Artist’s Profile – Karn Kritsanaphan

Karn Kritsanaphan, popularly known by his nickname Jimmy, is a Thai actor and model. Although relatively new to acting in general and the Thai BL scene in particular, he has stolen the hearts of many as Saifah in Why R U the Series released in 2020, a role for which he is best-known within the fandom.

Jimmy was born in Bangkok, Thailand on February 18, 2000. Not much is known about his family, except for the fact that he has two older brothers. He is currently 21 years old and is an English major at Kasetsart University, a public research university in Bangkok. He is one of the many artists working under DoMunDi TV International.

Popular Roles

Why R U the Series

As mentioned earlier, Jimmy landed his first major role as Saifah in Why R U, starring opposite Tommy (Sittichok Pueakpoolpol) who played the role of Zon, his love interest in the series. Saifah is portrayed as a typical popular college student, with two of his best friends who are almost always by his side (invoking F4 vibes at the very beginning of the show). He is good-looking (and knows it, too), playful, arrogant, good at everything he does, especially when it comes to music.

He loves to tease and provoke Zon every chance he gets and, thus, highlights the enemies-to-lovers trope used in the plot. A few episodes into the series, however, we’re shown changes in his character which highlight sides to him that other people barely get to see—a soft child for the one he loves.

Jimmy’s chemistry with Tommy, both on-screen and off-screen, is probably one of the main reasons for the popularity of the show. Under all the constant bickering and competition between them, he actually cares for Zon a lot. This is seen especially in the scenes where he practices and performs with Zon for a sing-a-song project at their university, as well as in SaifahZon Story, the spinoff of this series (but more on that later).

The most notable sequences performed by Jimmy in this series would be the ones just before the kiss scenes featuring Saifah and Zon. The first of these is before their performance for the football team’s sing-a-song project, one in which the latter is afraid of messing up on stage. Jimmy’s portrayal of Saifah trying to comfort Zon is heartwarming, and so is the kiss after it. When one of the staff members pointed out how the first kiss was supposed to be different, Jimmy mentioned that he was carried away and just went with the flow.

Another moment (probably one of the most famous of SaifahZon scenes) would be the one in which Saifah and Zon promise that they would love only each other. Saifah’s nervousness at the prospect of their first night together, as well as the joyful tears in this scene, seems so natural that everyone, including the acting coach, commended him for his acting.

Both the plot of Why R U the Series and the impacts of COVID-19 on shooting schedules may have curtailed Jimmy from showing his abilities to the fullest. However, he made the best of everything, something which Tommy claims that he is good at in one of their Hello Asian interviews.

Close Friend the Series

This series showed six BL pairs in relationships of different forms. Episode 5, of which Jimmy and Tommy were a part, was surprisingly platonic—it showcased the friendship between two 17-year-old boys from different backgrounds. This particular episode is set in the years 1995-’96. Jimmy played the role of Night, a 12th grader from Bangkok who’s into reading comics and listening to international pop music. On the other hand, Mek (played by Tommy), is a pen pal from Chiang Mai, who Night befriends as part of an assignment.

Although this was meant to be more of a bromance, the chemistry between Jimmy and Tommy is very strong. Jimmy plays his part to perfection; he seems more comfortable and natural as Night. He portrays his relationships skilfully—the ones with his mother as well as with Mek. One can definitely say that he made the best of the 15 minutes that were given to him in the series.

Other Projects

Most of Jimmy’s upcoming projects were slated for release in 2021. However, there may be slight changes in the schedule because of COVID-19. Hopefully, as viewers, we have many series of his to look forward to.

Jimmy is all set for his first Korean release, a series titled Peach of Time (Shigan-ui Boksung-a in Korean), in which he plays the character of Peach, a Thai boy who flies to Korea to meet an online friend of his. Other releases, such as Middleman, an office romance—in which he stars as Mai, alongside Tommy who plays the role of Jade—are also set to release later this year.

The beginnings of Mii2

Although known as SaifahZon, which refers to their ship name in the series, Jimmy and Tommy are also popularly referred to as Mii2 in real life by their fans. In a Why R U Q&A session, Jimmy discusses how the name was created and how it related to the two of them in real life. Both of their Thai nicknames end with the syllable ‘-mi’, which led to their ship name being called ‘Mii2’. Jimmy also mentions how he has been called ‘Mi’ for most of his life by people who are close to him, and how he’s satisfied by the logic behind the creation of their ship name.

Jimmy’s relationship with his co-star Tommy is certainly an enviable one. The two of them knew each other from the former’s pre-debut days and they’ve been even closer than before especially ever since they started working together. In one of their interviews, Jimmy talks about how he picked Tommy as the one person he wanted to pair with when it came to Why R U. Despite their age difference in real life, they seem to get along pretty well with each other. Their height difference is another thing they can’t stop mentioning—the viewers can’t seem to get enough of it.

Random Tidbits

☆ Jimmy claims to be a kind-hearted person and says that, unlike Saifah, he does not really tease Tommy all the time (although the latter playfully counters this point).

☆ The one thing that Jimmy can’t go without in his bag is his cellphone because he prefers to stay in contact with his friends and loved ones all the time.

☆ Jimmy is the brand ambassador for Mageliya VC, a skincare brand based in Thailand. He has also endorsed a number of products, including those of Adidas and PepsiCo.

☆ Jimmy was one of the faces of ManDee’s Pride Month project in 2021, along with Tommy, among others.

☆ He loves playing basketball and table tennis.

☆ He has two main social media accounts:

Instagram – @jimmy.jimmoi

Twitter – @Jimmy_Jimmoi

References- In the comments section

Keep watching this space for more updates!

Advertisement