Witwisit Hiranyawongkul
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| Witwisit Hiranyawongkul | |
|---|---|
 Witwisit Hiranyawongkul at Star Entertainment Awards 2007 |
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| Born | Witwisit Hiranyawongkul July 20, 1989 Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| Other name(s) | Pitch, Pchy |
| Occupation | actor, singer |
| Years active | 2007- |
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul (Thai: พิช-วิชญ์วิสิฐ หิรัญวงศ์กุล’, born July 20, 1989) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a Thai actor and singer.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Life
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, popularly nicknamed Pitch and Pchy, was born and raised in a Christian-Catholic family in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. A talented singer, Pitch was the lead singer in his high school band and music has always been a big part of his life. Pitch enjoys Hip Hop, R&B, Gospel and Soul music. He plays the piano and composes music in his free time.
Besides music, Witwisit is also a fan of the Japanese manga series Nodame Cantabile and Lomography. In fact, he brought his camera to the set of The Love of Siam.
His favourite quote is "No one is PERFECT".
[edit] Student Life
Pitch attended Montfort College, a prestigious school in Chiang Mai. He entered the Thai entertainment business at the age of 17 while he was still in grade 12. He was discovered in his hometown by Chukiat Sakweerakul, writer and director of The Love of Siam. Chukiat is an alumni of Montfort College and met Pitch because of their common music interests.
At grade 12, Pitch decided that he would major in Communications at university. In one interview, he expressed "I like to write and tell stories, my friends always tell me they enjoy reading what I write." He was admitted to the Faculty of Communications, Chiang Mai University.
He declined the offer because he had already started filming The Love of Siam at that time and knew that if he wanted to continue being in the entertainment business, he would have to move to Bangkok. Later, he was admitted to the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Comunication, Thammasat University, Bangkok. He started his first year of university around mid 2007 and intends to concentrate on film/screen writing.
[edit] Acting Career
[edit] Career Debut
During his school's summer break in 2006, Pitch and several of his classmates took a trip to Bangkok and visited a film shooting site of "13 Beloved" also directed by Chukiat Sakweerakul. He was then invited to play an extra in the film. Only his arm can be seen.
[edit] The Love of Siam
Chukiat Sakweerakul picked Pitch to play "Mew", one of the leading characters in The Love of Siam, because the role requires the actor to sing and playing the piano. Chukiat also found Pitch very natural at acting. Pitch's good looks also contributed to the casting. Pitch was aware that the film would involve love between two highschool boys with a kissing scene. He took the role because he trusted that the director would present the scenes in the movie in a good way. When asked about the most talked about scene from the movie, Pitch credited the camera angle and said that the director told him to practice by kissing his own arm.
In The Love of Siam, Pitch plays "Mew", a lonely high school boy who lives alone after his grandmother's demise. Mew is a musical talent; he is the songwriter and lead singer of an all-boy band called August. The band's first single 'Ticket' was a hit among teenagers. However, the producer of the band wants Mew to write songs with a more universal theme: love. The producer argues that "95% of hit songs are love songs" and tells Mew "At your age, it's easy to write a love song." However the task is difficult for Mew, as he has lived 5 years without love after the death of his grandmother. However, Mew's life changes after he runs into Tong, his childhood friend, at Siam Square. After Tong comes into his life, Mew seems to be able to write love songs naturally. A large part of the movie revolves around Mew's question about love "if you love someone, can you bear losing that person? But can you live without loving anyone at all? What about the rest of your life?"
Although Pitch was relatively unknown to the public at the time of the movie's release, the audiences were immediately impressed by his portrayal of Mew. They were captured by his charm, sweetness and ability to display vulnerability on screen.
When asked about his favourite part, Pitch said that the scene that he played best was one when Tong's mother (played by Sinjai, one of Thailand's biggest stars) came to confront Mew at home. Pitch told a reporter "If I had to go back and act in that scene again, I'm not sure if I could be as good as before."
The audiences were struck with the images of Mew that Pitch portrayed onscreen. In the movie, Mew is sweet, sensitive and charming. Naturally, fans want to find out what Pitch is like in real life. Fans looked through information on the internet including his personal weblogs and followed his interviews when he appeared in promotional events. They found out that Pitch in real life is more like a straight-talking and quick-witted teenager than what was portrayed as Mew's character. Nevertheless, fans still find the real Pitch charming and continue to adore him.
[edit] Music Career
Pitch has been involved in music since his early years. His first public work was singing the original soundtrack song for the movie "Khao Niew Moo Ping." In The Love of Siam soundtrack, he also contributed several songs. He even composed the music and wrote the lyrics of the song "Ru Suek Bang Mai" (Do you feel...?). Pitch explained that he found inspiration to write the song after his friend consulted him about a love problem.
