For Thai heartthrob Pachara Chirathivat, also known as Peach Pachara, embracing challenging roles is second nature.
His latest venture, the Netflix series The Believers, is a testament to his dedication to pushing artistic boundaries.
In this nine-episode Thai crime drama series, Peach portrays the role of Game, part of a trio alongside Win (played by James Teeradon Supapunpinyo) and Dear (portrayed by Ally Achiraya Nitibho).
The trio sets off on a journey to repay the debts of their unsuccessful startup by managing a temple and manipulating the faith of people.
Peach talks about the intricacies of his character during an exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) on April 3, 2024, at Bar Flora in Quezon City.
He says, "He's a kind of spoiled kid, but he's driven himself by the need of wanting to prove that he's successful because he grew up with… he kind of like, hates his dad, that his dad is not a kind of successful person, that he blames everything onto him.
"And it's kind of he wanted to prove that he's better than his dad so that's why he started his own business and then it kind of went bust and then he went to do temple."
PEACH PACHARA: TAKING ON CHALLENGING ROLES
Peach acknowledges that this role might be his most challenging yet.
Apart from the controversial storyline, Peach highlights that Game offers more intricate layers compared to his past portrayals, like the spoiled brat, Win, in the Thai teen drama Hormones (2013 to 2015).
Peach explains, "I think the one in Hormones is more self-centered. He believes that the world is orbiting around him.
"But this one, he's more like he's spoiled as well, but in a sense of... that because he has that pressure, that he wants to look as successful, so he covers himself up by being confident, by being cocky.
"But inside of him he's really, really insecure about whatever he does so it's kind of, it's kind of different.
"The one in Hormones is more like he believes wholeheartedly that he's the best in the world, but this guy is more like he didn't really believe himself so he covered him up."
But in what ways does he find parallels between himself and his character, Game?
Peach answers, "I think this character is similar by the sense of he pressures himself.
"You know, the pressure… he made his own kind of expectation and then he kind of embed himself within that.
"So I think that's a kind of same as me because I have my certain level of how I want to do things and I just really want to nail it.
"I think that's the kind of thing that we shared."
@pepalerts Thai actor Peach Pachara Chirathivat talk about his role in the #Netflix series #TheBelievers. #PEPNews #NewsPH #EntertainmentNewsPH ? original sound - PEP.ph
PEACH PACHARA: INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
With confidence, Peach anticipates that many Filipinos will resonate with the storyline of The Believers.
Keeping this in mind, he strives to emulate the success achieved by other Thai drama series, such as Girl From Nowhere and Hunger, with his latest Netflix project.
The 30-year-old actor tells PEP.ph, "I do believe in that because I think the topics that we talked about are very universal.
"It's everywhere... it's not just in the religion. It's in politics as well, it's in business, as well, how the corrupted people work behind the scenes.
"So I think it's a kind of thing that we could relate it to. It's a thing that we're pissed about on a daily basis so talked about that."
Besides aiming for international success, Peach hopes that their new series will also pique the interest of Filipinos and provoke further questions about religion and corruption.
He continues, "And then we'll talk about, you know, the best way to navigate through that is to start asking questions...
"As well, if we raise more questions it will become more difficult for people to corrupt and that could be a really good remedy to that."
READ MORE:
- Thai heartthrobs Nonkul Chanon, Mario Maurer hope to work with Marian Rivera, Sue Ramirez
- Popular Thai actor Toy Toy Chanakulpisan confesses to killing his girlfriend
- HOTTIE ALERT: Nadine Lustre's new screen partner Thai actor Denkhun Ngamnet
- Thai actor Ohm Pawat issues apology amid past bullying scandal