For someone who could obliterate absolutely any person in his path, you wonder if Tony Jaa is just waiting for someone to give him 'tude. But Jaa seems overwhelmingly gentle, humbled and eager to talk about his abilities without at all seeming boastful.
Jaa, whose real name is Phanom Yeerum, gets his screen name from his nickname in Thai, "Jaa." The 28-year-old is deceptively small and seems to glow with energy. He is in D.C. to promote his debut film, "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior," which opens Friday.
Jaa first started watching martial arts films when he was 10 years old. He would watch the movies of his heroes, Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan, and imitate and practice their moves. When he was just 15 - with the approval of his father, a Thai boxer - Jaa went to Khon Kean in northeast Thailand to train with Panna Rittikrai, a martial arts filmmaker and fight choreographer. On Rittikrai's films, Jaa performed odd jobs acting as a water boy, cooking and cleaning. Eventually, he became a stuntman.
As a stuntman, Jaa learned the various styles of martial arts, which he mastered at a physical education academy in the Maha Sarakham province in Thailand.
Jaa said he feels there is a degree of anonymity in being a stuntman that he finds unappealing.
"You're only behind the scenes when you're a stuntman. People don't really know it's you that [is] doing those moves [and] stunts," Jaa said. "Coming in front of the camera more allows the viewers to be more in touch with you, what you're doing, and the viewers to be captivated and in awe along with you."
In his role in "Ong-Bak," that's exactly what he gets the chance to do. He's making a name for himself worldwide as the martial arts film star who performs his stunts without the aid of wires or computer effects. U.S. martial arts films like Jet Li's "The One" and Jackie Chan's "The Tuxedo" use computer effects.
Jaa felt the goal of "Ong-Bak" was to present true Muay Thai, a form of martial arts that involves extremely close contact with elbows and knees, in pure form.
"[It is important] to see that you are really doing those moves, that it's definitely really you performing those stunts," Jaa said. "This is the first time Americans are seeing Muay Thai on film, and the viewers need to be able to see the beauty and the movement involved with Muay Thai without the use of wires or graphics at any time."
Jaa stresses the importance of wowing the audience with his gravity-defying stunts and ensuring awareness that everything he does on screen, he does in reality.
Jaa does not discount the fantasy martial arts films that have come to the United States from China, such as last year's "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," both by filmmaker Zhang Yimou. Both films employ the use of wires as part of the overall fantasy effect. Jaa is aware that what he's doing is an entirely different style of martial arts film.
"Using wires is a style that many [filmmakers] choose to use," Jaa said. "Viewers may consider watching films that use these wires, but for me, if you look at it in a different sense, I can do these tricks on my own, so why not present something different for viewers?"
Jaa is right in the fact that it's different. "Ong-Bak" is a back-to-basics martial arts film in the wake of the fantasy-style period pieces that dominated once Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" gained American success in 2000. Jaa's brutal and gritty Muay Thai is something that Americans have yet to be exposed to.
Jaa explains the differences in the films reflects the different cultures.
"In 'Crouching Tiger [Hidden Dragon]' and 'Hero,' you see the Chinese culture being represented," Jaa said. "In 'Ong-Bak,' you see the tradition of Thai people being presented, and, most importantly, the ancient form of Muay Thai being presented in the movie."
Jaa choreographed the action with his master Panna Rittikrai and fellow actors in the film. One of the many stunts in the film is Jaa leaping through a small circle of barbed wire while running through a marketplace. To train for this, Jaa explained that he first started with a large circle and jumped through it. From there, he kept shortening the circumference of the circle to get the result viewers see in the film.
Several stunts in "Ong-Bak" that Jaa performs are equally dangerous. He leaps through windows, crashes through tables and lights his legs on fire, and that's only a handful of the things he does.
Jaa places great importance in his training in order to ensure his personal safety.
"The preparation and the training that goes into it makes me confident that it will go well," Jaa said. "In the film I perform a split under a moving car. I know I can already do a split, but what can I combine it with in order to make it captivating for the viewers to see? I can show people that this is real, and people can do these things."
In preparation for "Ong-Bak," Jaa trained eight hours a day, six days a week. This dedicated work ethic has allowed him to stay at the top of his abilities.
