A manicure is a promising excuse to spend time with someone you fancy, until you discover they have been taking somebody else along too. That situation sets the relationships in GELBOYS in motion, as FourMod’s attraction to Chian becomes tangled with jealousy, friendship and the involvement of Baabin and Bua. First released in 2025, the Thai boys’ love series brings its young characters into the social world of Bangkok’s Siam Square.
New Chayapak Tunprayoon, Pide Monthapoom Sumonvarangkul, PJ Mahidol Pibulsonggram and Leon Zech play the four leads, whose attempts to understand one another can be funny as well as frustrating.
Speaking to View of the Arts, and in collaboration with The A Festival, the actors reveal that some of that familiarity began before filming, when the writing team interviewed them and incorporated aspects of their personalities into the characters. New recognises his own curiosity and energy in FourMod, while Pide understands Chian’s tendency to conceal feelings that his eyes might betray; PJ sees an especially close resemblance between himself and Baabin, and Leon recalls reading scenes that reminded him of emotions he had experienced himself. Those connections give them plenty to draw upon, although knowing a character intimately brings its own difficulties when returning for a second season. Their answers show that four actors thinking carefully about how people change, how affection can coexist with selfishness and how to play someone whose choices they understand without necessarily sharing them. As Leon puts it, “The characters don’t always make the right decisions, and honestly, neither do we in real life.”
Their friendship has continued to develop through music, performances and the variety programme GELTY, giving the four opportunities to spend time together outside of their fictional relationships. Now, ahead of their appearance at The A Festival in Paris this October, they are preparing for what New describes as GELBOYS’ first visit to Europe, with the prospect of finally meeting fans they have so far known from a distance. In our interview, New, Pide, PJ and Leon discuss the more demanding emotions of GELBOYS 2, the pleasure of recording together, and the surprises awaiting anyone who assumes they are exactly like their characters. They also speak warmly about the people supporting them, whose willingness to travel and make time for them has changed how they understand being somebody’s favourite artist.
View of the Arts: The first season of “GELBOYS” became popular not only because of the relationships, but because the characters felt very much like young people of this generation. When you first read the script, did you recognise people you actually knew in FourMod, Chian, Baabin and Bua?
Pide: During pre-production, the writing team interviewed all of us and used some of our ideas and personalities as inspiration for the characters. So there are definitely some similarities, but also differences between us and the characters. For Chian, I think he’s someone who is very good at hiding his feelings, but his eyes always give him away. He can also be quiet and reserved while still being easy to approach. I think those are some sides of Chian that are quite similar to me.
New: There are definitely some similarities. The writing team took certain aspects of the actors and incorporated them into the characters. For me, I think FourMod share my fun and energetic side, as well as my curiosity and willingness to try new things.
PJ: I feel like PJ and the character are very similar, almost like the same person. The character was developed and adapted from parts of my own personality, so there are many things about him that feel very close to who I am.
Leon: I think there are definitely some parts of myself in my character. Maybe not everything, but I can understand where he comes from and why he makes certain decisions. Sometimes while reading the script, I’d think, “Okay… I’ve actually felt this before.” In that way, playing him has also helped me understand myself a little better.
VOA: You’re now back together for “GELBOYS 2”. Coming into a second season, does knowing your characters and each other so well make acting together easier, or does it actually make you want to challenge yourselves more?
Pide: It has become much easier when it comes to building the chemistry between the four of us. Between Seasons 1 and 2, we worked together almost every day. We also spent a lot of time together through “GELTY (GELBOYS VARIETY)”, doing many activities we had never done together before. That made our friendship and connection even stronger.
As for the challenges, I think the story itself has become more unexpected, and the relationships between the characters have developed as time has passed. But it hasn’t been a major problem because we communicate with each other all the time, both on and off set.
New: I think spending so much time with our characters has made them feel almost like a part of our own stories. Sometimes, whatever we do feels natural because we already know them so well. The challenge is figuring out how to keep the characters feeling fresh when we already understand them so deeply.
PJ: Acting together has definitely become easier because we’re more familiar with each other, and there’s a greater sense of comfort when we perform together. But the challenge comes from the story of Season 2, which is much more intense and emotionally complex.
Leon: I think it became easier in some ways because we already knew each other so well. We understood each other’s rhythm and didn’t have to think too much about how to react to one another. But at the same time, it became more challenging because we knew the characters much better too. We couldn’t just repeat what we did in Season 1. We wanted to show different sides of them and make their emotions feel more mature and real.
VOA: The four of you have also released quite a lot of music connected with “GELBOYS”. Do you approach recording a song as yourselves, or do you still carry something of Character into the studio with you?
