Thai Takeover: Win Metawin On His ‘In a single day’ Success and Future Plans
He’s dazzled the world with his acting skills and become a luxury fashion darling in only four years, but Win Metawin is still only getting started, as Prestige found out.
The last four years have been a whirlwind journey from total obscurity to worldwide fame for Thai actor Win Metawin. Best known for his 2020 acting debut and leading role in 2gether: The Series, which brought him to international prominence, Metawin’s story is indeed one of “overnight” success.
At only 25 years old, the Bangkok-born star already has more than 14 million Instagram followers and was even honoured in last year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia class of 2023. He’s also bagged mega deals with companies that include Shiseido, Vivo, Lazada, CP Brand, Bangkok Bank and telecom providers AIS in Thailand and Globe in the Philippines. But today he’s in Hong Kong for a special reason: to receive the Rising Star Award at the 17th Asian Film Awards.
Fluent in Thai, English and Mandarin, Metawin is soft-spoken yet charming when we meet the day after the awards ceremony. Although some overnight celebrities would certainly let the fame go to their head, Metawin comes across as humble, calm, kind and realistic about his success.
“It’s a great honour to receive this Rising Star award,” he says. “It means a lot to me, because it keeps me motivated to work hard, develop myself and move forward with my career.”
Metawin is very much keeping his ego in check, instead being aware of his role as a representative of his home country, as well as the region. “It’s very important to me to be an actor representing Thailand at this stage. I believe Thailand is a country that’s a serious contender in this industry. I just want to show it has that potential and our entertainment industry is becoming stronger and better known around the world. I’m very grateful to be part of that. Not just that, but also representing Asia on the global stage.”
Metawin’s overnight rise to fame wasn’t just rapid; it also happened during a strange time. His hit show 2gether: The Series debuted in February 2020, right as the pandemic brought the world to a complete standstill. Instead of enjoying his new-found fame, Metawin was stuck in Thailand and unable to travel to visit his fans around the globe. “I was really shocked,” he says, “because everything happened so fast for me after I joined the industry. I got really famous in a very short period of time. But in those early days, even though I had so many international fans around the world supporting me, I couldn’t experience it in person or even meet them because of Covid.
“For ages, we couldn’t fly around the world. The only way I could keep in touch and talk to them was online, on Twitter, Instagram and the social-media apps. But fortunately, these days, I finally get the chance to fly to different places and meet the fans. It’s really overwhelming and I’m very happy to meet them after all this time.”
And though Metawin is clearly grateful for his success and millions of fans, he’s still realistic about the experience. “I think for me personally, the challenge was becoming famous so fast,” he says. “I only got into this industry about four years ago, so I’m aware I don’t have that much experience yet – especially not enough for someone as well-known as I am.”
Of course, becoming one of the most famous faces in Thailand and Southeast Asia after such a short period of time means a lot of pressure for a young actor. “I definitely feel as if I need to develop myself quickly, and try to learn new things – like pretty fast,” he admits. But it’s not just his roles in 2gether and films such as Under Parallel Skies that are keeping Metawin busy. He’s also fast becoming a darling of the fashion world, bagging himself global house ambassador roles for Tiffany & Co, Puma and Prada, even attending the brand’s recent menswear show in Milan. “I get to learn more about the brands I work with and represent them, which is amazing,” he says.
But if you think he’s only wearing his luxury threads on the red carpet, you’dbe mistaken. When I wear the brands, I usually like to combine that with my own style, too,” he says. “In reality, I don’t only wear the products when I go to events – I like to wear them in my downtime as well. Often my friends, family or people who know me, they see me and ask, ‘What are you wearing?’ The next thing I know, they go and grab the same outfit and wear it too,” he says, laughing.
Metawin’s love for fashion extends way beyond his ambassadorial role for luxury brands. In 2020, he launched his own fashion label, Velence, which is known or its Y2K-inspired graphic T-shirts and denim pieces. “I started it when I was still new in the entertainment industry,” he says. Metawin’s rocketing fame gave him the opportunity to experiment with many different brands and fashion items in a short space of time. “That’s when I first got the idea of creating my own style. I wanted to start my own label so I could bring that style to my fans and my customers. And that’s where it all began.”
Acting and fashion aside, does one of Thailand’s biggest stars have any other hidden talents or passions in store for fans? “Can you sing?” I ask. “Yes, I can,” he shyly responds with a smile. “But I’m really good at eating! I’d really love to start my own YouTube channel and create content about food and fascinating restaurants around the world.”
For now, Metawin’s head is fully in the acting game. In fact, he tells me he’s keen to stretch his capabilities and try new roles in the future. “I think I’d want to try play a psychopath or something like that – a role that’s crazy and totally different from myself,” he says. “I want to do acting roles I haven’t tried before, and that will be pretty challenging for me.”
Of course, after bagging accolades like his Rising Star award, you’d expect Metawin to be under a lot of pressure. And you’d be right. But refreshingly, instead of industry demands, it seems he’s pressurising himself to improve his craft. “It’s happened so fast, so I had to learn everything quickly,” he admits.
“I kept pushing myself further and further, because I wanted to improve the quality of my acting and reach a certain standard.” And he’s only getting started. “Even now, I have to keep developing my craft so I can continue moving forward with my career. It’s a lot of pressure, for sure, but I do my best to try set that aside and then keep progressing at my own pace.”
Source: Prestige Online
