Tony Jaa

07.08.2009EvilDollaR

• Stage name: Tony Jaa | Tony Jaa. Alternative Russian-language spellings of the name: Tony Ja, Tony Ya.

• Brief history of name changes:
  • Vorawit Yirum | Worawit Yeerum is a name given at birth.
  • Panom Yirum | Panom Yeerum - after his father’s prophetic dream, on July 31, 1998, he changed his real name “Voravit” to “Panom”, which means “Mountain” in Thai;
  • Thatchakorn Yirum | Thatchakorn Yeerum - after a February visit to Surin in 2009, dedicated to the start of filming “Ong-Bak 2”, he changed not only his image, but also his name. “Tatchakorn” in Thai means either “flag holder” or “standard bearer”, or “great inventor endowed with generosity and faith” (depending on the spelling of the hieroglyphs).

• Nicknames, nicknames: Jaa Panom | Jaa Panom, Jaa | Jaa or P'Jaa | P'Jaa.
• Date of Birth: 5 February 1976 year.
• Place of Birth: the city of Si-Saket near Surin (Isaan province in northeastern Thailand).
• Growth: about 172 cm (5 ft 6 in).
• The weight: approximately 62 kg (136 lb).
• Location: Bangkok and Surin (Thailand).
• Brothers and sisters: two sisters (Waewsiri and Hattaya) and a brother (Taweesak). Tony was born third.
• Education: College of Physical Education and Sports in Maha Sarakham, Thailand.
• Nationality: Thai
• Language skills: Thai, Khmer, learning English.
• Religion: Buddhism. He meditates and visits temple daily.
• Marital status: single
• Pets: two elephants with the names Flower | Dokmai (over 50 years old) and Leaf | Baimai (over 60 years old).
• Musical preferences: listens to hip-hop and Linkin Park, sings karaoke with friends, visits temples...
• Hidden talent: has a good voice and loves to sing.
• Martial arts skills: Muay Thai Boran, Krabi Krabong, sticks, swords, Pencak Silat, capoeira, wushu, judo, aikido, dancing and gymnastics...
• Martial Arts Teacher and Mentor: Panna Rittikrai | Panna Rittikrai.
• Achievements:
  • Gold medal of the Surin province in athletics.
  • Chairman of the fencing club at Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education and Sports.
  • I was in China as part of an exchange program for students studying martial arts.
  • Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education and Sports speaker on Thai martial arts, helps develop interest in sports among secondary school students.
  • Gold medal in athletics at Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education and Sports in sword fighting and gymnastics (all-around, long jump and high jump).
  • Martial Arts Publicity Representative of Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education and Sports in the Eastern Provinces.
  • Awarded the title of “Contemporary Actor of Isaan” as an actor who demonstrates cultural connection with contemporary art of Isaan.
  • Ong-Bak 2 won the Movie of the Year award at the 2009 Nine Entertain Awards.

Quotes:

“I have certain goals, but to make the future better, I first need to make the present as good as possible.”

“I am a person who has strived to make my dreams come true since childhood, and I think it was for the best. We can all have an opportunity, the main thing is to take the chance and not wait for other opportunities. We ourselves must be the creators of our own success.”

“I am lucky because I have the opportunity to live, since birth is a miracle in itself. Whether you consider yourself happy or not depends only on yourself.”

“I am grateful to you all for creating websites about me and updating them with the latest news. Wherever I am, I see news about it. When I go online, I often see photos of myself taken in different countries during promotional tours. Wherever I am, in Asia, Europe or America, I come across my new photographs on various resources. Thank you to all my fans for dedicating these sites to me.”

“Please try to remember that you are given only one life. So just be happy to be alive. Thank fate for giving you the opportunity to live it to the fullest. That’s all I wanted to tell you all.”

10 favorite on-screen fights:

1. “Return of the Dragon”
   • “I like the fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. It's very realistic."
2. "Saving Private Ryan"
   • “There are quite a few shooting scenes in the film, but there was one sequence, shot in one take, that gave the scene a sense of realism. It seemed like you were inside the frame.”
3. "The Last Samurai"
   • “I was very impressed by the performances of the cast and how convincingly and well they managed to play the samurai roles.”
4. “Crouching Tiger, Hiding Dragon”
   • “After this film, one can believe that with enough experience a person can actually fly.”
5. “Seven Samurai”
   • “The film helped reveal the secret of the samurai to future generations. Even though it was shot in black and white, it still looks very real.”
6. "Police Story"
   • “It's just a crazy and funny story.”
7. "Hero"
   • “I like fights. The actors put their whole body, soul and mind into them and made them very realistic.”
8. "Fist of fury"
   • “I like the way Bruce Lee fights with a stick.”
9. "Drunk master"
   • “A very beautiful and mysterious form of Chinese martial dance.”
10. "Indiana Jones"
    • “It was one of the most exciting films of my life. You are constantly wondering what will happen next.”

