Cover Film Rachanun Mahawan has evolved from ‘2gether’ scene-stealer to leading GL star in ’Pluto’ and ‘Girl Rules’ (Photo: @fr.racha/Instagram)
Film Rachanun Mahawan has evolved from ‘2gether’ scene-stealer to leading GL star in ’Pluto’ and ‘Girl Rules’ (Photo: @fr.racha/Instagram)
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As Film Rachanun Mahawan celebrates her birthday in July, look back at the Thai star's career, from her breakout supporting roles to becoming one of the leading faces of Thailand's Girls’ Love (GL) boom
On July 14, Rachanun “Film” Mahawan turns 26, at a point in her career when versatility has become her defining trait. Since making her television debut in 2gether: The Series, the GMMTV actress has built a filmography that resists easy categorisation, moving with ease between campus romances, psychological thrillers, social dramas and queer love stories. One year she is the catalyst for a devastating cyberbullying tragedy, the next a rebellious student exposing institutional abuse or an unlikely accomplice in a slapstick heist.
Rather than cultivating a single screen persona, Film has sought roles that stretch her range. That approach reached a wider audience with Pluto, the acclaimed GL drama that earned her the Outstanding Asian Star award at the Seoul International Drama Awards and established her as one of the genre’s most recognisable leading actresses. Following her return in the 2026 fashion drama Girl Rules, these are the performances that chart her evolution—one role at a time.
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‘Girl Rules’ (2026)
Above Film navigates a toxic ex and fashion rivalry in ‘Girl Rules’
In her 2026 drama Girl Rules, Film Rachanun Mahawan plays Bambi, the project manager of Fiona, a sub-brand within her mother’s fashion house. After mysteriously disappearing, Bambi returns to Thailand only to find herself working alongside her former girlfriend, Prim (Namtan Tipnaree). Airing to strong social media buzz and widespread praise for its styling, Girl Rules’ tangled exes and high-fashion setting mark Film’s most stylish, emotionally messy role yet—and a strong signal of where her career is headed next.
‘Pluto’ (2024–2025)
Above Film's award-winning turn as May in the acclaimed GL drama ‘Pluto’
This is the role that made Film Rachanun Mahawan a genuine international star. In Pluto, she plays May (Metawee), a visually impaired woman whose secret relationship with her twin sister, Ai-oon, unravels into a tangled, morally complex romance after a devastating accident. Film’s performance—raw, restrained, quietly devastating—won her the Outstanding Asian Star award at the 20th Seoul International Drama Awards, and cemented the “NamFilm” pairing as a defining force in modern GL storytelling.
‘Ploy’s Yearbook’ (2024)
Above Film headlines the nostalgic multi-couple drama ‘Ploy’s Yearbook’
Film Rachanun Mahawan takes on a lighter role as Ploy Pandara, one of five women named Ploy whose lives collide after a yearbook mix-up scrambles their old phone numbers. The multi-couple format lets Film’s storyline breathe alongside several others, tracking her character’s journey from teenage awkwardness to adult clarity. Praised for its nostalgic flashbacks and its tender, understated romance opposite co-star Jimmy Jitaraphol, it is one of Film’s most emotionally layered ensemble roles to date.
‘Home School’ (2023)
Above Film investigates a sinister boarding school mystery in ‘Home School’
A tonal hard left turn, Home School cast Film Rachanun Mahawan as Maki, a defiant student who enrols in a secretive, elite boarding school to uncover what happened to her missing brother, Run, played by Gun Atthaphan. Gothic, tense and unflinching in its critique of institutional control, the series won praise for its atmospheric cinematography and morally complex ensemble cast. Maki remains one of Film’s most quietly ferocious characters—an intellectual heroine who refuses to be gaslit into silence.
‘Midnight Series: Dirty Laundry’ (2023)
Above Film plays chaotic laundromat worker Neon in ‘Midnight Series: Dirty Laundry’
This is Film Rachanun Mahawan at her most gleefully unhinged. She stars as Neon, a night-shift laundromat employee who accidentally makes off with a briefcase of stolen cash belonging to her novelist crush, Night, played by Nanon Korapat. Equal parts heist caper and rom-com, the series leans into slapstick chaos and retro styling, giving Film room to flex comic instincts rarely seen in her more serious dramatic work—and cementing her real-life chemistry with Korapat.
‘The Three Gentlebros’ (2022)
Above Film stars as View in the family comedy ‘The Three Gentlebros’
By 2022, Film Rachanun Mahawan had graduated to full leading-lady status in this mainstream family romantic comedy. She plays View (Nareeya), a resilient, independent woman drawn into the orbit of a domineering matriarch determined to control her three sons’ love lives. Paired with the youngest brother, played by Gun Atthaphan, Film brought warmth and backbone to a role that could easily have been overshadowed by the show’s louder comic elements.
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‘The Comments’ (2021)
Above Film transitions to lead roles in the haunting drama ‘The Comments’
Where 2gether introduced her charm, The Comments revealed her range. Film Rachanun Mahawan starred as Toon (Theerata), a student whose suicide sets off a slow-burn investigation into the cruelty of online mob culture. It was a marked departure from lighthearted campus romance—dark, socially conscious and emotionally demanding. The role announced Film as an actress capable of carrying weighty, issue-driven material, not just charming supporting parts, and remains one of her most quietly powerful performances.
‘2gether: The Series’ (2020)
Above Film's early breakthrough as Earn in the global hit ‘2gether: The Series’
Long before leading titles, Film Rachanun Mahawan built her name as Earn, a warm-hearted music club member in the campus romance that helped popularise Thai dramas worldwide. Opposite established leads Bright (Vachirawit Chivaaree) and Win (Metawin Opas-iamkajorn), Earn’s easy camaraderie gave the ensemble its emotional glue. It was a modest role by screen time, but Film’s natural charm and comic timing were impossible to miss, laying the groundwork for the meatier parts that would soon follow.
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After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
