Talking Acting & American Grub with Actor "Poo" Boonthanakit [S6.E26]

Ed interviews Sahajak “Poo” Boonthakit, Thai actor and entertainer. K. Poo begins by explaining his unusual childhood: his father was a Thai diplomat and when Poo was a young boy his family moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where Poo would spend the next 11 years. Poo discusses life in Kenya among Africans and Indians and white ‘colonialists,’ but also the incredible natural phenomena of the African savannah. However, in high school, Poo’s family would move to New York, where he at first became more American but then later learned ‘how to be Thai’ from the tight knit community of Thai expats in the city.

Ed asks Poo about his history as an entertainer, and Poo explains that in Nairobi his brothers formed an acting troupe that performed on stage at school and in the city. In New York, Poo continued by becoming a singer and guitar player at local Thai restaurants. 

In the late 1990s, Poo returned to Thailand with his Filipino wife, and they started The Garage, one of the first American burger joints in Bangkok. Through a stroke of luck, their young son was cast in a commercial and Poo landed the role of the father (he was a natural at it). :) This led to a fascinating career acting in films, from “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio to “Brokedown Palace” with Claire Danes, up until the very recent “Thirteen Lives” directed by Ron Howard. Poo tells the story of his amazing three month shoot in Australia with the famous director and luminaries such as Viggo Mortenson and Colin Farrell.

And The Garage is still going strong after twenty plus years! Poo invites all podcast listeners to join him for some American grub at the corner of Sukumvit 32 and Sukumvit Road. 

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