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 Our December/January 2024 cover stars Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin are showing no signs of slowing down, and they&rsquo;re inviting all of us to come along for the ride.
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 Mile Phakphum (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/milephakphum/">@milephakphum</a>) and Apo Nattawin (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/nnattawin/">@nnattawin</a>) have been taking the world by storm ever since the release of KinnPorsche: The Series early last year &mdash; an action-romance TV series based on a web novel of the same name by author duo Daemi. 
 Having worked as an actor-singer and an actor-model respectively for several years, the co-stars got their big break when the huge success of the drama launched them into the spotlight, both locally and globally. Now, they are arguably the two most popular Thai actors internationally, and it&rsquo;s only onward and upward for them from here.
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Still need some convincing about their popularity? The duo made their appearances at the Dior Spring/Summer 2024 show as brand ambassadors back in September, and a report by social media analytics company Lefty.io revealed that Apo and Mile were ranked 3rd and 5th in earned media value for the entire show season, both on Instagram and TikTok, after Kylie Jenner and Zendaya. For context, Kylie and Zendaya have 398 and 185 million followers respectively on Instagram, while the duo has 3.6.
I finally got the chance to meet the power pair during this cover shoot in Bangkok. While Mile&rsquo;s demeanour radiates warmth and playfulness, Apo is sweet and charming. Together, both on and off camera, their undeniable chemistry shines through effortlessly.

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 Describe the moment when you first met.
 MILE: I first met him 12 to 13 years ago on a fashion runway. At that time, he didn&rsquo;t know who I was yet. He was so good- looking, and he reminded me of &rsquo;90s mega stars like Andy Lau or Kenny Ho, who played the character Zhan Zhao from the TV series Justice Bao: The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants. We bumped into each other at the gym a few years later and he walked up to say hi to me but I couldn&rsquo;t remember his name, so I just secretly called him Zhan Zhao until we met again for KinnPorsche: The Series.
 APO: The first time that we met was at one of the modelling gigs that we both did &mdash; I can no longer remember the name of the event now. I think recently, our fans were able to find the photo of Mile walking on the runway in front of me or the other way around. However, the moment that I can remember vividly was when we auditioned for KinnPorsche: The Series. I hadn&rsquo;t seen this guy for such a long time, and it was surprising for me to see him again there.
 Now, after working together for a few years, how would you describe the relationship between the two of you?
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 MILE: Yin and Yang.
 APO: We are super close friends, of course [laughs].
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 KinnPorsche was released in April last year but it&rsquo;s still being talked about today. How do you guys feel about the series&rsquo; immense popularity and its impact on your life?
 MILE: I feel really warm inside every time I think about KinnPorsche. Before KinnPorsche: The Series, we went through so much &mdash; both good and bad. What I love most about the drama is that it brought all of us together. It enabled me to have another family and fans. Many of them may have left, and some of them might have only come to know about us recently, but every fan I have met has been really nice to us, and this is far more important to me than the fame. I believe that greater fame means I can create and spread more joy and happiness to those who follow us.
 APO: Before KinnPorsche, for almost 10 years, I was mainly in Thai soap operas and dramas, and the acting style and how the storyline unfolds are different. However, when I acted in KinnPorsche, I felt that the progress of the story was realistic where each character has their own drive or motive behind every action. Porsche was such an enjoyable character that I had great fun portraying him from the first day of reading the script to the completion of our filming process until the series aired. The series is definitely something great that happened in my life. Can you imagine that now, I could just say or type that I&rsquo;m happy, and that happiness can spread to hundreds of fans, making them happy too? This is the kind of impact that I have received from this series, and I am so content with gaining this kind of joy that can be shared and paid forward to others.
 
