Japan lusting after our pretty boy James

ACTOR JIRAYU “JAMES” Tangsrisuk has started the Year of the Monkey with a bang by shedding the monkey on his back – not an addiction but the widespread belief that a guy who’s so good-looking couldn’t possibly act well (Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp being mere flukes).
James’ just-ended TV drama series “Padiwarada” turned out to be a hit and he earned high praise for his acting, finally shutting up the sceptics. Viewers could almost see his talent blossom before their eyes, confirming suspicions that there’s more to him than just boyish charm.
Meanwhile he’s also doing well with the half-hour travel show “Tabi Japan with James Jirayu”, airing on Channel 3 SD Sundays at 5pm. That came out of a two-month odyssey around the Land of the Rising Sun last year. The way he showcases the various destinations and interacts with the locals makes the show another winner for him, garnering even more recognition back home.
Meanwhile James has signed on with the record label Universal Music Japan – voice unheard, as it were. And his rising popularity in Japan is such that our embassy in Tokyo invited him to help promote the events it sponsors, such as “The Thai Fair” to be held in the capital’s Yoyogi Park on May 14 and 15. James will be there both days.
None of this has gone unnoticed by the Japanese media, of course, which are watching gape-mouthed as this foreign kid takes Tokyo by storm. He’s appearing at endless events around the country, plus a runway show in Paris last month for Japanese fashion designer Yoji Yamamoto. Last weekend he was a guest on a Japanese TV show featuring scenes shot at the Japan Expo in Bangkok.
It’s been a whirlwind of valuable new experiences and a turning point in his life, James tells GM magazine, adding that he greatly admires the Japanese for their punctuality and self-determination.
Somehow, though, he’s still found time to turn his lifelong interest in photography into a full-blown obsession. When he first got involved in show business he was struck by the way professional photographers work and started buying cameras. From his jobs as an actor and model, he’s learned all about composition, angles and lighting.
Now James can be seen taking pictures all the time, especially of people on street, and he spends hours at home touching up the shots and printing them. His latest amusement is collecting old cameras, the kind that work with film (ask your granddad), but he’s still buying digital models too. And where better to buy cameras than – in Japan! His favourite shop is called Map Camera in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.
There are no plans as yet for a James Jirayu photo exhibition, but you can always tune in to “Tabi Japan”, where he routinely shows off his favourite shots.