Tony Jaa Biography

Summary

"Panom Yeerum" (; ; ) born on February 5, 1976 in Surin Province, Thailand, better known in the West as "Tony Jaa" and in Thailand as "Jaa Panom", is a Thai martial art film actor, choreographer and director. His films include "Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior" and "Tom-Yum-Goong" (also called "Warrior King" or "The Protector").

Biography

Early life

Born in Surin Province in the Isan region of Thailand, near the border with Cambodia. Jaa grew up in a rural area and watched films by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li at temple fairs. While doing chores or playing with friends, he would imitate the martial arts moves he had seen in the films. He would practice in his father's rice paddy or, when bathing the family's elephants, he would somersault off their backs into the river.

'What they did was so beautiful, so heroic. I wanted to do it, too,' Jaa told "Time" in a 2004 interview. 'I practiced until I could do the move exactly as I had seen the masters do it.'

At age 15, he looked up Panna Rittikrai, begging the veteran Thai stuntman and action-film director to take him on as a protege. Panna instructed Jaa to attend Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education in Maha Sarakham Province.

First films

He initially worked as a stuntman on Panna's team, Muay Thai Stunt, appearing in many of Panna's films. He doubled for Sammo Hung when the martial-arts actor made a commercial for an energy drink that required him to grasp an elephant's tusks and somersault onto the elephant's back. He also appeared in "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation", as a stunt double for Robin Shou (Liu Kang), and was a stunt double in the Thai television series "Insee Daeng" ("Red Eagle").

Together, Panna and Jaa developed an interest in Muay Boran, an ancient style of Muay Thai and worked and trained for six years at the art with the intention of developing a film around it. Eventually they were able to put together a short film showing what Jaa could do. One of the people they showed it to was producer-director Prachya Pinkaew, who was duly impressed.

This led to "Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior" (???????) in 2003, Jaa's break-out role as a leading man. Jaa did all the stunts without mechanical assistance or computer-generated effects and it showcased his style of extreme acrobatics and speedy, dance-like moves. Injuries suffered in the filming included some kind of injury to one of his ligaments and a sprained ankle. One scene in the film involved fighting with another actor while his own trousers were on fire. 'I actually got burned,' he said in a 2005 interview. 'I really had to concentrate because once my pants were on fire the flames spread upwards very fast and burnt my eyebrows, my eyelashes and my nose. Then we had to do a couple more takes to get it right.'.

With the film, he was hailed as Asia's next martial-arts film superstar. And as Jaa has gained popularity, older films he made with Panna began to be released on DVD and VCD and become available internationally. These include "Spirited Killer" and "Mission Hunter 2".

Rise to fame

His second major movie was "Tom-Yum-Goong" (?????????; also the name of a hot and sour soup, "Tom yum kung" (?????????)). This movie enjoyed even greater success in Thailand and Hong Kong than "Ong-Bak" when released, and was subsequently picked up for release in the United States by the Weinstein Company, which retitled the film as "The Protector".

As he did to promote the release of "Ong-Bak", Jaa was again busy travelling the world to promote "The Protector". In August 2006, he was in New York to promote the US release of "The Protector", including an appearance at the Museum of the Moving Image.

Next projects

Tony's name is often included on the 'wish lists' of various directors. An early rumor was that he was to be the villain in "Live Free or Die Hard" – gossip that he was quick to deny.

Sahamongkol Film International advertised at film markets that his third film would be called "Sword" or "Dab Atamas", but then in March 2006 it was reported that there would be a sequel to "Ong-Bak", "Ong-Bak 2". With Tony both directing and starring, it started production in fall 2006 and will be released in late 2007.

His films captured the attention of his hero, Jackie Chan, who asked director Brett Ratner to cast Tony in "Rush Hour 3". 'I gave the director videos of Tony Jaa because I think Tony Jaa is the most well-rounded of all action stars,' Chan told the Associated Press. 'The director liked him a lot,' Chan said. However, Tony said he'd be unable to participate because of scheduling conflicts with the shooting of "Ong Bak 2".

In "Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior" there is a spray-painted message in the background in one scene that says 'Hi Spielberg, let's do it together', which states Tony Jaa's wish to work with Steven Spielberg. Tony has further stated a desire to be cast in the upcoming "Indiana Jones 4" sequel.

Additionally, veteran Hong Kong martial arts coordinator Lau Kar-leung has mentioned Tony as someone he'd like to work with.