MAN OF PROMISE

FROM TEENAGE HEARTTHROB IN 2013'S HORMONE: THE SERIES TO ONE OF THAILAND'S GREATEST CULTURAL EXPORTS, THE STAR OF NETFLIX'S GHOST LAB THANAPOB "TOR" LEERATANAKACHORN IS THE FACE THE WORLD WILL REMEMBER HEADLINING THE COUNTRY'S FIRST SUNDANCE FILM SUBMISSION

- JONATHAN HO+AMOS CHIN

THERE WAS A RECENT POST on Quora asking, "Why Gal Gadot, known only for her beauty than acting, is such a bankable star?" A rather thoughtful response commented there are many beautiful people in the world who aren't movie stars like she is, simply because they lack the X-factor and draw of someone who can carry a film that grosses half a billion dollars. Indeed, while it's hyperbole (at the moment) to equate Thanapob "Tor" Leeratanakachorn's rise on such similar terms, he is nevertheless more than his own boyish good looks.

His filmography comprises a body of work that has made an impact on Thailand and as his phenomenal talent would show, tackling the role of an autistic badminton player in 2017's Project S: The Series - Side by Side to 2021's One for the Road, where he played Boss, a bar-owning ladies' man dealing with mortality as he returns home for a bucket-list road trip with his estranged friend (Note: It is Thailand's first Sundance Film Festival submission produced by the legendary Wong Kar-wai). At 29, Tor possesses a gravitas and gumption that's little seen in other Thai male celebrities his age.

Augustman caught up with Tor in Bangkok on the pressures of representing his country on the global stage, and the qualities that make Thai horror films superior to Hollywood productions.

You were part of the nine-member boy group, Nine by Nine, from 2018 to 2019. Now that you are more focused on your acting career, do you miss being in a band?

I do miss being a singer sometimes, [I am] ergo thankful to have been presented multiple opportunities to perform. That said, I don't really have a longing to be a singer now; I do not miss being in a band. At this point in my career, I feel that I haven't quite reached my full potential as an actor, so I want to put all of my energy into growing and improving myself in this field.