The long road to stardom

Young actor Chaiyaphol Julien Poupart has spent the last 15 months working alongside director ML Bandevanop “Mom Noi” Devakul and leading lady Davika Hoorne perfecting his acting skills and immersing himself in the character of a farmboy in the new version of the classic romanc e of Thai literature “Plae Kao” (“The Scar”).

Today, with the film in cinemas nationwide, the youngster can sit back and enjoy the fruits of his success.

Based on the novel by Kan Phuengboon Na Ayutthaya, writing under the penname Mai Maungderm, the “Romeo and Juliet”-like tale of star-crossed romance is set in the Bang Kapi area in the 1920s or ’30s, when the bustling Bangkok suburb was nothing but rice fields. The novel has been made into films and TV series before, one of the most beloved being director Cherd Songsri’s 1977 film, starring Sorapong Chatree and Nantana Ngaokrajang. It is considered a classic of Thai cinema. 

It tells the story of the unrequited love between young Kwan (Chaiyaphol) and Riam (Davika). A relationship hindered from the start by their parents’ animosity towards each other, their situation worsens when Riam is sold to a wealthy city woman, Khunnai Thongkamplew (Sinjai Plengpanich). She adopts Riam and gives her a luxurious new life, taking her overseas and promising her in marriage to the rich politician Somchai. When Riam returns to the village to visit her sick mother, Kwan tries to rekindle their relationship.

Chaiyaphol admits that portraying Kwan was difficult but says he stuck faithfully to the novel and added a playful side to the character.

“Kwan is totally different from me. He is hot-tempered and reckless and that lands him in trouble. And he never learns from his mistakes,” says the actor.

While Chaiyapol and Davika think of themselves as Thai, both have Belgian blood, Chaiyaphol through his grandfather and Davika through her dad. Before the film was released, much criticism was aimed at director Mom Noi for selecting actors with Caucasian features and pale skin, very different from the traditional portrayal of Kwan and Riam.

Those criticisms evaporated with the first screening, as it became clear that their acting skills far outweighed their appearance. Chaiyaphol in particular spent a full eight months prior to filming preparing for the role. In addition to reading the novel and watching Cherd’s film, he moved to rural Suphan Buri and learned about rice planting and the tough life of farmers.

“To be honest, I like our version the most. Perhaps it’s because I’m a member of this generation and this version is more light-hearted and appropriate for our time,” Chaiyaphol says, adding that the book with its beautiful language and poetic turn of phrase is sometimes hard to understand. Cherd’s version, meanwhile, is too realistic for him and he felt uncomfortable with the tense drama.

“But it doesn’t mean that Mom Noi’s version is perfect and I do think Cherd’s version is excellent,” he says.

A protege of Mom Noi, Chaiyaphol’s previous role was as the major supporting character Ken Krathingtong in the director’s two-part reimagining of “Jan Dara” in 2012 and 2013.

He got his start in TV commercials then went on to audition for a part an Exact-Scenario TV drama. The production company, which is run by impresario Takonkiet Viravan and a co-producer of “The Star” reality talent contest, regularly sends its new actors to improve their skills with Mom Noi. Chaiyapol, though, didn’t have “The Star” credentials and thus spent several years working with the director, interspersed with the occasional role on TV, before gradually appearing in Mom Noi’s films.

There was a time he wanted to give up and return to leading to a normal life. Mom Noi discouraged that idea and suggested the youngster take time out to study instead. Chaiyaphol followed the advice, graduated from Chulalongkorn University’s Sports Science faculty, then returning to his acting career. Although he was given a small part Mom Noi’s “Chua Fah Dinslai” (“Eternity”) in 2008, he appeared for just seconds on film and can only be seen in the director’s cut.

“Mom Noi has always taught me that every character in a film is important otherwise the writer wouldn’t include it. The good thing about a minor role is that it forces you to learn the character,” he says.

The director also cast the youngster his 2011 “Rashomon” adaptation, “Umong Pha Muang”, in which he portrayed the brother of Mario Maurer’s monk character and worked on the set as an intern the rest of the time.

“He didn’t want to see me sitting comfortably while the others were working on so I had to learn every job on the film set. It was a lot of fun.

“Mom Noi has made me what I am today so I do anything he tells me. I’m grateful for the chances he’s given me and I am also grateful to Somsak ‘Sia Jiang’ Techaratanaprasert for agreeing to let me, a new actor, play Kwan,” he says. 

He adds that he loves every moment of his acting career, especially the experience of portraying a new character on screen.

“To me, success is about three things. The first is doing my best every day, the second is making the director and producers happy with my work, and the third is making the audience happy. I welcome criticism as I know I can learn from it and improve and while I don’t like harsh comments, I accept them providing that the person making them has actually seen me act.”

Chaiyaphol’s ultimate dream is to pursue his acting career in Hollywood but he isn’t in any rush. He tries to take part in auditions for foreign films shooting in Thailand and says he gains a lot of experience from the audition even if he doesn’t land a part.

In the meantime he’s also preparing for another new version of a classic film, “Monrak Luk Thung”, the latest project of Paripan Watcharanon, aka Toh Pantamit, leader of Panthamitr film dubbing team.