Making merit with Pope
The hot young actor takes fans on a merit-making trip to a riverside temple
Thanavat “Pope” Vatthanaputi, a young actor who found fame by chance after being cast as Khunchai MR Prawonruj in Channel 3’s hit series “Juthathep Gentlemen” series, was quickly snapped up by new online shopping site iTrueMart for its first activity, “Long Ruea Wai Phra Kap Pope Thanavat”.
The 31-year-old actor joined 45 lucky customers and fans at the Royal Thai Navy Hall Pier from where they travelled by boat to Wat Dhevaraj Kunchon, a temple that was built during the Ayutthaya era on the banks of the Chao Phraya River.
During the cruise, the MC posed a series of questions to Pope’s fan club. They included “What is his blood type?” (O) and “What kind of movie – drama or romantic – does he favour? (Romantic). Surprisingly, perhaps, only a few fans came up with the right answers.
After disembarking at the temple, the group made their way to the Phra Ubosot, home to the Buddha image of Phra Buddha Dhevaraj Patimakorn.
Inside the Ubosot, Pope and fans made merit and presented offerings to the monks. Before leaving, the abbot sprinkled holy water on them all.
Before returning to the boat, each fan was given the opportunity of posing for a souvenir shot with Pope.
“Usually, I go to the temple with my mother or alone and I usually go to Wat Chanasongkhram that I ordained as a monk,” says Pope. “I think that these days, most people expect something back from the merit making. I personally hope for a better and happier life the next time round.”
The young actor made his debut in “The Legend of King Naresuan 3” and also played in “October Sonata” as well as the TV series "Dok Som See Thong". He insists he’s very different from his Khunchai Prawonruj character.
“Prawonruj is a gentleman with a mild manner and a feeling of inferiority feeling. I’m easy-going and don’t speak like Prawonruj,” he says.
Pope is now playing another noble character, Mom Luang Phisut, in the new TV series, “Samee Tee Tra”.
“It’s actual quite hard to play similar characters. I have to focus on portraying ML Phisut in a very different way. It’s a challenge.”
