Appealing Thai actor Gulf Kanawut traverses from Thai BL into fashion modeling and singing. His recent gig in Manila, the Philippines offers goodwill to fans and new-found admirers. Accommodating, charming, and quite talented, Kanawut remains a fixture in the BL universe as a star – still on the rise!

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Career Milestones

  • Starts acting career in Channel 3 lakorn ‘Mafia Luerd Mungkorn: Singha’, as Young Tee, a guest role, back in 2015;
  • Kanawut starts his modeling career in 2015 – posing as a model for small Thai-based clothing lines. Gulf walks his first runway for Wonder Anatomie, during the brand’s 10th anniversary. He graces the covers of the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar Thailand. In 2020, did his first solo magazine cover of L’Officiel Thailand;
  • Cast to play one of the main leads in TharnType, the series in 2019;
  • Continues to play the role of Type in TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love in 2020;
  • Kanawut wins “Rising Star” and “Best Young Actor” at the Kazz Awards 2020. He also he won “Moon of the Yniverse” and “Iconic Star of the Yuniverse” at the Yniverse Award 2020. Kanawut and his co-star Mew Suppasit won “Best Kiss Scene” at the 2020 LINE TV Awards for a scene in TharnType: The Series and “Best Couple” at the Maya Awards 2020.;
  • Kanawut signed a contract with Channel 3 in March 2021;

Gulf Kanawut: The Journey Begins!

Gulf disappears in the public eye between 2016-2018. He concentrates on his studies. He’s about to start 10th grade and finds it a critical time for studying. He wants to focus on the Sciences and works hard to earn good grades. He feels, at his age, he is not ready to work in the entertainment industry. He’s in Bangmod at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology at this time.

In 2019, confident that he has what it takes to return back to acting, Gulf tries different BL castings. In an audition for Why RU, he’s told to audition for TharnType. The series director tells Gulf that a character fits him and encourages him to try out for the role.

Luck seems to play a part in an actor’s success, Gulf opines:

Some people go to castings for 10 different projects. That’s way more than me. But they won’t get selected for any of the roles available. I went to 3 castings and grabs one – that’s 2Gether the Series. Unfortunately, GMMTV bought the rights to produce the show. They did a recasting and I’m no longer part of the project. I understand that it’s part of the process. I was not heartbroken hearted or anything. As some may say, in the entertainment industry, uncertainty is more of the norm.

Elle Magazine interview | Translation by mtheastronaut on Twitter.

Casting for TharnType

Gulf Kanawut casting for Tharn Type
Gulf Kanawut is cast as Type in the popular BL series TharnType | Me Mind Y

The role of a homophobic student with a dark past is what Type is all about. The character is quite demanding since it needs to act on certain delicate scenes that may be controversial. The production crew makes a point of looking for ‘chemistry’. In the case of Gulf, he tends to get shy when he’s paired with Mew Suppasit.

And the rest is history.

Gulf Kanawut and the World of Sports

An internship with Channel 9 paves the way for Sports journalism. As some of you may know, Gulf is close pals with 2Gether’s Bright Vachirawit (who eventually got the role in 2Gether that Gulf auditioned for previously). They were into soccer, and so Gulf assumes he can be confident analyzing sports events. “I can explain the content of a sports news in a fluid way.” adds the actor.

Strong Familial Relationships

As an actor, working full-time requires concentration and there are benefits and freebies to make one comfortable and easy. I’m on set from morning till night. There’s food on set for every meal. I don’t spend money on traveling since my parents drive me on set and pick me up after. I don’t shop anymore. Fans send me clothes so I don’t have to buy anything. States Gulf.

It becomes a bit emotional when Gulf narrates his COVID-19 experience. Because of the strong bond between Gulf and his family, he tends to their everyday consumption and hardly faces any troubles. He then said he felt lucky for having a job that pays well.

Gulf Kanawut on Social Media

Currently, he’s working on the upcoming series “You are my makeup artist.” He said he personally need to learn how to do makeup for this project and spilled that someday if he was given a chance, he want to do the makeup for Joker as he likes Joker very much. | GMA article on Gulf’s first fan meet in the Philippines – October 2022 | GMA Network News

During the Philippine fan meet, held this October, Gulf proposed a collaboration with Philippine Pop royalty Sarah Geronimo. He adds that it would be interesting if they can do a “sing and dance” show for fans. At this moment, fans of both Gulf and Sarah started to trend the possible collab on Twitter.

The Last Word

The Elle Magazine interview reveals personal and career insights into Gulf Kanawut’s mindset. When asked about the future of the Thai BL industry, he said:

I think that the Y industry can expand further. If the story is worth following and the leads have compelling chemistry. This is coupled with society becoming more accepting of the third gender. Viewers of the next generations are pushing for wider representation. I’m happy that got to speak for the third gender.

Elle Magazine interview | Translation by mtheastronaut on Twitter.

Can anyone get better than that? Gulf and Ohm Pawat, Mix Sahaphap, and 10 others will have profiles on this site.

Author’s Personal Statement

Gulf Kanawut is one of my all-time favorite Thai actors. His acting in TharnType is on point, almost perfect. For a rookie actor with little experience, it takes more than luck to be in the position he’s in today. I’m glad that he’s pursuing a solo career. By doing so, he can collaborate with just about anyone, even with international actors (South Korea, the Philippines, even Taiwan, or Hollywood for that matter). I’m glad Gulf is moving forward. He handles his acting career with such sincerity and integrity, one can’t help but wonder what he’ll do 10 years from now.

Pursuing a solo acting career may be part of the plan, but regardless, I think Gulf can level up his career by doing challenging roles and collaborating with different artists. Real fans will stick out with you no matter if you belong to a BL ship or not.

Certainly, the alleged issue with his TharnType co-star (which started in 2018, and was raised again in 2021) remains a topic. The point of contention is this article.