In 2016, Kanaphan started his acting career at the age of eighteen. He auditioned for
The Assassin (ฆาตกร), a movie produced for ''
Children's Day'', and was selected for the main role out of a pool of 100 teenagers. In 2017, he participated in the "Cool Man Good Man" competition and entered the top 4. Later that year, he was hired by KA Cosmetics, together with
Poompat Iam-samang (Up), for a
yaoi television advertisement which went viral years later. In 2018, he joined the production and talent agency
GMMTV and made his television debut with a supporting role in
Wake Up Ladies: The Series. In the same year, he became one of the hosts of
GMM25's popular travel-based show
Toe Laew. In 2020, he reprised his role as host in the show's second season. First has been a regular guest and main host (since 2022) on Thai variety and game show
School Rangers. In 2019, Kanaphan had a main role in the series
Wolf and
Blacklist. The following year, he starred in
The Shipper and reprised his role as Ryu in the sequel series
Wake Up Ladies: Very Complicated. In 2021 he played the role of Yok in
Not Me. Arguably his breakout role. In 2022, Kanaphan became an official pair with his real-life best friend
Thanawat Rattanakitpaisan (Khaotung). They starred together in
The Eclipse (Thai TV series). The series won multiple awards and was named one of
Teen Vogue's best BL Series of the year 2022. In the same year, First had supporting roles in
F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers and
Astrophile. He also had a small role in the
Netflix movie
The Lost Lotteries. In 2023, Kanaphan starred as Alan in the
Moonlight Chicken. The show won Best LGBTQ+ Programme Made in Asia at the Content Asia Awards 2023. He also reprised his role as Akk in
Our Skyy 2. For the series, First and co-star Khaotung
Thanawat Rattanakitpaisan, released the single
ฟังดีดี (Your World, My World) under
GMMTV Records. Later in 2023, he played Sand in the ensemble series
Only Friends. In 2024, Kanaphan starred as Kant opposite Khaotung in the series
The Heart Killers, which also starred
Archen Aydin (Joong) and
Natachai Boonprasert (Dunk) in lead roles. It was the number one watched series on streaming service
iQIYI while airing. The cast is currently having fan meetings around the world. Kanaphan started this year guest starring in two episodes of ''Ossan's Love Thailand
. He is currently filming the series My Magic Prophecy
. He has a supporting role and is rumored to play an antagonist. Later this year he will star in the series Cat for Cash'', opposite Khaotung. Kanaphan has participated in the GMMTV two-day concert
Love Out Loud Fan Fest in both 2023 and 2024. He will also appear in the 2025 edition. ==Public image==