New: Honestly, it depends on the song. We look at what the song is about and what kind of energy it has, and then we choose the approach that fits it best. Sometimes it may come from the character, and sometimes it’s simply us as artists.
VOA: “GO CUTE FAR FAR” brought all four of you together again musically this year. What do you enjoy most about recording and performing together that you don’t get from acting together?
Pide: I really love the unique cuteness of this song. I already liked the original version, so I was really happy when we got the opportunity to sing it ourselves. The music video was also a lot of fun because we filmed it during the Songkran festival season. It gave the song a real summer feeling, mixed with its playful energy. Every time we perform it, we have so much fun. The choreography is cute, catchy and it really brings out the bright side of all four of us. We all love this song and hope we’ll have many more opportunities to perform it for our fans and GELBIE.
VOA: “I STAN YOU” plays with the idea of being completely obsessed with your favourite person, almost in the way a fan feels about their favourite artist. Now that all four of you have fans of your own, has being on the other side of that relationship changed the way you understand fan culture?
PJ: I understand it much more now. I’ve only recently started having a group of fans who follow me through “GELBOYS”, and it has made me realise just how powerful the love people can have for an artist is. Some fans are willing to travel long distances and go through a lot just to meet us. Sometimes they may have had a difficult or exhausting day, but simply seeing us can make them happy again. I think that’s something really special, and it has made me appreciate the love from our fans even more.
VOA: “GELBOYS” deals with relationships that can be confusing, imperfect and sometimes frustrating rather than giving us characters who always make the right choices. Do you think that’s part of why young audiences have connected so strongly with the series?
Leon: I think that’s one of the reasons people connect with GELBOYS so much. The characters don’t always make the right decisions, and honestly, neither do we in real life. They get confused, they overthink, they hurt each other, sometimes they’re selfish, and sometimes they don’t even understand their own feelings. I think young people can see themselves in that messiness. The series doesn’t try to tell you how you’re supposed to feel or who is right or wrong. It simply shows people trying to figure things out.
VOA: Going one by one, what is something about New, Pide, PJ and Leon that is completely different from the character you play – something fans might be surprised to discover about the real person behind FourMod, Chian, Baabin and Bua?
Pide: As someone who plays Chian, I think one difference is that Chian can be quite impulsive and hot-tempered at times. I’m actually someone who tends to think things through carefully before I take action. Of course, I can also act impulsively when emotions take over, but probably not as much as Chian does. Haha.
New: I think FourMod tend to make decisions based heavily on their feelings. Their emotions often guide them. I’m actually quite different in that way. I tend to think more systematically and logically before making decisions.
PJ: One thing might be how seriously I take life and how much I think about my plans for the future. There are certain things I’ve never really shared publicly, but I’m actually someone who likes to plan quite far ahead in life.
Leon: I think I’m actually much more easygoing than my character. He can overthink a lot and get really caught up in his feelings, while I’m usually the kind of person who tries to move on and not think too much about things. Something fans might not expect about me is that I’m actually quite emotional. I might look very chill or confident from the outside, but I can be really sensitive about things that matter to me.
VOA: All four of you will be coming to The A Festival in Paris this October. What can fans expect when they meet the four of you in Paris and is there anything about GELBOYS that you’re particularly excited to share with an international audience?
Pide: I’m extremely excited because this will be our first time travelling abroad to work together as all four of us. We’ve already started making plans for things we want to do together even before the trip. Paris is also such an amazing city for fashion and food, so we’re all really excited about that. From the moment we heard that the festival wanted to invite us, we’ve been looking forward to meeting international fans and sharing this experience with them.
New: This will actually be GELBOYS’ first time coming to Europe, so it feels like an important milestone for us. We’re bringing lots of positive energy with us and we’re really looking forward to meeting our fans in Paris. More than anything, we just can’t wait to see everyone.
PJ: I think the most exciting part is meeting our European fans for the first time. We’ve never had the chance to meet them in person before. Being able to see them, talk to them, and let them experience who we really are will hopefully help them get to know us on a deeper level.
Leon: I think fans in Paris will get to see a different side of us. Not just the characters from GELBOYS, but us as ourselves—performing, talking, playing with the audience, and just having fun together. I’m especially excited to share GELBOYS with people who might be discovering us for the first time. The story is very Thai in some ways, but I think the feelings and relationships in it are universal. So I’m really curious to see how international fans connect with it.
Written and interviewed by Maggie Gogler
Featured image © LOOKE & One 31
View of the Arts is an online publication dedicated to film, music, and the arts, with a strong focus on the Asian entertainment industry. As we continue to grow, we aim to deepen our coverage of Asian music while remaining committed to exploring and celebrating creativity across the global arts landscape.