"Everywhere can be a place to practice - like in the bedroom," Jaa said. "I can walk on my hands to the bathroom just to warm up. It's about keeping balance. Doing too much is not good and doing too little is not good. If you feel that muscles are sore and tired, I'll go out and get in touch with nature, meditate or go sing karaoke."
Jaa's ethic is rooted in respect for his martial arts film heroes. Jaa said he would rather use his abilities on the screen as an art, rather than in competition.
"It's different because things on film are seen with more detail and it's more of an art," Jaa said. "On stage you only want victory, you want to hit the opponent for points. It makes all the beauty of the moves disappear. You receive many gifts through film no matter what race or religion you are. You study martial arts not to beat others but to win your own heart."
Jaa's tremendous success in his native Thailand and in China seems to be only the beginning. His stunts have caught the eye of American filmmaker and uber-dork Quentin Tarantino through his "Kill Bill" soundtrack partner the RZA. The rapper, producer and martial arts film-lover is even doing television commercials for Jaa, telling the U.S. public to "check out the death-defying, bone-shattering, skull-cracking, chest-pounding, neck-cracking martial artist of all time."
Jaa seems to appreciate the fact that people are reacting positively.
"At first I didn't know RZA, but when I heard he was a big fan of the movie and had composed the soundtrack for 'Kill Bill,' then I really appreciated him and liked him. I was happy that he liked the movie," Jaa said. "My success in Thailand was enough for me. I never thought that it would be successful in Asia, Europe and now America. That's beyond my wildest dreams. Just to have a film from my country, a small country, being able to come here and show people the Thai culture and the Thai heritage, that was our biggest goal."
This is Jaa's second time in the United States. The first was a promotional tour for "Ong-Bak" a few months ago in Los Angeles and Texas, where he performed at NBA half-time shows.
"I was very excited before the shows where we were going to demonstrate Muay Thai abilities," Jaa said. "The excitement wore down after we performed and I was very relieved. We were in the box and I looked down and saw all those people. I thought, 'What am I doing here?' To be able to do these things takes great meditation and the strong belief that I can do what I put my mind to. Whenever I do these things, I think of my parents and my masters that have come before me."
Jaa sings the praises of his martial arts film heroes Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Panna Rittikrai, and cites them as the inspirations behind his fighting style and film presence.
"I regard all of them as my masters," Jaa said." "From Bruce Lee I received the swiftness of his moves, from Jackie Chan, his agility and ability to combine the things around him, from Jet Li, his beautiful movement and his grace, and for me I have my Muay Thai, and I combine these things as part of my skill. As for Panna, I received the teachings of the Buddha and the ways of the spirit from him."
Despite the comparisons, Jaa remains very humbled and grateful to be included in the same sentence as his idols, but he aims to carve out his own legacy in martial arts film.
"There's only one Bruce Lee in the world," Jaa said. "There's only one Jet Li in the world. There's only one Jackie Chan in the world. And there's only one Tony Jaa in the world. I want to bring new things to the audience because if the audience has an expectation, and I can surpass that, that's what it's all about. When I'm on fire during an action sequence and people ask: 'How do you do that?' That's what my success is based on."
In order to get psyched up for Tony Jaa in "Ong-Bak," here are three bone-crackin' kung-fu movies from Jaa's martial arts heroes.
"Fist of Legend" - 1994 This is Jet Li's best film. He enters a dojo filled with about 50 men and totally takes all of them out, without getting punched once. Then, along with Siu-hou Chin (who played Li's best-friend-turned-nemesis in "Twin Warriors"), Li has to take on the crazy General Fujita. In order to prepare for battle, the general has his minions bash him with wooden planks. The dopest part of the fight is when General Fujita comes after Jet Li with a sword and Li whips off his belt and gives the general a whipping like whoa.
"Rumble in the Bronx" - 1995 The United States' introduction to Jackie Chan was this badass classic. Even after a totally unsweet gang beats him up and ties rags around baseball bats in order to hit bottles of Jack Daniel's at him, Chan still owns them in the end by driving a hovercraft all over New York.
"Game of Death" - 1978 Bruce Lee plays a famous martial arts actor who fakes his own death and seeks revenge after a crime syndicate attempts to kill him. The famous yellow jumpsuit Lee donned for this film is referenced in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," as Uma Thurman wears a similar jumpsuit during the showdown at the House of Blue Leaves.
