You know him as the wacky MTV VJ of Bangkok Jam who enjoys making faces at the cameras while hosting his shows. Off MTV, Uttsada Panichkul also enjoys fame in Thailand for his strong performances these recent years in acclaimed soap operas (lakorn) like Song Kram Dok Rak and Khun Chai.

This did not come easy for the entertainer better known to his fans as Utt. When he first entered the industry 10 years ago, he did not even enjoy acting and saw it as another means to diversify his income stream. His lack of passion for the craft metamorphise in his earlier works where critics panned his performances as wooden.

All these changed the day Utt met Noppol Komarachun, who directed him in the 1998 hit series Khun Chai. It was Noppol who taught Utt that there is more to acting than just memorizing lines and looking sharp for the camera.

To be able to live and breathe the role would allow the actor to send a powerful message out to the viewers, and thus indirectly influencing and educating them on the message or issues behind the story.

For his latest offering, Utt is reunited with Noppol and the result is the smashing hit series Song Kram Dok Rak which received an award from the Red Cross Society for its inspirational portrayal of the negative issues surrounding the Thai society. Utt was later selected as the spokesperson for the Red Cross as a result of his poignant portrayal of an Aids patient in the series

Born Asda Panichkul to Thai immigrants in the United States 27 years ago, Utt grew up in the sunny valleys of California aspiring someday to be a doctor or philosopher. An active kid, he was the only child in the family before the birth of his baby brother Gerald six years later.

Growing up, Utt was always the quieter one in comparison to the hyperactive Gerald who was always labeled the clown of the family. The boys grew up completely soaked in the American culture, which changed Utts ambition from wanting to be a doctor to remaining a surfer dude.

His westernized ways worried Utts mother so much that she decided to bring him back to Thailand for him to re-discover his Asian roots and values. Being left behind in Thailand with relatives that Utt hardly knew and no money, his priority was to find a way to buy a ticket back to the sunny California that he knew best.

He remembered a talent scout who spoke to him during his last visit to Thailand and thus picked up the phone book to see if he could locate him. He did and the rest following that phone call was history&

Utt was voted one of the top ten models in Thailand in 2001. In Singapore he was also voted alongside with international stars like Zhang Ziyi as Asias 20 Most Beautiful Stars by leading entertainment magazine 8 Days.

Today, he spends most of his time alternating between being a VJ for MTV, acting for Thai lakorns as well as modeling. Utt hopes to be able to break into new markets in the near future and to act in a foreign TV series or movie.