Actor O foregoes Airbus in favour of jumbo-size recovery

Actor Varut “O” Woratham has just shed the robes after a brief stint of holiness in Chiang Mai and, being keen to begin life all over again, got rid of his son.

Well, it wasn’t quite like that. The 47-year-old relinquished “full responsibility” for his seven-year-old boy, Airbus, the sole fruit of his expired marriage to Jessadawan Chantaeng. We’ll let O explain:

“The kid knows I’m his father,” he said on the celebrity-talk programme “The Erk Show” last week. “Five years after I split with my ex I still care about him and see him, but I know I can’t be a good father to him. That’s why I was so happy to find that my ex’s new husband is a great guy who will raise Airbus well. 

“I told Airbus to call him Dad and call me Uncle because I want him to really bond with his new dad, to have a good future and a good life. I’m still in his life, but I’ll keep my distance and consider myself an uncle to him.”

If it sounds like a cop-out, remember that O has his hands full just taking care of himself. The one-time superstar of TV series and major films like the 1987 rendition of “Koo Kam” hit the skids as a result of heavy drinking. He lost half a liver, a fortune in earnings, a marriage and a reputation because he was often too smashed or hung over to work. 

There were drinking-related car accidents that fortunately didn’t kill anyone, though not for lack of trying. There were months devoted to rehabilitation. Ultimately there was a low-key comeback last year, and then the turn as a monk.

“Life was a mess for me for awhile,” O admitted. “Since being in the monkhood I’m calmer and I see things more clearly, and I know what I need to do now. I’ve been given a chance to prove myself again in show business, an opportunity I’ll seize with determination, and I will not mess it up this time. 

“People ask me a lot if I’ll remarry. All I can say right now is that my priority is to work and take care of my parents. I want to reinvent myself and make my parents happy after causing them so much pain for so many years.”

Is he still on the booze? “I still drink, but only very little – once a month when I hang out with my friends,” he said, an uh-oh moment, but then he added, “Alcohol is a dangerous thing, especially when it controls you. And I learned that the hard way. One too many drinks can really trigger a snowball effect that ruins your life. Please learn from me and be warned.”