ENTERTAINMENT FEATURE

Beam him up

D2B star talks about his new role as a leading man

Story by Nuttaya Muneerat

In the past, Thai films, especially Thai romantic comedies, were a huge hit with moviegoers. Then something happened. Whether it was the increasing wave of Hollywood blockbusters or the general low quality of Thai films, people no longer wanted to see Thai movies.

All that has changed now though. Thai films are back with a vengeance, drawing Thais to the theatres in huge numbers as well as gaining popularity worldwide. Even though the Thai film industry is stronger than ever, we still mostly see horror flicks or slapstick comedies. Gone are the days of the Thai romantic comedy. That is until now.

What would it take to resurrect the lost genre? How about two famous directors and the star power of one of Thailand�s most famous pop stars? Yoho Film has done just that. It has paired famous directors Haeman Chademee and Chalermpol Bunnak together to produce Sex Phone/ Khuen Ngao/ Sao Khaang Baan (Sex Phone/ Lonely Wave/ Neighbor Girl. The romantic comedy also stars Kawee Tunjararak, or Beam, the guy that puts the boy in boy band D2B.

Beam recently talked to us about his role, teaming up with beautiful actresses and making the jump from singer to leading man.

Q: Who is your character in Sex Phone/ Khuen Ngao/ Sao Khaang Baan?

A: I play Due, a young guy who has just started to work as an assistant DJ at Lonely Wave, a radio station. He is responsible for finding, arranging and playing the CDs. And sometimes, when the real DJ is away, he gets the chance to take over the microphone.

Due is a warm guy and a family man. He loves his grandfather, who has looked after him throughout his life.

Q: How did you become a leading actor?

A: Perhaps I look warm and ordinary � which were the characteristics that the director was looking for. At the same time, I was really interested in this film as well. So when I got the chance, I didn�t hesitate to say yes.

Q: Why did you want be in this movie so bad?

A: It�s a romance. I�ve always wanted to be in a romantic film. When people leave a romantic movie, they are always so happy and blissful.

Q: When you changed from being a singer to an actor, what did you have to learn?

A: I had to learn about a new style of production. I also took an acting class.

Q: What would you say is the style of Sex Phone/ Khuen Ngao/ Sao Khaang Baan?

A: It is definitely a romantic comedy. It is about a selfish, bad-tempered girl and her boyfriend. I think it is a good movie for teenagers. This style of movie had disappeared from the silver screen for a long time already. But this might be the big comeback of romantic comedy films for teens.

Q: The movie title has �Sex Phone� in it. How is this idea introduced into the movie?

A: It is one of the most important points of the movie. It comes from the misunderstanding between Due and J, the lead actress�s character. Due is trying to call J�s gay friend � a radio listener � because he left his phone number to play a game. But, J answers the phone instead. She misunderstands and thinks that Due is a psycho who is trying to scare her. J is really self-confident and starts talking dirty to Due over the phone. What she doesn�t know is that her conversation is being aired live on the radio programme.

Q: So what would you do if the same thing happened to you in real life?

A: I think I would explain that she had misunderstood me. But if she kept on talking dirty, I would probably listen to her because it would be really funny. However, if she started talking too dirty, I would hang up on her.

Q: What is your favourite scene in the movie?

A: I like one of the scenes we shot in Australia. Paula Taylor (J) and I had to hug each other at an intersection in Sydney. I was on one side of the road and she was on the other. We were supposed to meet in the middle of the road. The problem is the light only gives people 40 seconds to cross the street. When we were shooting we were afraid that we had a very short time, but we had to act like we were happy and make everything look perfect.

Q: How about the funniest scene?

A: Pee Buay (Chatewut Watcharakun) play another assistant DJ in the film. He�s a very funny guy. In one scene, he is supposed to be acting like he is sleeping, and ten be awakened quickly. He really put his heart into the scene, because when he woke up he had drool all over his face. He looked very funny, but he showed us that he is a real performer.

Q: So there are love scenes as well?

A: Yes, there is a small romantic scene, but not much else. Paula and I really only hold each other. It �s a pity that there weren�t as many love scenes as Fake had. Just kidding.

Q: So what was it like working with Paula?

A: At first I thought that Paula had to be arrogant. But after we got the chance to work together; I realised I was wrong. She is very pretty and nice to everyone.

Q: In real life, do you like women with the same personality as Paula�s role?

A: No, because J usually drinks, shouts and goes out at night. I prefer a gentler woman.

Q: Now that you�re an actor, what would you like your next movie role to be?

A: I�d like to play a guy who is under a lot of pressure, or who has a lot of things go wrong that he must figure out. Like in Unbreakable or The Sixth Sense.

VOCABULARY

with a vengeance (idiom): to a greater degree than is expected or usual
slapstick (n): the type of humour that is based on simple actions, for example people hitting each other, falling down, etc.
resurrect (v): to bring back into use something, such as a belief, a practice, etc., that had disappeared or been forgotten
genre (n): a particular type or style of literature, art, film or music that you can recognise because of its special features
characteristic (n): typical feature or quality that something/somebody has
psycho (n): a person who is mentally ill and who behaves in a very strange violent way
drool (n): saliva that comes out of the mouth