Interview: JANE YEH Talks Mad Unicorn, Love Design, and Her Evolving Acting Career

Methika Jiranorraphat, more widely known as Jane Yeh, has spent the past decade expanding the scope of what she can do on screen. The Thai-Taiwanese actress and singer began her career in 2015 and quickly moved from supporting roles to leading performances across both television and film. 

Her early breakthrough came with My Dear Loser: Edge of 17 in 2017, followed by The Gifted in 2018, one of the most talked about Thai dramas of its time. As Claire, a perceptive student who experiences emotions through sound and colour, Jane brought a strong emotional depth to her character. She later returned to the role in The Gifted: Graduation, expanding Claire’s internal conflicts as the story matured. 

In 2020, she shifted into darker territory with After Dark: The Series. As Dao, she embraced a more psychologically demanding character, earning nominations at the Asian Television Awards and the Nataraja Awards. The recognition spoke to her ability to carry complex material. 

In recent years, Jane has continued to test her range. She moved between suspense in Home School and contemporary romance in Beauty Newbie before stepping into a defining new chapter in 2025 with the Thai drama series Mad Unicorn. As Xiao Yu, she took on one of her most high profile roles to date, portraying a strategist navigating ambition, loyalty, and power inside a disruptive startup. The character placed her at the heart of a story driven by tension and shifting alliances. Playing Xiao Yu brought Jane widespread acclaim, including Actress Spotlight of the Year at the FEED x Khaosod Awards and national recognition at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, marking a major milestone in her career. 

Credit: Jane Yeh

Later that year, she shifted tone again with Love Design, her first girls’ love series, starring opposite Kao Supassara Thanachat. As Rin, Jane embraced emotional openness and vulnerability, allowing audiences to witness gradual personal growth on screen. Unlike the controlled intensity of Xiao Yu, Rin moves through the story with warmth and uncertainty, learning about love, trust, and self acceptance in real time. 

Jane also showed a lighter, more playful side in this role. She allowed Rin to be awkward at times, a little unsure, even funny in the way she reacted to love and new feelings. Those small, human moments made the character feel real. Her chemistry with Kao became one of the most talked about aspects of the series. It was not built on grand gestures, but on subtle looks, comfortable pauses, and the sense that the two characters genuinely enjoyed being around each other. That natural rhythm gave their relationship warmth and made Rin’s emotional journey feel intimate and honest rather than staged. 

As Thai and Asian series continue to find audiences around the world, Jane Yeh’s performances feel like a strong entry point for viewers discovering her for the first time. No matter the genre, she takes time to understand who the character is before stepping in front of the camera. Taken together, her recent projects reflect an actress who is still evolving, curious about how far she can go, and unafraid to step into unfamiliar territory.

On behalf of BroadwayWorld, I spoke to Jane Yeh about the choices that have shaped her career so far, from the intensity of Mad Unicorn to the emotion of Love Design. Thoughtful and reflective in her responses, she kept coming back to one idea: authenticity. 

For audiences discovering her work for the first time, Jane describes herself as someone drawn to “characters with emotional layers and roles that leave space for inner exploration.” She is especially interested in stories that “do not explain everything directly, but instead hide small complexities beneath the surface.” When approaching a script, she often asks, “Why is she like this?” and “What has she been through?” For Jane, digging into a character’s psychology is about “understanding a real human being, not simply performing lines.” That process of discovery, she says, “is what I love most about acting.”

Credit: Jane Yeh

That work begins long before filming. Building layered characters, she explains, starts with preparation. She imagines the character’s life beyond what is written, how she grew up, her family dynamics, and what emotional wounds she might carry. Even if those details never appear on screen, they help her understand why the character behaves the way she does. Once she understands a character’s roots, the performance comes more naturally because every reaction has a reason behind it.

