Petchtai Wongkamlao
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| Petchtai Wongkamlao | |
 Petchtai Wongkamlao, left, with martial arts choreographer Panna Rittikrai at the press screening of Tom-Yum-Goong in 2005. |
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| Birth name | Petchtai Wongkamlao |
| Born | |
| Other name(s) | Mum Jokmok |
| Notable roles | "Dirty Balls" in Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior |
Petchtai Wongkamlao, (Thai: เพ็ชรทาย วงศ์คำเหลา), is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok (หม่ำ จ๊กม๊ก), and is a popular Thai television personality. He is variously credited as Mom Jok Mok or Mom Jokmok.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Comedian and TV shows
Mum played in various comedian groups at night in the so-called Cafe (restaurants in Thailand with live music and comedy performances). He started his own groups together with "Jaturong Mokjok". Mum became widely known to the public from the game show Ching Roi Ching Lan (ชิงร้อยชิงล้าน) hosted by Panya Nirunkul. He appeared in comedy section with his group members and performed stunts. He also cohosted with another popular game show Wethethong (เวทีทอง) with Kiat Kitcharoen. Currently he also has his own TV show named Mum Show on air every Saturday night.
[edit] Best known film role
The moon-faced funnyman is perhaps best known for his film role as George (or Dirty Balls which is from Thai northeastern spoken language word, Buk Hum Lare; บักหำแหล่), the comic-relief character in Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, a popular action film that stars Tony Jaa.
Mum reprised the comic-relief role in the followup to Ong-Bak, Tom-Yum-Goong, though instead of a con artist, as he portrayed in Ong-Bak, he was a Sydney police inspector. Much of the comedy in Tom-Yum-Goong had to do with Mum's character speaking English, which is not his first language. A gag reel over the closing credits shows him struggling with many of his lines.
[edit] First film, directorial debut
His first film role was in 2001's Killer Tattoo, the debut film by director Yuthlert Sippapak. In the story of a group of bumbling hitmen, his character was named Dog Badbomb.
After Ong-Bak became a huge hit, he was able to write, direct and star in his own film, The Bodyguard, a wire fu action film in which he portrays a bodyguard who is fired after the billionaire he is protecting is killed. Martial-arts action was choreographed by Panna Ritikrai, and Ong-Bak's Tony Jaa has a small role as a fighter in a supermarket. One of the most infamous scenes in the film is when Mum's character runs naked across Bangkok's crowded Victory Monument public square, a major junction for public transportation. In the "making of" documentary on the film's DVD, Mum says the scene was one of the most embarrassing things he's ever done.
Mum wrote, directed and starred in 2005's Yam Yasothon (Hello Yasothon), in which he got back to his roots as a nightclub (or cafe) comedian for a musical romantic comedy set in rural northeast Thailand in 1967. It was an homage to the Thai musical comedy films of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the films of Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat. The dialogue was entirely in the Isan dialect, and for its theatre screenings in Bangkok, Thai subtitles were provided so central Thais could understand. For the Thailand National Film Awards, Yam Yasothon received a best-actress nomination for Mum's co-star, Janet Kheaw.
[edit] Dramatic roles
A prolific actor and ever-present celebrity, Mum also has shown a flair for dramatic acting. Also released in 2005, he starred in Midnight My Love (Cherm), as a loner taxi driver who gets into a relationship with a massage parlor girl. Cherm was screened at the 10th Pusan International Film Festival and other festivals. For his role, Mum was nominated for best actor at the 2005 Thailand National Film Awards. His co-star, Woranut Wongsawan, was nominated for best actress.
He is often seen in smaller roles as well, including the hit 2005 Thai comedy, The Holy Man (Luang Phii Theng) as well as an uncredited role in Dumber Heroes, a part he has said he did for "a case of beer".
Mum is even an author, penning a short autobiography, The Untold Story (ISBN 974-91946-9-1).
The end of 2005 saw Mum starring in Ghost Variety (Pee Chalui), a comedy-horror story in which he plays the director of a reality TV series that searches for spirits in haunted places. The film was released on December 29, 2005. The film was directed by Adirek "Uncle" Wattaleela, a veteran producer and director, and it featured guest appearances many Thai film directors and producers, including Somsak Techaratanaprasert, Prachya Pinkaew, Piak Poster, Cherd Songsri, Yuthlert Sippapak and many others.
Along with his film work, he continues to be a regular part of the cast of the BBTV Channel 7 variety-game show, Ching-Roi-Ching-Lan, working with fellow comedians Pongsak Pongsuwan and Choosak Eamsuk.[1]
Among Mum's plans for 2006-07 is The Bodyguard 2. The movie will be a prequel that tells the story of his character Khumlao and how he came from the fictional country of Viang State to work an undercover police assignment in Thailand. His character will be posing as a luk thung singer, so in addition to action and comedy, the film will have singing and dancing.[2][3].
[edit] Filmography
[edit] As actor
- Killer Tattoo (2001)
- Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)
- Sai Lor Fah (Pattaya Maniac) (2003)
- The Bodyguard (2004)
- Midnight, My Love (Cherm) (2005)
- The Holy Man (Luang Phii Theng) (2005)
- Dumber Heroes (2005) (cameo)
- Tom-Yum-Goong (2005)
- Yam Yasothon (Hello Yasothon) (2005)
- Ghost Variety (Pee Chalui) (2005)
- Chai Lai (Dangerous Flowers) (2006)
- Krasue Valentine (Ghost of Valentine) (2006) (in film clip from The Bodyguard)
- Nong Teng Nakleng-pukaotong (2006) (cameo)
[edit] As director
- The Bodyguard (2004)
- Yam Yasothon (Hello Yasothon) (2005)
- The Bodyguard 2 (2006) (in production)
[edit] References
- Suddee, Tonghathai (September 2, 2005), "Gag Master", ThaiDay. Newspaper clipping retrieved September 2, 2005.
- Payee, Parinyaporn (June 20, 2005). "You Must Be Joking", The Nation (Thailand). Retrieved December 31, 2005.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Ching-Roi-Ching-Lan", Workpoint Entertainment.
- ^ Soop Sip, November 1, 2006. "The singing policeman", The Nation, Page A12 (print edition).
- ^ "Mum Jokmok is now shooting his new project The Bodyguard 2", ThaiCinema.org. October 28, 2006.
