It's maybe the roles that the both of them get assigned? I've noticed that there is a recurring pattern on Khaotung characters prone to being extremely emotionally expressive. I'm not saying Firsts aren't expressive enough or that he isn't doing a good job delivering, which would only be a complete fucking lie.
But Ayan, Gaipa, Ray, they've all had their moments of breakdown, the catharsis of tears that often become the points of merit. It's often those scenes that are brought up while discussing Khao's acting. (Yes I am aware we're all talking about him embodying all his characters in every breath they take and no, no one could've played them better than Khaotung.)
The point is, often times emotionally explosives performances are referenced as the epitome of acting and while First has had his fair share of such scenes, the magnitude of their contexts are nowhere near the same. It hurts more to see Gaipa mourn his mother and Ray's battle against himself than Alan grieving a relationship or Sand's measured stoicism.
Khao has had the chance to nail more such roles compared to First. First's characters have more or less been reigned in, subtle in expression, always scrambling to swallow the storm type of characters. Be it Akk or Sand, they're written to choke down their feelings.
And First does it so well! It's simply incredible watching him every minute detail that flits through and how much storytelling it does. We do talk about it. The viewers, and the fans definitely do.
But yk who I wished talked more about this? The actual creative team begind the series, the writers, the directors, the show runners, the award jury, yk people whose acknowledgement and appreciation earns him more opportunities. I've always felt that they don't talk enough about him and his acting, the behind the scenes (at least for Only Friends) don't spend time on First and his before and after of a taxing performance. He's mentioned briefly, or talked about in association with Khao and there's nothing more.
Biases aside, it's a simple truth that First deserves nominations and awards. The impact of those is immense and he's proven himself time and again. He deserves to go places and people who know this, and is capable of doing something about it(and benefits from it), truly needs to act.
stormborns
areudirty
izzy806
