Cover Story: Freen on career decisions and the need to give back

It’s taken Thai actress and entrepreneur Sarocha Chankimha (otherwise known as Freen) only a few years to rocket to global fame, thanks in no small part to her starring role in Gap: The Series. The former pageant queen reveals to Zaneta Cheng why she chose the script when it was presented to her and how she inadvertently does good through her work

Great looks, a beautiful smile, an interesting talent and a desire for world peace. These are just some of the clichés that come to mind when thinking about beauty pageant contestants. Even if the first three qualities are present, what does anybody mean when they stand before the microphone, hand on hip, wishing for world peace? And moreover, what would a meaningful contribution to world peace even look like?

Turns out, it could look a lot like Sarocha Chankimha, the Thai actress, model, singer and entrepreneur more commonly known as Freen. The 26-year-old entertainment sensation was one of 15 finalists in Miss Teen Thailand when she was 18. With plenty of good looks regardless of whether she’s smiling or smizing, the honours student with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and corporate communications has since shot to superstardom through her role as Sam in Gap: The Series, a romantic comedy in the girls’ love genre showcasing the romance between two female leads.

“Love is love,” says Freen, when asked what made her decide to play Sam. When the screenplay first fell into her lap, Thailand had already enacted an anti-discrimination law encompassing sexual orientation and gender identity with a plan to introduce a same-sex marriage bill. Within this progressive environment, Freen felt that the character would give her some degree of influence.

“I thought this lead role was very interesting for me because I could really expose and express the thoughts and feelings of my character through my acting and play a part for the law,” she says. “Because when I got the script, I felt that the country was still not very open to these kinds of feelings and relationships, but same-sex love isn’t anything strange. It’s love. It’s another form of love.”

The series earned Freen an LGBTQ+ Spotlight award at this year’s BIC Seven Awards as well as Most Popular Actress at the Kom Chad Luek Awards. The show itself swept accolades for Series of the Year at multiple award shows, with Freen and her co-star Rebecca Patricia Armstrong, aka “FreenBecky”, also amassing numerous wins for Couple of the Year. It’s not yet world peace but it’s a big step in advancing the right to love to everyone no matter who they love.

Since Gap, Freen has continued acting in the girls’ love category. The Loyal Pin is a historical drama that takes place in the 1950s, throwing Freen, as Lady Pin, into a world of old Thai language, mannerisms and customs. “Acting is hard for me,” she admits readily. “I have to learn every day. I learn as I shoot, of course, but I have to do a lot of homework before I go on set. I go to acting class and I practice in my own time, reading and re-reading the script, working on my pronunciation. I need to go really deep into the character.”

On the set of The Loyal Pin, which has been nominated for 12 awards and won five, Freen was given an acting coach to help with every scene because of the difficulty of period pieces. Next, she went on to film Riders, a modern comedic horror movie, alongside Thai heartthrob Mario Maurer. While pre-production preparation only consisted of one workshop, Freen is quick to credit Maurer for helping her with her acting. “He’s one of if not the most famous male actors in Thailand and he gave me great advice. He helped me a lot because whenever we were shooting together and I was acting with him, he would always interact with me.”

It’s also during this interview, when asked how she feels about having been in the industry for almost a decade, that Freen realises she’s been around for this long. Having started out appearing in music videos, she admits she never expected fame and fortune (this is after I’m told by her team that crowds of fans were lined up around the block for her at the Valentino show in Paris)

“That was a very happy moment,” she recalls. “I actually can’t believe it’s been almost 10 years because I just try to do my best and work every day. I never thought that I would ever become famous. I did feel like I had done something right, though, when I saw these faces that had come from all over the world to say hello even if we hadn’t spoken to each other or met each other before. I really want to thank all my fans around the world.”

While Freen’s reach has crossed borders such that she has also been invited to walk the red carpet at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia alongside celebrities from the US, India and Korea, the life of a celebrity isn’t easy. Despite her naturally cheerful disposition, Freen has faced her share of hardship. “Online comments are tough,” she says.

But she’s good at putting her head down and getting on with life. When she’s not filming, the actress has a clothing brand and a candle brand that she works on; the former with friends and the latter with her mother. “I think the candle business is something nice that I can work on with my mum,” she says. “We get to spend time together and the income from those candles goes directly to my family. I’m very close to my mum. And my dog.”

And while she’s won praise and awards for acting – and contributed, through her body of work, to the advancement of equality and the fight against prejudice – Freen’s #legend speaks volumes about her true ambitions, despite verbally expressing that she lives in the here and now each and every day.

“Jeff is someone who really goes deep into what he does,” she says of Thai singer and actor Jeff Satur. “He can write songs and he can sing them. People love listening to his music. He worked so hard for so many years to become famous and now he has crowds of fans from all over the world. He’s really an example of what happens when you like doing something and try your best at it every chance you get. I want to become like this as well.”

And just when it seems like Freen has it all – a very photogenic face; a sweet, open disposition; and a proven and demonstrable sense of compassion – she proves herself to be just as likeable as her fans are convinced she is. “I have no confidence in singing,” she says. “I sound like a duck.”

CREDITS
Creative concept / #legend
Art direction / Zaneta Cheng
Talent / Freen (Sarocha Chankimha)
Photographer / Alexander Yeung
Videographer / Jessica Chan
Stylist / Amissa Tsui
Styling assistant / Patrick Chen
Photography assistant / Victor, Kapo Lam
Make-up and hair / Suphanut Tichana (White), Sittipong Metha (Torr)
Location / The Library Suite at The Hari Hong Kong

Also see: Cover Story: Kim Hye Yoon on overcoming career challenges and happiness