The on-screen August has also become a real band with Pitch as the lead singer. Pitch and August started their group career by singing and playing in The Love of Siam's promotional events. Soon organisers wanted the band to play at music festivals and many other events. The audiences were impressed by the young band member's ability to play instruments and their teenage energy. Pitch is proven to be excellent singing live and a good stage entertainer. The 11-member band (including Pitch) released their first album "August*Thanx" as a band in February 2008.
[edit] The Price of Fame
The Love of Siam was filmed from December 2006 to early 2007. Pitch had to travel back and forth between Chiang Mai and Bangkok for the filming. Between the time the movie was completed and released, Pitch completed his high school and moved to Bangkok to attend Thammasat University and live as an ordinary student. After The Love of Siam was released in late November 2007, Pitch became famous almost instantly, especially among young Thais. Soon his fans started to search for information, followed him to all the events he attended, taking thousands of photos and posted on the internet. Some went as far as following him to his dormitory. Pitch was initially very uncomfortable with the attention. He told a reporter, "I would like to go back and live a normal life." Also, he mentioned that he would prefer working behind the scenes in the future.
Fortunately, Pitch seemed to have adjusted to his new life. In one of his interviews, he commented "I appreciate my fans, it's nice to know they are following my work. They had understood me and kept the right distance." Several fanclub websites have been set up and Pitch occasionally writes or replies to his fans on the webboard.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Pitch and Mario
One of the factors contributing to The Love of Siam's success is the chemistry between Mew and Tong, played by Mario Maurer, now a rising star in Thailand. Pitch told reporters Mario and him are just good friends. He credited film editing for the good chemistry displayed on-screen. "We are not that sweet to each other," Pitch laughed. "Usually, when having dialogue in the movie, we were facing different cameras." On the movie set, Pitch's eyes usually met the film crews, who made sure he made the right expression.
[edit] Snob?
Because Pitch had initially expressed his discomfort with fame, some reporters interpreted that he did not like the entertainment business. Some went as far as calling him a snob.
Chukiat Sakweerakul who has become his mentor told Lips Magazine that "Pitch is very direct with his facial expression, when he is tired or bored, his facial expression just shows." Chukiat has taught Pitch that "You study Journalism and Communications, it would be strange if you say you don't like fame!"
Now, Pitch has adjusted to his life as a public figure.
[edit] Work after "Siam"
[edit] Acting
In 2008, Pitch appeared in the music video for female Thai R&B singer Nasnan's song, "Hak Tur Mod Rak" (If You Have Lost Your Love), as the singer's love interest. In the video, Pitch plays Nasnan's boyfriend whose love starts to wane and who becomes involved with another girl. In one of the scenes, he is slapped in the face by Nasnan.
Pitch also acted in a short film called "Dopamine," also directed by Chukiat. The film revolves around the question "What is love?"
[edit] Music
Pitch continues to sing on stage regularly with his band, August.
To create widespread awareness about the campaign, Dove has invited Pitch and Chukiat Sakweerakul to compose and sing a very special song entitled "Chao Wan Mai" (Better Morning). The song was composed especially for Dove and reflects Dove’s commitment to empowering women, for them to gain more self-confidence, feel good about their own selves, and encourage them into making something good for themselves and society every morning. The CD, which is not for sale, will be given to women throughout Bangkok, together with Dove Therapy System with Repairing Serum samples.[1]
August Band also appeared in a TV commercial for Mama instant noodles.
The public, of course, demands more appearances from Pitch. However, Pitch wants to concentrate on his studies: "If the job offered is in conflict with my studies, I won't take it." Chukiat who is also songwriter and producer for August told Lips Magazine that Pitch really feels part of August band and he would not take job offers that ask him to go solo. As Thai schools are in summer break between March - Early June 2008, August (whose members are all students) has held several mini-concerts in Bangkok. The Band also played an auditorium concert in Chiang Mai on April 5-6, 2008.
[edit] Awards and Nominations
In 2008, Witwisit was nominated in the Best Actor category in the Thailand National Film Association Awards for his breakthrough role in The Love of Siam. [2] Pitch was the youngest nominee in the category. Although he eventually lost to Akara Amarttayakul, he was happy to be nominated. He was also nominated in the Best Actor category in the Critics Assembly Award. Pitch received Chalermthai award in the Lead Actor in Thai Film Category. Chalermthai is an award session held by Pantip.com, one of the most popular websites in Thailand. The Chalermthai awards were judged by voting from the website's members across Thailand.
[edit] Discography
- Bite of Love OST
- The Love of Siam OST
- August*Thanx
- Chao Wan Mai (Better Morning) Dove Campaign
[edit] Filmography
- The Love of Siam (2007)
- Dopamine (Short movie)(2008)
[edit] Commercial
- Mama (Instant noodle brand) commercial with August Band (2008)
[edit] References
- ^ Thailand 4; retrieved 2008-01-17
- ^ IMDB
[edit] External links
