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At 21 years old, Thai multihyphenate Nattawat Jirochtikul, known mononymously as Fourth, is still finding his way in the spotlight. After several on-screen appearances, one of Teen Vogue's Best BL Dramas, My School President, catapulted him skyward. He's since launched his clothing brand Numone, dropped his own music, become an ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, and brought his concert tour with co-star Gemini to the US. But navigating life away from the cameras is where Fourth is finding out what he's truly made of.
Where we meet Fourth now is in rebirth, one that comes after the passing of his father in April. He became ordained as a Buddhist monk to make merit, a concept deeply embedded in Buddhism, for his father. Fourth is diligence manifest. He has to be. “Everyone has the same time,” he tells Teen Vogue. But he knows it's how we use our time that matters, to “accommodate” every task.
Now rocking a spiky and spunky silver cut, he's beginning to revel in the magic of being an artist. If he were to write a song for his fans, it would be something that represents him. “Fans aren't with me 24/7, so I want this song to be with them when I'm not there, and they can know who I am through that song,” Fourth says. There's something admirable in the way he carries himself, defines himself, or rather redefines, different eras, looks, and personas. All part of the same Fourth, all given a segment of the clock in which to accomplish something.
Below, we speak with Fourth via a Thai interpreter for Teen Vogue's New Hollywood Class of 2025.
Fourth: The past year, I would describe it to be a year of growth. Not only in the context of aging up, but also with my work, which requires more responsibility. It's definitely a year of growth for me.
Fourth: After the passing of my dad, I had to take on the role of head of the family because now I'm taking care of my family, and I'm also the breadwinner, so it means more responsibility, not only financially but emotionally as well.
Fourth: I'm someone who usually takes care of myself, but in the past year, I haven't, and I feel like I'm overworking, which got to the point where I got sick. For the past two to three weeks, I fell very ill and had to stay home to recover, so during that time, I had a chance to observe myself, see that my body has gone through a lot in the past year. I realized I need to care for my health both physically and mentally. In the past, I didn't have much time to take care of that.
Fourth: For me, it's just us being us, being able to keep our characteristics. It's very surprising to see international fans singing our Thai songs.
Fourth: It was my first time in New York, and at that time, I wasn't a brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger yet. It was very eye-opening because I was a Thai artist who didn't have much fame compared to other international artists. I really enjoyed meeting Felix from Stray Kids, who inspired me to watch and listen to more K-pop. I also use them as inspiration to develop my own singing and dancing skills.
Fourth: My goal was for the fans to have a memento of me with them, always. To be honest, compared to normal clothing brands, it's very expensive, but I want the fans to wear the best of the best. I don't want to give something that's considered a memento of bad quality, and my mother helped me along the way.
Fourth: My mom is a vendor who has experience selling so many things, such as furniture and wood. This made her very knowledgeable in negotiating prices, finding materials, and where to manufacture it. She is one of the main people who made this brand happen, because I have to focus on work as well. But the patterns and new collections, it's me designing them.
Fourth: I started this journey as an actor, so I didn't focus much on the music part at first. But the thing I wanted to do was to develop every skill in every aspect for the fans, for my people. That led me to start singing training, which led me to releasing singles consistently. The more I dove into it, I realized how much I enjoyed it.
Fourth: To be honest, there are so many answers to this question: [first], for my family and myself, second, for my fans, and third would be…I am happy doing this. I don't see it as a duty but something that I enjoy doing. I feel very happy to be doing this every single day, seeing the fans and producing work.
Fourth: I want to be better every day. I want to grow up every day because I know that now I'm not that good or mature enough yet, but I want to develop these skills in front of the camera and in controlling my emotions. I know there's some part of me that is still quite young, so during this time, I intend to grow up and gain more maturity.
Fourth: Since the passing of my dad, I miss him very much. I feel that often. I started to observe myself with the things I am doing right now and came to the realization that what my dad taught me since I was a kid is now in my everyday life. The small things. And even my personality. One of his sayings was to have discipline, like working out every day. He taught me to care for my family emotionally, so he has become part of our daily lives.
Fourth: There is a big-budget series, Scarlet Heart Thailand [a remake of the Chinese screen adaptation of the novel Bu Bu Jing Xin]. For my music, I want to do something that symbolizes growth, make it more mature, and make it to the T-pop industry, and more.
Fourth: Super growth.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Translation provided by Ratvara Sethavaravichit.
