Cover Story: Bright on his meteoric rise, doing it all, and sleep

Bright, the talented Thai actor-singer-entrepreneur-philanthropist, who has been taking Asia by storm, talks to Zaneta Cheng about growing up in a musical family, learning how to get into character and searching – often in vain – for a good night’s rest

It’s hard, these days, in an era of manicured and groomed idols and pop stars, to find a celebrity who wants not only to exercise their talents but who is also interested in areas outside of his or her own métier and has the ability and independent wherewithal to actually pursue them. Vachirawit Chivaaree, more widely known as Bright, a Thai actor of Thai-Chinese-American descent, has seen his star rise and rise since his breakthrough role in 2020 as Sarawat in 2gether: The Series, a Y series drama tracing the story of two college boys who pretend to be in a relationship only to ultimately become a real couple.

The same-gender romance genre, which had previously been popular in Thailand, has since taken over Asia, earning both Bright and his co-star Win enormous popularity across the region. The Thai star then followed this initial success with a role as Thyme, one in a group of four boys who are scions to the nation’s wealthiest billionaires, all of whom try to win the heart of a girl in their last year of high school, in the romantic series F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers.

Also see: Interview: As Bright as it gets, Thai actor Vachirawit Chivaaree is an artist to the core

Since this role, Bright has been almost untouchable. Brand ambassadorships, more television series, appearances at fashion weeks, photo shoots, albums and singing performances have all followed. It’s no wonder his biggest takeaway from such a career is the value of sleep. “Being a public person since I was a kid and working hard for so long with the goal of taking care of my family the best that I can, I’ve worked so hard all day and night and lacked sleep for so long that all I want to tell you is that I’ve learned to sleep well and sleep more,” the star says.

He’s probably so knackered because he puts in the time. On prep, Bright says, “First, I read the script carefully to really understand the characters. Then I start thinking about how the character would think based on their background in the plot and then I practise being that character. That helps me get a sense of the character more clearly.” It’s a method that seems to be working for him as he’s slowly built his career. Of his success in 2020 after 2gether: The Series, he says, of course, that he is elated. “I feel very happy. It’s a character I love. I really tried so hard to become that character and the outcome was amazing. It started when I began receiving really good feedback from the fan club. I’m just glad everyone likes it.”

But it was F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers, another coming-of-age story, that saw his star rise meteorically across Thailand and the rest of Southeast and East Asia – so much so that if one mentions F4 Thailand, most people are able to list out the four actors that make up this grouping. Playing Thyme was a challenge for the actor, who says, “It was difficult to match myself up to the character’s personality. Due to different family backgrounds, growing up in a different society with a different lifestyle, it’s something I had to really understand and wrap my head around. I had to adjust and to use my body in a different way. The only similarity Thyme and I have is our clumsiness.”

Also see: Interview: Thailand’s “2gether” actor Metawin Opas-iamkajorn on whirlwind stardom

While he might have debuted at the age of 15 as a host on variety show Strawberry Krub Cake, the now 26-year-old was working part-time in the industry even before then. The one-time model paid for his own schooling for much of his childhood before securing full scholarship first at Thammasat English Programme of Engineering before taking a year’s break to focus on his career, ultimately deciding to study marketing at Bangkok University International College where he was also granted a full scholarship.

Also see: The rise and rise of Thai Boys Love shows (Part 1)

“Looking back at that busy time, I’m surprised at how I managed to cope. I’m someone who likes to do many things at the same time but I also want to balance the division of study time and allocated time to work, and see friends as well. So actually, I didn’t get as much time to enjoy school as other people my age. But most important of all was that I really did enjoy that time and was proud of everything I was able to do to take care of myself as a young child,” he says.

In fact, it was almost inevitable that Bright would end up in some form within the entertainment industry. Brought up by his mother and her family, who were musicians, he began learning instruments at the age of 10. “For me, growing up in a family whose interest was music and who also owned a music school made me absorb and indulge in lyrics, rhyme and rhythm, which is why I really enjoy listening to music and singing along at the same time. It’s also probably why I really enjoy being on stage and can perform live with self-confidence,” he says.

Music has followed Bright’s career from even his beginnings when he would appear in music videos. He came out with his first song cover in 2020 and, in just one year, became the youngest male artist to receive the Best Song Drama accolade at the Nataraja Awards for his rendition of “Kan Goo”. Since then, he has performed in Indonesia and released his first Thai single “Unmovable”, the English single “Lost & Found” in 2022 and, as of early last year, his first mini album, Adolescent. Of it, the multifaceted talent says, “Adolescent tells the story of love that hopefully helps us to understand love itself more and to grow in maturity. Each song in the mini album depicts a perspective on a different kind of love.”

Also see: The rise and rise of Thai Boys Love shows (Part 2)

Love is something that Bright has in abundance. The boy who can almost do it all is continuing to indulge in his proclivity to keep himself busy. In addition to launching a clothing brand, Astro Stuffs, Bright has decided to establish his own artist management agency Cloud9 Entertainment.

“I think it’s a good time to take such a big step to take care of myself, my whole family and my team,” he says with conviction. “This company will be able to get more exciting exposure. It’s a more efficient way of working and a better means to do something more fun so that we can thrive and get to the next level and bring our name to the global stage.”

And global it’s going. Just last year, the superstar starred in the Prime Video series Congrats My Ex!, an Indo-Thai collaboration that introduced the star to Bollywood fans. This particular cover shoot brings the star to Hong Kong. In a testament to his work ethic, he’s unable to tell us where he tends to go when in town (it’s not his first time). “When I’m in Hong Kong, it’s all for work,” Bright says. “I still haven’t had much time to explore but I really enjoy eating where locals go for their dim sum. I really want to visit more local spots in the city rather than where tourists might tend to go.” To be frank, it’s likely Bright will remain busy. He still fits photography, Muay Thai, boxing and football into his free time. His #legend, as it happens, is Cristiano Ronaldo. “I personally like football so when I thought about who my #legend is, the first thought that came to mind was Ronaldo. I really admire him for his outstanding play and the incredible tactics he uses.”

Of course, Bright would not be where he is today without plenty of support. While he cites patience and tolerance as some of the keys to his success, he also gives credit to his family, friends, team and, most of all, his fans. Of his family support group, he says, “The people around me support me across every endeavour and are happy with whatever I choose to do, so they’re happy to give me comments and tell me how they think I might be able to improve because they want me to be even better every time I perform or sing on stage. They’re really like teammates who push me towards anything that’s good for my career.”

To his fans, Bright says, “Thank you all so much for the support you’ve given me in the past few years. I’m so excited to let you know that my movie The Interest will be released soon and I’ll have concerts happening throughout the year. Please stay tuned.”

It doesn’t look like his schedule will slow down anytime soon, so perhaps, for Bright, sleep will have to wait.

CREDITS
Creative concept and production / #legend
Photography / The Buffacow
Styling / Kellie Chan
Hair / Thanupol Phoothepamornkul
Makeup / Pornpichit Khumngen
Gaffer / Sing
Lighting assistant / Mike Lam
Studio manager / Duncan

Also see: Cover Story: Aaron Kwok on fame, contentment, and family