Jane also places strong emphasis on relationships. “No one exists alone, we become who we are because of the people around us,” she says. After understanding a character’s history, she focuses on how that character interacts with others. Acting, in her view, “is not just about one person.” It is about “listening, receiving energy from your scene partner, and responding truthfully.” At its best, she adds, “it feels more like a conversation between hearts.”

Looking back at her career, she sees each role as something that shaped her. “Every role I’ve played has been a teacher to me,” she reflects. Some projects gave her confidence. Others taught her patience. Others helped her understand herself better. Over time, her approach to choosing work shifted. “Choosing a project is not about how big or popular it is,” she says. Instead, she asks herself, “Does this story truly mean something to me?” and “Will I grow from this experience?” What stays with her, she notes, “is not the outside success, but what you learn along the way.” If a role excites her or “even scares me a little because it is challenging,” that is usually a sign she should take it.

Credit: Jane Yeh

That mindset is clear in the contrast between Mad Unicorn and Love Design. “These two projects felt like completely different challenges,” she says. Mad Unicorn required “a lot of internal energy,” with many scenes relying on silence and subtle expression. In moments where everyone around her character was celebrating, she recalls having to show that inside she was carrying anxiety and pressure, describing it as “holding two worlds at once.” To convey that tension, she focused on small details, “a glance, a breath, and a moment of stillness.” Rather than performing emotion, she tried to “truly feel what she felt.” As she puts it, “sometimes silence and honesty can say more than dialogue.”

Love Design demanded something different. As Rin, she needed to be “more emotionally open and brighter to build chemistry with others.” She felt especially connected to the theme of gradual growth. “Rin does not experience one big life changing moment,” she explains. “She grows little by little through experiences, relationships, and mistakes.” Jane appreciated how we see her becoming “stronger, more confident, and more understanding of herself in a very natural way.” Portraying that subtle evolution was “challenging but also beautiful, because it feels closest to real life.”

Working on two extremes helped her recognize her own development. “I do not want to stay in one box,” she says. Adjusting her mindset, body language, and energy between the two roles pushed her technically. “Maybe this is the moment when I truly discovered my range.”

As her performances reach viewers around the world, including audiences in cities like Vancouver who actively engage with Asian storytelling, Jane believes what truly crosses borders is authenticity. “It is not about trying to make something ‘international,’ but about being honest and natural with the character,” she says. “The more truthful you are, the more universal it becomes.” She believes audiences can sense sincerity. “If you are simply a human being honestly experiencing something, people connect immediately.” What does she hope global audiences notice first? “Sincerity,” she answers. “If audiences simply feel, ‘I believe her,’ that’s already enough for me.”

Balancing instinct and challenge continues to shape her development as an actress. “Instinct tells me what feels right, but challenge is what helps me grow,” she says. When considering a role, she asks herself two questions: “Do I understand this character?” and “Will this role take me somewhere new?” Being an actress, she believes, means “never stopping learning” and allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable at times, because that is where discovery happens.

Credit: Jane Yeh

Ultimately, she hopes her work leaves something meaningful behind. “Maybe a small question about life, or a bit of inspiration that helps people understand themselves better,” she says. She does not expect to change anyone’s life, but if a character can make someone “feel stronger or less alone,” that is enough. To her, acting “is not just entertainment. It is about sharing human experiences with one another.”

Looking ahead, Jane wants to continue taking risks and surprising herself. She is drawn to heavy drama, psychological stories, and personalities very different from her own. “Whenever you feel scared or unsure, that is usually where growth happens,” she says. What excites her most is “discovering that I can go further than I thought and that there are still many sides of me waiting to be explored.” For Jane, the next chapter is not about comfort, but about testing her limits.

Jane Yeh will next appear in the Thai mystery thriller Girl From Nowhere: The Reset as Blossom, set to premiere next month. The role marks a return to darker, suspense driven storytelling, continuing her interest in complex characters. With each role, she moves closer to the kind of performer she has always set out to become.

Top Photo Credit: Jane Yeh