Stars Freen Sarocha Chankimha and Becky Armstrong, best known as the GL (girl's love) couple FreenBecky on the Thai series “GAP,” met Filipino fans over the weekend.
The two held the “The Debutante," a watch party for the uncut last episode of “GAP” on Feb. 12 at the SM North EDSA Skydome.
Before the event, Freen, 24, and Becky, 20, met the Philippine media at a press conference held at the Novotel Manila Araneta City.
Manila Bulletin had an interview with them where they talked about their career, the “GAP” series and the support of Filipino fans.
How did you start your showbiz career?
Freen: “I started when I was 16 or 17 years old during Miss Teen Thailand. After that I had some advertisements. Now I have the ‘GAP’ series.
Becky: “For me, I flew back from England and I had the opportunity to be cast for the ‘TharnType’ the series. I played a little sister. It gave me the chance to explore my Thai a bit more. I’ve been practicing Thai for not long ago. And then I got the chance to play in ‘Secret Crush on You.’ And that’s when I met Freen. First, in ‘Secret Crush on You,’ we only played as good friends. But then they saw some chemistry so we got to play the ‘Gap’ series."
About the "GAP" series, what was your reaction when you were offered the roles to play a lesbian couple?
Freen: “For me, when I read the role, it was very normal for me. I want everyone to see it as a normal couple, not just as a lesbian couple. Like for love, there would be freedom for everyone to love all we want.”
Becky: “Let’s just look the ‘GAP’ the series as a normal series just like every other series. I was so excited when I got offered the role. I was like ‘Can’t wait to play this’ and we got to read the story. And then it was like so interesting, so exciting and then the only thing that I was probably worried about at the time was will I be able to portray this role well because the way the character was written is a bit different to who I am. She was meant to be full Thai but I’m like half-Thai, half-English. We were very excited. There should not be any barrier in the word ‘love.’”
"GAP" is the first girl's love (GL) series in Thailand. What was the reaction of your friends and families to the series?
Freen: “My close friends including my family have been very supportive and they would be like ‘You are good in acting’ and ‘Your role matches you well, you would do great.’"
Becky: “Everyone’s so supportive like my dad, my mom, my brother. Every Saturday, we would sit down by the couch and be like, ‘Let’s watch ‘GAP’ the series together.’ Okay, it’s a bit shy for me in some scenes. I’m so happy that they are all supportive and they would always come to any events or anything.
What do you think is the message conveyed by the GAP series especially on homosexual relationships?
Becky: “I think love is love. Love should not have any barriers no matter what gender, what age, what race. Whoever you want to love, you should have the ability to do that. Just like when you are with that person, you feel like, ‘They are so cute,’ ‘I wanna see you again.’ I think it’s time for everyone to open their hearts and just be like, ‘Yeah, accept that love is love.’”
Freen: “For me, love is love. It does not have to be boy to boy, or girl to girl. It can be any gender and I want everyone to see that love is love and there are different types of love in this world.”
How is homosexuality perceived in Thailand?
Freen: “In Thailand, more people are being open-minded and everyone is accepting the fact that there are people who love each other even if they are of the same gender. I hope that there would be a law in the future that would allow like a couple to be together.”
Becky: “In Thailand, everyone is actually very open-minded about it and you see a lot of seminars to educate people about it. The only barrier is that the law does not approve the marriage of same sex yet, which hopefully in the future we see that happen. As I’ve said, love should have no barriers.”
What are your impressions of the Philippines?
Freen: “When I was on the airplane, when I looked down, the sky is very clear. When I arrived at the airport, everyone gave support. Filipinos are very lovely."
Becky: ”I love the Philippines so much. When I found out we were coming back here, I couldn’t wait to tell the Philippine fans. They are so supportive, so nice. The first thing when we got here, it was like the best welcome ever. Everyone was waiting. I knew people were just waiting since early morning till we arrived quite in the evening. Even though they got to see us like quick seconds, I could feel their warm welcome. Thank you guys so much."
You have a big following in the Philippines. How do you feel about this?
Freen: “I am very happy and I am glad that many people fell in love with my character. I will do my best in the future.”
Becky: “I am very happy and glad as well. Never did I ever dream or imagine that someone outside Thailand would know us or who I am. I just love and appreciate the support. I know that there are barriers between languages. You guys always still follow every single one, even fly to Thailand to come to our events. I just wanna say, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. We will always be beside you as well. Hopefully we will be together for a long time.”
“The Debutante” was presented by Idol Factory, TH Headline, and CDM Entertainment.