Do you know that…

• Tony began learning Muay Thai at the age of 10.
• As a child, he threatened his father that he would commit suicide if he did not allow him to learn Muay Thai.
• Tony's first lessons were given to him by his father, a former Muay Thai boxer.
• Ego idols are Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
• His parents still live in Surin with the elephants Flower and Leaf, inherited from their parents (grandparents).
• His parents were rice farmers and raised elephants, and Jaa did his first somersaults off elephant backs.
• His mentor, Panna Rittikrai, began training Tony at the age of 15.
• He loves nature and animals.
• He briefly met Jackie Chan and Steven Seagal. One day, he had the opportunity to have lunch with Jackie, but when he found out about it, he was already on the plane.
• He was Sammo Hungg's stunt double when he starred in an energy drink commercial and had to grab the elephant's tusks and somersault onto its back.
• Before Ong-Bak, he appeared as a stuntman and actor in a dozen of Panna Rittikrai's early films.
• Tony fought five times in the Muay Thai training camp ring and won all five fights.
• The stage name “Tony Jaa” was invented by the director of “Ong-Bak” Prachya Pinkaev.
• Tony has appeared in a large number of Asian commercials and commercials.
• In July 2005, in Hong Kong, he broke the record for the largest Muay Thai training session involving 1000 people.
• His father appeared in a cameo role in the film “The Protector” (Tom Yum Goong).

Biography

Few people know, but his real name is Panom Yeerum, and Tony Jaa is just a stage name. In February 2009, Tony changed his old name to Tatchakorn Yeerum.

Born on February 5, 1976 in the city of Si Saket near Surin (Isaan province in northeastern Thailand, about 457 km from Bangkok, near the border with Cambodia). He is the third of four children born into a family of farmers and elephant trainers. Since childhood, Tony grew up with elephants and every day he climbed onto the backs of two little elephants named Flower and Leaf. As the animals grew, so did Tony's skill in jumping on their backs.

“Riding an elephant is an art in itself,” he says, “but when you train them to lift things or pour water on themselves, you become one with them.”

But childhood was not so peaceful and carefree. “As a child, I played with elephants and we were always reminded that we lived in the “red zone” near the Cambodian border. We often heard the sounds of airplanes and bomb explosions.”

While helping his father grow rice and train elephants, Tony became interested in watching films with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, which were shown on white screens by a cameraman visiting their village.

Tony Jaa had to walk 10 km just to watch the film. “Thanks to Bruce and Jackie, I realized that I wanted to become a martial artist and act in films. But they were demonstrating Chinese kung fu, and I wanted to show the world Thai culture and martial arts, so I decided to study Muay Thai Boran.”

Little Tony decided to train hard to become a champion. Training took place every morning from 5 to 10 and continued after school late in the evening. The father coached his son when he went to school in Surin. At the age of 10, Tony watched the film “Born to Fight” and learned about the director Panna Rittikrai, a Thai stuntman.

At the age of 13-14, when Tony was in the third year of college, he asked Panna for permission to stay in Surin and train with him. From that moment on, Tony began working in the film industry - fetching water, cleaning seats, cooking, holding an umbrella over the camera...

Eventually, at the age of 15, Panna Rittikrai took Jaa under his wing and became his teacher. Panna lived in the northeastern province in the city of Kon Kaen and Tony was forced to move there to start training.

When he turned 21, Panna recommended Tony to enter the Maha Sarakham University, 400 km from Bangkok, it was a sports school that taught many martial arts: Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, sword fighting, Krabi Krabong, Judo, Aikido, as well as gymnastics and other sciences. He studied acting and stunts with Panna every weekend.

After brutal training, Panna offered to participate in several stunt jobs. It was then that he began to invent his own style, combining Muay Thai with gymnastics. As president of the sword fighting club, Tony was invited to China to demonstrate Thai martial arts. Tony always won gold medals in college competitions in all types of combat sports.

He made his first steps in the film industry as a stuntman in about 10 films, which gave him the opportunity to earn money after graduating from college. During his studies, Tony worked as a stunt double for Robin Shue in Mortal Kombat 2? (Mortal Kombat 2). In 1995, Panna Rittikrai decided to make a new kind of action film. A meeting with Prachya Pinkaev allowed the project to take place.

Tony Jaa studied Muay Thai for 4 years, plus he prepared for the filming of “Ong Bak” for 3 years. All fights in the film were done without wires, takes or special effects. “I decided against using wires for security because I wanted people to see real art and get that feeling of watching old Jackie Chan movies again. I wanted to show the world a different side of Muay Thai than what most people know from watching the fights in the ring.” “Ong Bak” became a super hit and elevated Tony Jaa to the rank of action stars.

