THAILAND - 35-year-old Tayme Thapthimthong is not quite a familiar name to most at this point but he now stands to gain major notice landing a significant role on the Emmy award-winning series " The White Lotus."
The series has been acclaimed by critics for its writing, acting, humor, and production values.
It has won 15 Primetime Emmy Awards – including for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series – and 2 Golden Globes, including for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film.
But how did he get there?
Born and raised in England, Tayme spent 3 years as a Royal Marine Cadet while in high school.
When he enrolled at Kingston University, Tayme would spend his weekends working as a bouncer at nightclubs in and around London.
He eventually got a chance to train with an ex-SAS soldier before applying for the Royal Marine Commandos.
He could not get through training though, due to medical reasons.
After moving back to Thailand, it was then that Tayme decided to give show business a try.
He participated in season 10 of the famous Thai singing competition "Academy Fantasia," notching a runner-up finish.
Tayme told Manila Bulletin Entertainment, "It was the first and only contest I joined and I did it mainly following a friend's suggestion."
The contest opened many doors for him, including roles in movies like "Skin Trade," "Farang," the Netflix series "Thai Cave Rescue," and more.
The British-Thai actor maintained he never had acting lessons but thanks to a voracious appetite for movies, he somehow learned enough to get by.
"Everything that comes out of me is through watching loads of films and just living in general."
As to him landing the role of Gaitok on " The White Lotus," Tayme shared, "I already left the Army and I was doing contractual security jobs when I got a call from a Thai casting site and they asked if I could have an audition."
Tayme was quick to take a leap of faith.
"I said to my boss that time, 'If I work as your bodyguard, can I still pursue my acting career?' And he's like, 'Yeah.' Honestly, I'm someone who watches a lot of action films, but I did hear about ' The White Lotus' before going to the casting. So when I got the role, I was actually surprised how well-written the show is."
Thanks to his co-star Lalisa, he was able to get things done.
"Lisa helped me a lot during that time because there were a lot of Thai words. I speak Thai but when I have conversations with other Thai people, I tend to put English words first," Tayme related. "She's helped me a lot by making the language more sort of like people would say while having a normal conversation and I'm very grateful for that."
He then teased show fans, "I had such an amazing time shooting this project and can't wait for you guys to watch it."
Note Tayme has already bagged a role in the upcoming sci-fi horror TV series "Alien: Earth" as well as the upcoming Jean-François Richet-directed action thriller "Mutiny," starring Jason Statham.
Directed by Mike White, catch the latest episodes of The White Lotus season 3 and its first two seasons now streaming on Max.