I first saw Toni Rakkaen in Josh Kim’s How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), and while his role is short, he managed to make a lasting impression.

Toni Rakkaen “IIrah Wimonchailerk” อิราวิมลชัยฤกษ์  plays the Adult ‘Oat’ who looks back on his life on the day of his own draft. Unlike his older bro, who was murdered during his military draft, Toni’s character puts all the stops to prevent such tragedy from happening. His ‘Oat’ learns to be cunning, shrewd, and unforgiving.

—Edited by TheFNGee

Rakkaen is a popular star in his home country of Thailand, where he has acted in over 20 films and TV series.

from Checkers Production Notes

… Toni Rakkaen is a promising performer who began acting after growing up in Melbourne. [ source ]

The quote is from an introduction to another one of his movies, Snap. This movie is in competition at the current Tokyo International Film Festival, and the storyline is quite interesting since it’s so much different from Rakkaen’s other film (Checkers) – though there is that similarity in regards to the military flavor (Thai’s imposition of a martial rule)… Snap is a romantic love story from director Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, the man behind heartwarming rom-coms like Cherm (2005) and Kod (2008).

Profiler:

Real Name: Theerachai Wimolchaireuk (ธีรชัย วิมลชัยฤกษ์)
Changed to: Iirah Wimolchaireuk (อิรา วิมลชัยฤกษ์)
Nickname: Toni
Profession: hair stylist/actor/model
Date of birth: Jan. 21, 1982
Birthplace: Thailand
Height:176cm

A 2013 photo shoot at a Magazine project @TENN Magazine is below:

I wonder at the term “promising” since Toni is already 33, but then again, it seems he has other passions aside from acting.

Here’s another clip, this time for Hamburger Magazine:

Toni is half Thai- half Vietnamese. His father is Vietnamese with a mix of French, and his mother is Thai. His parents are divorced. Toni lived and studied in Melbourne for 12 years. After graduating, he came back to Thailand and interned as an art director for Leo Burnett Thailand, but he didn’t like working there because he couldn’t really enjoy being creative due to the nature of the advertisement with which he was in charge.

Later on, he was interviewed in a magazine and stated that when he was in Melbourne, he was a hair stylist’s assistant and Loogkade Methinee and Kai Somporn read it so they asked him to be a staff at their salon, called “The Lounge Hair Salon”. Toni is currently a hair stylist at “The Lounge Hair Salon.” Toni is good at soccer and can sing. He sometimes takes on jobs in the entertainment business like modeling and acting, but he says that his priority is being a hair stylist.

Toni Rakkaen – ShareRice Wiki (AFN)