Filmography

Main roles:

Ong-Bak 3 | Ong Bak 3 (2010)
Ong-Bak 2 | Ong Bak 2 (2008)
...or Ong-Bak 2: La Naissance du Dragon (France)
...or Ong-Bak 2: La leyenda del rey elefante (Spain)
Tom Yum Goong | Defender (2005)
... or L'Honneur du Dragon Tom Yum Goong (France)
... or Thai Dragon (Spain)
... or Ong-Bak 2 (Korea) ...
... or Warrior King (UK)
... or Revenge of the Warrior - Tom Yum Goong (Germany)
...or The Protector (USA, Canada)
...or Gaja Baludu, Elephant Warrior (India)
Ong-Bak | Ong Bak (2003)
...or Daredevil (USA: unofficial title)
... or Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (International title)
... or Thai Fist (Hong Kong)
... or Ong-Bak: Enter the New Dragon (India)
... or Ong-Bak: El Nuevo Dragon (Mexico)
... or Ong-Bak: Nato per Combattere (Italy)
...or Mach (Japanese alternative name)

Minor roles:

Mue Prab Puen Hode (1996)
...or Puen Hode...
...or Hard Gun...
Nuk Soo Dane Song Kram (1996)
... or Mission Hungter 2
... or Battle Warrior
Plook Mun Kuen Ma Kah 4 (1994)
... or Nuk Kah Win Yarn Hode (Thailand)
...or Spirited Killer (USA)
... or Spirited Warrior (UK)

Episodic roles:

The Bodyguard 2 | Bodyguard 2 (2007)
The Bodyguard | Bodyguard (2004)

As a backup | stuntman:

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) ... dubbed Robin Shue
Peen Klieaw 3 (1997)
Puta Khatha Thalom Khon (1997)
...or The Assaulted Incantation of Puta
Kong Tup Tieun 2 (1995)
Nuk Soo Mueang I-Saan (1995)
... or Fighters of I-Saan
Insee Dang...
Gang Gratack...
Kon Dib Lhek Nam Pee (1994)
Nuk Leng Klong Yao (1994)
Payuk Rai Chiang Choon 2 (1994)
Kuan Ouy (1993)
Singh Siam (1992)

Directed by:

Ong-Bak 3 | Ong-Bak 3 (2009) ... currently in production
Ong-Bak 2 | Ong-Bak 2 (2008)

Masterminds

Bruce Lee | Bruce Lee

“I was crazy about him. I tried to repeat his high jump. I wanted my back muscles to look like his. On the screen he moved like a cat, and I tried to do the same. My favorite Bruce Lee movie is Return of the Dragon. I was born into a family of farmers, so my mother allowed me to go play only when I finished cultivating a certain plot of land with rice, then we would run to watch movies. Sometimes we played as if we were making films ourselves. We cut out toy dolls from paper and depicted what was happening on the screen, and some people even voiced these “movie” characters.”

Jackie Chan | Jackie Chan

“Bruce Lee had a serious personality, while Jackie Chan had comedic moments. Jackie Chan used everything around him as a weapon. No matter what happened in the town, weddings, funerals, religious celebrations, films with Jackie Chan and Jet Li were always shown on a huge canvas. And although it was 10 kilometers from my village, I still ran to see them. At night, in the light of the moon, I went out into the field and repeated the movements of Jackie Chan myself. But, over time, I got tired of it, and I decided to invite my friends to watch it. We played Jackie Chan roles. I'm on an elephant - that means I'm Jackie Chan. My friends were on the buffalo, and we were about to fight. We even wrote scripts. Decorations were made from wood. They beat each other and then hid there. My mother often said: “What are you doing? What are you doing?" She came and tried to spank us!”

Jet Li | Jet Li

“The most beautiful moments that Jet Li recreates on screen are the Chinese art of Wushu. When you see something like this, you start to understand how seriously Lee takes him. And the calmness of his character sets Jet apart from everyone else.”

Panna Rittikrai | Panna Rittikrai

“He was the first to make action films in Thailand and the first to create a Thai stunt team. Panna was the main character in the film Born to Fight, which shocked Thais to see stuntmen on screen risking their lives. Playing with death is a key element of this film. He sought to show people the dedication of the personnel involved in the filming. “Born to Fight” was intended to be a kind of combination of all martial arts films. This action film inspired me and allowed me to meet the future director of “Ong-Bak” Prachya Pinkaev, who also liked the film. At the same time, my father told me to finish school. He wanted me to continue my studies and become a priest. I told my father that if he didn't let me go, I would commit suicide. So I had the opportunity to study with Panna, and later he became a stunt coordinator in Ong-Bak.”

Sources: a lot :)
Translation: EvilDollaR

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