Twice As Nice

Thai actresses Sarocha "Freen" Chankimha and Rebecca "Becky" Patricia Armstrong have broken barriers for inclusivity with their onscreen portrayals, leaving global audiences wanting more.

- PARISA PICHITMARN

Vitamin boosters are like stamps that Thai celebs collect on their rise to stardom. It's a necessity, especially when our cover girls, Sarocha "Freen" Chankimha and Rebecca "Becky" Patricia Armstrong, are functioning on four hours of sleep-on a lucky day and have schedules tighter than a period drama corset.

Freen, the older of the two at 26, jokes, "We take turns getting sick and taking shots. We can't be admitted into a hospital because with this line of work, literally no one can replace you. You can replace an accountant with another one, but there is just one Freen and one Becky so we just get a shot and get back to work. We're always so thankful and happy when people enjoy our work."

Thailand is something of a factory when it comes to churning out boys' love (BL) series, but in these past few years, girls' love (GL) series have been catching up-and to much fanfare globally, from Southeast Asia to Mexico. Freen and Becky have become the ultimate poster girls for the genre, shooting to overnight fame in 2022 when they were coupled as the leads of Gap: The Series.

Hailed as the first GL drama in Thailand, the plot features Freen as a frosty CEO and Becky as a bubbly new hire, who has been secretly in love with the big boss since their school days. Freen's intimidating froideur and Becky's sparkliness onscreen work naturally, given their age gap of five years; but in real life, it is Freen who is the chatty one, while Becky is more introverted.

"Everything changed from back to front," Freen says of their life-altering popularity after starring in lead roles aired on Thailand's broadcast kingpin Channel 3. "There were a lot more jobs. More fans. More people who know us. And we have gotten to try more new things."