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 If you could turn back time to the beginning of your popularity last year, is there anything you would do differently?
 MILE: I would eat less [laughs]. Right now, I feel like I&rsquo;ve unknowingly become a bear after we finished filming. But that&rsquo;s maybe because, during the shoot, I had a very tough workout routine and a strict diet.
 APO: If it weren&rsquo;t for the pandemic, I would probably still be living in the United States and continuing with my life.
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 Your bond is one of the most talked about aspects in both of your careers. How do you balance your public versus your private friendship?
 MILE: I think it&rsquo;s important to learn and understand ourselves and the circumstances around us to be able to respect others properly. Ultimately, we need to live mindfully, knowing the purpose of what we are doing at any given moment.
 APO: When you&rsquo;re under the public light, there is this thing called manners. Everyone should know the time and place of what is considered proper. Then, when you are in your private zone, you can choose what you want to do. This kind of mindset helps us to balance our lives.
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 Your recent film, Man Suang, has garnered rave reviews. What were your biggest takeaways and thoughts from the entire filming process?
 MILE: My team and I highly value equality and the quality of our work when we&rsquo;re on set. There&rsquo;s no superior treatment. We all eat the same kind of food together at an appropriate break time, and we standardise our work day with 12 hours as the maximum so that every crew member can have enough rest. Also, the team of directors was very open to all the opinions of the crew. This crucial work ethic has enabled me to work at ease, and we all worked together happily. I believe this is why the work that we delivered to the audience was able to reach its full potential.
 APO: My sole focus as an actor and as part of Man Suang is to keep the sense of Thai-ness ingrained into the film. No matter how long time has passed, whether with local or international audiences, whoever gets to watch this film will get to see and experience this perspective of Thai arts and culture.
 Both of you have been working closely together for a few years now, spending most of your schedules together. Were there any disagreements between the both of you, and if so, how did you navigate them?
 MILE: Naturally, when people interact or spend time together, there will always be some disagreements or differences in opinions. That said, both of us are mature now, and we have ways to work things out by frankly discussing our opinions or managing our own thoughts and emotions. From what I have experienced so far, even when we disagree on something, it has never escalated into a real argument or conflict. Most of our disagreements would be about very minor details of our work.
 
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 APO: Well, we are all humans. Even though you are really close to someone, every individual will have their own way of thinking. So there will always be a need for adapting and learning in order to have a great time with each other. I&rsquo;m very impulsive &mdash; I do things and make decisions very quickly. In contrast, Mile is very cautious. He would think first and slowly take his time before taking any action. When I observe this, I have to adjust my pace, and sometimes, Mile will try to speed things up. Therefore, when we work together, it&rsquo;s like a Yin- Yang balance. I think this is how we find the right tune to stay and work together without much explanation.
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 What&rsquo;s the best thing you&rsquo;ve learned from each other?
 MILE: Being observant and meticulous.
 APO: It wasn&rsquo;t something Mile explicitly said, it&rsquo;s more like something that I could gather from observing him. He is very attentive to details and he always thinks things through. Similar to driving a car, you can&rsquo;t always stomp on the accelerator. There will be times when you need to slow down or even hit the brake before you can speed up again. That is how you can have a smooth journey.
 What&rsquo;s one thing that you know about each other that others don&rsquo;t and might find surprising?
 MILE: Apo is such a pro when it comes to social media.
 APO: Mile is a lovable and nice person. He is gentle and quite shy too. I believe that many would probably be surprised if they get to see this side of him.
 Thai celebrities are undoubtedly taking over the world and expanding the Thai &ldquo;soft power&rdquo;. How do you feel about being two of the most sought-after stars in the industry right now
 MILE: I&rsquo;m really happy to contribute in making other people around the globe learn more about Thailand and Thai culture on a deeper level. Nonetheless, I don&rsquo;t really feel pressured. I&rsquo;m working in this field to spread joy to audiences and fans who watch or follow my work, so my aim is just to exhibit the coolness of Thai culture &mdash; both contemporary and traditional &mdash; to the eyes of global audiences as well as fellow Thais. I want to open up and adapt some foreign cultures into my work, too. For example, in KinnPorsche, there were many combinations of diverse cultures within it.
 APO: Honestly, for Mile and me to be receiving such a title in terms of spreading the soft power of our country, we both feel honoured and blessed that many people believe and associate us with that term. Wherever we go, we always remember that we are Thais and we come from Thailand. And when international fans or audiences see us, they may wonder who we are, and when we&rsquo;re being discussed among them, we indirectly get more people to learn about our country. This is part of the reason why, as I&rsquo;ve mentioned, I&rsquo;m proud to be part of ManSuang, as we got to tell the story of Thai culture through the lens of me as an actor and the film crew. I&rsquo;m thankful to every fan and media, both locally and internationally, such as Malaysia, for giving us the honour. We have come so far beyond my expectations. I&rsquo;m appreciative and grateful for all the opportunities that have come into my life. I view it as a joyful journey for a kid like me, getting many chances to do things like this and being able to travel to many places around the world. It&rsquo;s incredibly fun and exciting as there are so many more things to discover, so please follow along and support my journey.
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 Let&rsquo;s talk about fashion. How would you describe your personal style?
 MILE: Not too much, not too little. I&rsquo;m just being myself.
 APO: Since I was young, there have been two prominent styles to my liking. The first is something very sleek and neat, to the point that every piece that I wore required a lot of attention to detail, whether it&rsquo;s the fabric, colour, tailoring, length and pattern, and it&rsquo;s the same for shoes. I&rsquo;m quite serious when it comes to colour, shades and tone. The second style that I love is something really rugged. Pieces that you can wear anywhere without having to worry about getting dirty, such as a pair of faded jeans or trousers with a ragged T-shirt paired with ankle sneakers or leather penny loafers with a sporty watch and a leather bag.
 What are some of your go-to jewellery?
 MILE: A gold watch with my customised ring.
 APO: My favourite would be a gold or rose gold watch. Frankly, I love all types of jewellery. In terms of rings, I prefer vintage pieces. For watches, I love smaller faces because they feel more luxurious and dandy to me.
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The theme for our Dec/Jan issue is about the art of celebration. How would you like to celebrate the end of 2023?
MILE: I&rsquo;m looking forward to our BOC countdown party which will be held on December 31. It&rsquo;s going to be so much fun.
APO: Same here. I want to celebrate the new year. We will be joining our fans at the BOC New Year party, and it will fill us with more happiness and a full tank of fuel for greater work ahead.
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 What&rsquo;s next for you two, both together and individually?
 MILE: We will have some acting projects together in both Thailand and other countries. Another surprise that I have in store is my solo work on a music project. Stay tuned!
 APO: My 2024 plan would probably be a new series or film in China. There will also be another grand project that I have to keep my lips sealed for now &mdash; you will need to follow along for more updates [laughs]. There will also be more works and projects in fashion, mostly with Dior.
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"My fans are another part of my life. They are like family who I always communicate with, and I think about them every day."

