BK: What were you doing before becoming a stuntman?
Pod: I decided to drop out of university after two weeks because I wanted to work and earn money. At that time, my father was also very sick. He was in the terminal stage of lung cancer and I wanted to be with him, more than worrying about studying.

BK: Why did you want to become a stuntman?
Pod: My father was an action actor but I was also inspired by Ja Panom [Tony Ja]. I was just amazed by his performances so I asked my mom to call Panna Ritthigrai, Thailand’s famous stunt master, to see if he could help me become a stuntman. Luckily, Panna was in the process of forming a new team of stuntmen so he asked me to audition.

BK: How did the audition go?
Pod: I had studied taekwondo, so I performed those moves for the audition. There were around a hundred people taking part but only eight people got picked.

BK: How did they train you?
Pod: We had to train intensively for three months. I think it was harder than military training. The first day, I couldn’t eat because I was so tired and would throw up if I ate anything. We covered everything from gymnastics and muay Thai to how to make a fight look real or how to avoid injury while still making things look great for the camera.

BK: What was your first job?
Pod: I helped out the stuntmen in King Naresuan II and then appeared as a stuntman in Chocolate and Somtam. Then I played the spirit of Ramil (Athip Nana) in Opapatika—the make-up took 4 hours! I also played the stunt double for Metanee “Lookked” Kinpayom in Lek Lhai because we are the same height even if she’s a woman.

BK: What is the most dangerous stunt you’ve ever done?
Pod: It has to be in Kod Su Kod Su, my new movie. The director, Panna, packed it full of stunts. One scene has 14 stuntmen falling from a two-story building. I nearly missed the safety boxes but the crew moved the safety sheet just in time.

BK: What about your international work?
Pod: Our Fight Club team featured in Hong Kong movies like Shanghai and Elephant White, where I had to run on the roof of a train. Now we’re doing Scorpion King III, which is being shot in Kanchanaburi. I feel making Thai movies is more difficult because on international movies, everything is already set up. In Thai movies we have to create the stunt scene from scratch.

BK: Aren’t you ever afraid that you’re going to be hurt?
Pod: No. I love it. I never get tired of doing this. It’s like a hobby, not a job.