic, with a glowing complexion that belies his hectic schedule.
He arrived in Singapore only in the wee hours of Wednesday, flying in from Japan, where he had held two fan meetings with his F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers co-stars Win Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, Dew Jirawat Sutivanichsak and Nani Hirunkit Changkham.
“There’s no secret. It’s just washing your face twice a day and throwing on some moisturiser. I put on a face mask every other day too,” he says.
But he is adamant about one thing. “Sunscreen. You can’t forget sunscreen, it’s a must-have.”