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 How do your fans inspire you?
 MILE: My fans are another part of my life. They are like family who I always communicate with, and I think about them every day. They give me the energy to work in this field, so I have to thank my fans and all of you who are reading this interview. Please always be this lovely and stay together forever.
 APO: Since our work is in the entertainment industry, we are responsible for delivering happiness to the audience. Even the way we live our lives could also inspire our fans too. I have heard that some fans are cheered up and inspired by our interviews to live their lives better and love themselves more. Learning about this makes me think that what I have been doing is on the right track. I will continue to do my job better and spread more joy.
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"No matter how long time has passed, whether with local or international audiences, whoever gets to watch this film will get to see and experience this perspective of Thai arts and culture."

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 What is your impression of Malaysia, and any last words for your Malaysian fans?
 MILE: I think of Malaysia as a good brother or sister to Thailand, and I want to visit soon. Malaysian fans are so friendly and lovely &mdash; many of them went the extra mile and flew around to many places to support us. Others also sent us love and support through social media all these years. I remember there was a fan who was pregnant, and after giving birth, she came back to enjoy our work and events again. I feel touched when I hear such stories.
 APO: I really want to visit Malaysia. It&rsquo;s a country that I have never been to before, so I want to travel there. At the top of my list are natural attractions such as Batu Caves &mdash; I know that there&rsquo;s a massive statue of a deity there, as one of my friends who went there told me about it. I&rsquo;m also eyeing the local sweets and desserts such as Bubur Cha Cha. I love desserts that are made with coconut milk.
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 COVER CREDITS:
 Photography Edmund Lee / Hexa Production Studio Creative Direction &amp; Words Joan Kong Styling Ardi Idewani Zaini Grooming Pakanat Poolsawat Hair Topurk Thongwisate Styling Assistant Dino Omar Photography Assistant Chai Shin Wang Videography StudioKORI Coordination Izzie Zainal
 All clothing and accessories DIOR SPRING/SUMMER 2024 COLLECTION All jewellery and watches CARTIER
 
 
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Our December/January 2024 "Coveted" issue featuring Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin will be available in selected major bookstores and newsstands in Malaysia.
You can pre-order the magazine online <a href="https://www.hommesmalaysia.com/covers/order-now-l-officiel-hommes-malaysia-dec-jan-2022-feat-mile-apo">here</a>.

December/January 2024 Cover: Enter the Mile and Apo universe

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