Charming, genuine, and oozing with talent and youthful appeal, Perth Tanapon has so much to offer. While there’s definitely more than ‘meets the eye’ for Perth, getting signed with GMMTV may be the last factor he needs before he reaches stardom.
The biggest attraction of Perth’s acting career is his ability to give the audience the right amount of ‘feels’. He is what you call a born actor. He does not need acting training. His acting is inert and genuine, and spontaneous. You don’t learn that from acting schools, you either have it or you don’t. Perth has plenty.
Background
Perth Tanapon (Sukumpantanasan | ธนพนธ์ สุขุมพันธนาสาร ) rose to fame playing one of the leads in Love by Chance (2018). As an actor, his youthful appeal exudes a certain sexiness. He is known for his natural, authentic acting which pave the way for high-profile series and movie roles. He’s currently studying at Srinakharinwirot University, majoring in Innovative Media Arts and Acting and Director Training.
Aside from acting, singing, and occasional modeling, Perth is known for competitive sports and playing musical instruments.
His Chinese fans nicknamed him Wang Junyong, and his English nickname came from Perth, a city in Australia (the reason it was revealed is that his Dad used to study in Perth).
Acting Milestones
- Debuts in acting with a role in Soul Call in 2017;
- Plays Ae in Love by Chance, giving him international exposure, with fans all over Asia-Pacific praising his performance;
- Opposite Saint Suppapong, their ship Perth-Saint gave fans heart-warming moments during its run;
- By 2019, he performed alongside the cast of Love by Chance in TEMPT, a boy group managed by AttractorTH;
- Grabbed lead role in NetFlix’s The Stranded (2019), opposite love interest Mark Siwat;
- Plays supporting role in Love by Chance 2 in 2020;
- In the middle of 2020, left management AttractorTH alongside Plan Rathavit and Gun Napat;
- Collaborates with 9 other Thai actors called Boyfriends, and released a single called ‘Hello Doctor’ last quarter of 2020;
- Stars in the movie “Tell the World I Love You” together with Bas Suradet, released 2022;
- After a few months of working as a freelancer, signs a contract as part of GMMTV’s roster of talent on April 2022;
- Perth is cast in two high profile projects – Double Savage with Ohm Pawat, and Dangerous Romance with Chimon Wachirawit. The latter serves as the launching pad for Perth-Chimon after an introduction in Never Let Me Go.
Body of Work
Love by Chance (2018)
With over 120 million views, Love by Chance S1 was a huge success by any standards. Thanks to the on-screen chemistry of Perth Tanapon and Saint Suppapong. Their interaction as friends turned lovers was on-point, with sincere exchanges of lines – armed with intense eye-to-eye contact. While there is tentativeness still, Perth and Saint manage to convey the feelings of two people loving each other with authenticity and believability.
Love by Chance, under the BL (Boys’ Love) genre, was made popular in Thailand because of the show’s unabashed representation of “guy-to-guy” relationships on screen which led to the show’s steady rise in fan base across Asia and in other parts of the world.
Report on Love by Chance fan meet in Manila | PhilStar
The Stranded (2019)
Perth talks about how proud and excited he became after knowing he passed the audition for a role in The Stranded. “There’s no other Thai series that has this Hollywood level of CG. So this is something to be very proud of,” he added.
I play Krit in The Stranded, and before the tsunami happened, he was very energetic and joyful, like a typical teenager. He was so full of life. But when the catastrophe hit, he changed. He didn’t engage with the other students like before, which is completely different from how I am in real life.
The Stranded cast interview | Cosmo Philippines
Tell The World I Love You (2022)
Perth plays Boang, a young drug dealer, while Bas Suradej plays a provincial boy Kheng, who went to Bangkok to continue his studies. They met under difficult circumstances where Kheng has to help Boang escape from his pursuers who wanted him dead. Obviously, it has something to do with drugs.
This movie is directed by Poj Arnon of Bangkok Love Story fame, so obviously it’s the sort of movie where stars are made. Bangkok Love Story was released in 2007, at about the same time as Love of Siam (the film that catapulted the acting careers of Pchy Witwisit and Mario Maurer). Both films are considered trailblazers at that time. Arnon is reported to know Bas Suradej personally and asked for some casting tips. Apparently, Bas suggested Perth be part of the film, to play the young drug dealer.
While Bas and Perth are ‘already made’ if this film follows the Bangkok Love Story route, then even its young stars can expect some sort of acting recognition. Reports have been ‘conflicting’ saying that Arnon is only gay-baiting and that the movie itself is not about any romantic relationship between Bas and Perth. We’ll have to see in the next few weeks.
Gallery
Author’s Personal Statement
Perth Tanapon is not even 25 years old. His decision to go the GMMTV route is a great career move. Whether he did it as a personal decision or someone told him to do so, does not even matter at this point. Getting away from unscrupulous managers is one of his best career decisions. The reason why his previous acting status is in limbo is due to mismanagement and misrepresentation.
He was only 16 (or 17) when he auditioned for Love by Chance. His tandem with Saint Suppapong could have given them huge opportunities and compete with the likes of BrightWin, Earth-Mix, Ohm-Nanon, and Pond-Phuwin. Unfortunately, Perth’s previous manager acted selfishly and without any regard for Perth’s career. For clueless readers, here’s a video explaining what happened.
I admire both Saint and Perth. I wished they could have stayed as a ship, but right now, I think Perth is making all the right moves.
Luckily, he has plenty of opportunities to recover and be the best he can be. I think of Perth as one of GMMTV’s most talented actors, alongside Ohm Pawat and Nanon Korapat.
Recommendations
Psycho-Weird features only the best BL actors. Previously, we have Ohm Pawat, Gulf Kanawut, and Mix Sahaphap.
An old-timer BL fan way back in 2007. I started out loving BL after watching the Takumi-kun series from Japan, went on collecting BL manga, and watched old BL anime such as Junjou Romantica and the likes. Love of Siam allow me to transition into Thai, while Amphetamine gave me glimpses of Taiwanese BL magic. I love to write reviews and I’m one of the administrators of Psycho Weird.