Smooth criminals

Gun and Eiw star in a crime drama

By Suwitcha Chaiyong and Sukrit Khaepimpan
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb and courtesy of Mono 29

Tee Yai is one of the most notorious Thai criminals whose story has been told several times on TV. The recent series, Tee Yai Dub Down Joen (Criminal Fortune), uses the name of this infamous criminal but tells a new story of two men, Tee Yai and Siren.

Tee Yai (Tao Somchai) is forced by the police to work undercover for a drug investigation. After the operation, the police frame Tee Yai as a drug dealer and a murderer. Ratchanon Ruenpech (Gun) plays Siren, a policeman’s son who thinks that Tee Yai murdered his family and seeks revenge.

Ahead of the series airing on Mono 29 and www.mono29tv.com, Student Weekly met up with two of its main characters, 19-year-old Gun and 22-year-old Pacharanamon Nonthapa (Eiw), who plays Siren’s girlfriend Thansai. The young stars told us more about the series.

Student Weekly: What were your first impressions of each other?

Gun: I was nervous because she looks mature. When we trained together in a workshop, I saw that she always had a smile on her face. She works hard and we work together well.

Eiw: I was excited because I was a fan of Gun’s boy band Evo Nine. He’s good at making conversation, so I felt relaxed.

Student Weekly: Are you similar to your character?

Gun: Siren and I are totally different. He loses his family and has asthma. I had to learn about asthma on the Internet and the director also guided me on how to act like an asthma sufferer.

Eiw: Thansai is a bit boyish and has Gun as her best friend, but I only have female friends. When we performed together, I felt awkward to hug or touch him. We had to build our friendship so I could act comfortably with him.

Student Weekly: How do you feel about working with veteran actor Tao Somchai?

Gun: He’s funny and likes to tease other people. But on set he’s dedicated to his work. When I performed with him, I could feel his energy and emotion, so I could react to him easily. He also gave me some tips about camera angles.

Eiw: He’s nice. He bought me ice cream.

Student Weekly: Gun, how did you prepare for the action scenes?

Gun: I was trained how to use different types of gun and how to handle guns like a cop and a criminal. I’m fine handling a pistol, but a shotgun is quite difficult because it has a strong recoil.

Student Weekly: Eiw, what are the differences between working on TV and film?

Eiw: In the film Hor Taew Tak (Hunting Me), the actors got scripts on the day of filming. Also, the comedians were hilarious. I had to concentrate on my dialogue try not to laugh. For TV, I stick to the scripts which makes my acting unnatural.

Student Weekly: Gun, you’re also in the horror series, Project X: Fam Lab Game Sayong (Project X: Mystery File, Horror Game). Do you believe in ghosts?

Gun: Yes. We once filmed in a building where the owner lives on one floor and the other floors are empty. In the basement, there was a spot where I suddenly felt goosebumps and another actor did as well. We heard footsteps when we were on other floors, but nobody was there.

Student Weekly: Why should viewers check out Criminal Fortune?

Eiw: The series is realistic. It reflects the dark side of our society.

Gun: Viewers will learn the stories of Tee Yai and Siren. The show reminds us that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. A bad guy also has a positive side and a good guy may not be what we think.

comments powered by Disqus