It was a cool Monday evening when we drove half an hour out of Geneva to the historic Chateau d’Allaman. The castle is the site of the First International Summit of Peace and is where Swiss luxury watch Maison Franck Muller were celebrating the launch of their new Long Island Evolution timepieces.
We alighted at the alabaster cobbled driveway into the chateau, and bumped into the man of the hour — Naphat ‘Nine’ Siangsomboon, sporting a cool black shirt and trenchcoat, a Franck Muller Long Island Evolution 7 Days Power Reserve adorning his wrist.
We were impressed by it — the green-and-black tonneau case, skeletonised dial, and stylish modern typography used for the indices were immediately striking. There were vestiges of the original Long Island watches, but this one seemed intent on bringing the famed collection into a new age. “The colours, the design, the ergonomics is perfect,” Nine enthuses about the watch.
As the evening wore on with fine food, fine wine and fine conversation, Nine later switched it out for the fascinatingly complicated Long Island Evolution Master Jumper, which features three numerical indications with the time and date functions combined. Joined by the aptly named Long Island Evolution Giga Tourbillon, the trio form the first expressions of the Long Island Evolution, available exclusively to Asia Pacific.
Most Charming Actor
Born Naphat Siangsomboon (Nine is his chue len or Thai nickname) to Thai actress and Miss Thailand World 1988 second runner-up Pimpaka Siangsomboon in 1996, he burst into regional prominence in 2017, when he won a slew of national and regional awards, including a nomination for Rising Star Best Actor in the year’s KAZZ Awards, The Most Top Talk-About Memorable Character at MThai Toptalk About 2017, and the Maya Award for Most Charming Actor.
He’s done a lot of work for Thailand’s main commercial free-to-air television network Channel 3 (the Singaporean equivalent would be Mediacorp’s Channel 5 or Channel 8), beginning with television series,, but breaking more and more into television dramas and films.
It started with his role as Beam in the uplifting anthology film A Gift, a tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s musical compositions, in 2016. His next feature film came in 2019, with the regional hit Friend Zone. It was Thailand’s second highest grossing film in the box office for the year. He followed that up with 2023’s popular Nobody’s Happy If I’m Not.
He remembers the films fondly, saying: “Friend Zone is a movie that makes me feel alive and not stressed out. Nobody’s Happy If I’m Not makes me feel that life always has a solution.”
However, Nine feels he’s not even done developing his craft as a thespian. He says: “I’m still not very good at acting and I still need to improve myself. Every role I take is both challenging and enjoyable. If I read a script and I like it, have fun and understand the characters, it’s a good sign that I want to do this job, to bring characters to life for audiences to watch.I could play any character as long as it is a script I’ve agreed to do.”
Renaissance Man
Ever the renaissance man, Nine is always developing his skills beyond acting. He has a natural eye for captivating visuals. You can see some of them on his Instagram page (@naphat_nine). It’s a passion that he’s harboured since before his acting days.
He says: “I studied graphic design. I took classes about photography and film development. I enjoy works related to perspective, light and shadow, both positive and negative films. Whenever I travel or go anywhere for shoots, I always carry my camera with me.”
He adds: “Previously, I enjoyed capturing abstract works but, later on, when traveling, I tended to focus more on landscape photography. However, during busy work periods, I also found myself taking photos of people on the set. Most of my photographs still focus on the concept of perspective structure.”
Ethan Hawke famously proclaimed that, even though film was a visual medium, all the best directors are actors instead of cinematographers. Nine believes
a balance can be struck between both: “I still don’t see myself as a director, but I’m interested in becoming a cinematographer because I enjoy framing shots and taking pictures. However, it will probably take many years to gain more experience.”
He is also inspired by music. “I like many songs now. I have a variety in my music album, depending on my mood and the situation at that time. But the one I listen to most often is John Mayer’s album Continuum,” he shares.
International Nine
Speaking of travel, Nine’s dream destinations are Egypt, Bali, and Mongolia. “It might be about the places, food, people, landscape, and weather. After my friend went there and came back to tell me about it, it sounds very interesting. I really want to go but haven’t had the chance yet. If anyone has recommendations for places to visit there, please let me know!”
It was his first time in Geneva as well when we spoke to him, but Nine does not seem to need recommendations in western Switzerland. He was invited by Franck Muller to visit the Maison’s esteemed institutions, the Grand Malagny, where some of the Maison’s watches were showcased during its World Presentation of Haute Horlogerie and its manufacture Watchland in Genthod. At the latter, the classical terraced gardens of the estate offers breathtaking views of Lake Léman and of mighty Mont Blanc, and is truly one of the most inspirational locales in Switzerland. It was there that Nine tried his hand at watchmaking.
Nine found it lifechanging. “I feel like acting is not just a job, but it’s a life experience. Whether working with them, encountering good or bad experiences
in life, being right sometimes and wrong sometimes. These situations help me gather a collection of emotions on a different level. But right now, the job that I am interested in is to be a watchmaker. After visiting Watchland, I really liked it.”
Once he’s back in Thailand, however, he gets laser- focussed on acting and bringing scripts to life. He’s looking forwad to them. “Two other projects coming out this year are the most challenging ones in my life,” Nine says. “I’m playing two characters in a new project on Channel 3 and the movie The Mana is coming soon in Thailand. Stay tuned!”
