Nattapol (left) and Cindy Miranda attend the “Kuman Thong” premiere. —VIVA ARTISTS AGENCY
One thing Max Nattapol will never forget about his first trip to the Philippines was the warmth of the Filipino fans.
The country is especially dear to the Thai actor. After all, he said, it was where he experienced his first overseas fan meeting, following the success of his BL (boys’ love) dramas, “Bad Romance” (2016) and “Together with Me: The Series” (2017).
“This is the very first country I flew into for a fan meeting. The fans gave me such a very warm welcome. They picked me up at the airport and there were a lot of people there. So that’s a good memory for me,” Max told the Inquirer in a pocket interview.
“They told me that this can be another home for me. I’m so grateful to all of them,” added the actor who visited the Philippines in 2018 along with his “Together with Me” screen partner Tul Pakorn and other costars. “Before, I was just a kid who had an ordinary life. I didn’t know I would end up here.”
Finding out that Filipinos love Thai pop culture is heartening, Max said. “It’s nice that Filipinos love our actors. That’s a good thing.”
Max Nattapol —MAX NATTAPOL/INSTAGRAM
‘Kuman Thong’
This time around, he returned to Manila to promote and attend the recent premiere night of Viva Films’ horror flick “Kuman Thong.” Directed by Xian Lim and starring Cindy Miranda and Althea Ruedas, the movie is Max’s first Philippine-produced project.
“At first, they talked to my manager, telling me about a project. They said they would like me to be a special guest for the film. But then Xian told me that I would be doing one of the lead roles. I was like, ‘OK!’
Shot in Thailand, the film revolves around the practice of venerating household figures called “kuman thong.” According to Thai folk religion, such objects supposedly house spirits of fetuses who died in their mothers’ womb. The figures are believed to bring good luck when properly revered or harm when neglected.
Max is Sai Chon, the fiancé of Clara (Cindy), who travels to Thailand to seek a shaman who promises to perform a ritual that will bring her dead son back to life. But things go awry. Eerie occurrences start to plague the household and put the family in danger. English isn’t Max’s first language, so he found the script quite challenging. But thanks to Xian and his costars, he managed to pull off his role.
“The lines were long, so I had to practice a lot … Xian was a very kind and warm person. He knew what he was doing. Every time I talked to him, he set the picture for me. I loved that because he knew the kind character he wanted me to play. He was very clear,” he said.
Chemistry
Working with Cindy “scared” him, Max said, because she was “so good” at playing her character who starts behaving erratically after the ritual. “She was so good she scared me. It was as if she were another being,” he related, adding that he finds Cindy “beautiful and talented.”
“She was fantastic in our scenes together,” he added. “She had good energy that helped boost mine. I knew I had to return the favor and create chemistry with her.”
He described Althea as the best child actress he has worked with. “Wow, such an amazing kid … so talented,” said Max, who found his coactors and the rest of the team “sincere”—a trait he believes we share with Thai people.Given the chance, Max said he would love to do another project with Filipino creatives, perhaps a movie or a BL series. “I believe that would be a nice challenge … I think that would be a good experience for me. Different countries have different styles and romantic stories so that would be interesting,” he said.