Optimum effort lands Eric Bana on the cover
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Thai Vogue made a big deal out of recruiting Naomi Campbell for its cover, only to face backlash for the supermodel's lightened skin. Now another local mag has landed a foreign face for its cover, but they are keeping it real.
The Thai edition of France’s L’ Optimum men’s lifestyle magazine bids farewell to 2013 with Hollywood star Eric Bana staring right back at you with his big brown eyes, grey hair and salt-and-pepper beard.
It’s an exclusive for the Thai market, says the magazine’s editor-in-chief Ston Tantraporn, who chatted up Bana at an international fashion week and convinced him to be the cover man.
“I never plan what to do next. I use my instinct to react to the situation in front of me,” says the T-shirted actor, embodying his laid-back cover image.
Flip inside and you can read more about the star of such movies as “Troy” and “Hulk”. An Australian who worked as a comedian before finding fame as a Hollywood leading man, he makes a point of flying home right after finishing a movie. Once back Down Under, he ducks under the bonnet of his beloved 1974 Ford XB Falcon. His first car, he’s kept it running since he was 15.
Not a guy to seek out the limelight, Bana says he’s never searched for himself on Wikipedia he has no idea what they say about him there. Which also means he’s probably not reading Soopsip either.
What’s Benz driving at?
Celebrity couple Boromwut “Mic” Hiranyatsathiti and Pornchita “Benz” Na Songkhla were wed on November 8 in a small ceremony for family and friends in Hua Hin. They are planning a bigger celebration for April 26, but haven’t yet decided where.
“I want the party to be convenient and economical,” Benz says. “I don’t want to waste a lot of money. I’d rather keep it for something else like raising a baby,” she adds, probably half-joking about the baby.
Busy with work, the “Thailand's Got Talent” judge has two soap operas lined up for the coming year, which means it might be 2015 before she can really think about motherhood.
“I may consult doctor and try to do a ‘gift’ baby and have twins – one boy and one girl. We have told our parents and they are happy about it,” she says.
Meanwhile, Benz and her new hubby are trying to carve out time for each other.
“We normally stay home one to two days a week,” Benz explains. “We still have to learn about each other but we have been so busy. We even joke, ‘why did we get married since everything is pretty much the same as before’.”
Time to celebrate
Soopsip is taking a break for the holidays! Ok, stop cheering. We’ll return next Saturday with a “super Soopsip” covering our favourite gossip this year. We’ll then be back in our usual mode on January 3. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.
