Tony Jaa

Tatchakorn Yeerum (ทัชชกร ยีรัมย์,, ; formerly Phanom Yeerum (พนม ยีรัมย์, )), better known internationally as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Phanom (จา พนม, , ), is a Thai martial artist, actor, action choreographer, stuntman, director, and traceur.

Prior to becoming a leading actor, Jaa worked as a stuntman for Muay Thai Stunt for 14 years, appearing in many of his mentor Panna Rittikrai's films.

His Thai films include Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003), which was his breakthrough role, Tom-Yum-Goong (2005), Ong Bak 2: The Beginning (2008), Ong Bak 3 (2010), and Tom Yum Goong 2 (2013).

This led to Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior in 2003, Jaa's break-out role as a leading man.

Jaa did all the stunts without mechanical assistance or computer-generated effects and it showcased his style of extreme acrobatics and speedy, dance-like moves.

Injuries suffered in the filming included a ligament injury and a sprained ankle.

One scene in the film involved fighting with another actor while his own trousers were on fire.

"What they [Lee and Chan] did was so beautiful, so heroic that I wanted to do it too," Jaa told Time in a 2004 interview.

"I practiced until I could do the move exactly as I had seen the masters do it."

Jaa began training in Muay Thai at his local temple at age 10.

By 15, he was a protégé of stuntman and action film director Panna Rittikrai.

Panna had instructed Jaa to attend Maha Sarakham College of Physical Education in Maha Sarakham Province from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree.

His early martial arts experience included Taekwondo, Muay Thai, Muay Boran, and Krabi-Krabong, with an emphasis on gymnastics and acrobatics.

His films have showcased various other martial arts styles, such as Kung-fu, Silat, and Jiu-Jitsu.

Jaa initially worked as a stuntman for Muay Thai Stunt for 14 years, appearing in many of Rittikrai's films.

He doubled for Sammo Hung when the martial-arts movie actor made a commercial for an energy drink that required him to grasp an elephant's tusks and somersault onto the elephant's back.

He was also a stunt double in the Thai television series Insee Daeng (Red Eagle).

Together, Panna and Jaa developed an interest in Muay Boran, the predecessor of muay thai and worked and trained for four years at the art with the intention of developing a film about it.

Eventually they were able to put together a short film showing what Jaa could do with the help of instructor Grandmaster Mark Harris.

One of the people they showed it to was producer-director Prachya Pinkaew.

His martial arts films are credited with helping to showcase the Thai combat systems of Muay Thai, Muay Boran, and "Muay Kotchasaan" (a fighting style Jaa and Rittikrai developed in 2005).

"I actually got burned," he said in a 2005 interview.

"I really had to concentrate because once my pants were on fire the flames spread upwards very fast and burnt my eyebrows, my eyelashes and my nose. Then we had to do a couple more takes to get it right."

His second major movie was Tom-Yum-Goong (The Protector in the US), named after tom yum soup, which included a style of Muay Thai that imitates elephants.

In August 2006, he was in New York to promote the US release of The Protector, including an appearance at the Museum of the Moving Image.

Sahamongkol Film International advertised that Tony Jaa's third film would be called Sword or Daab Atamas, about the art of Thai two-sword fighting (daab song mue), with a script by Prapas Chonsalanont.

But due to a falling out between Prachya and Jaa, which neither have publicly commented on, Sword was cancelled.

In March 2006, it was reported that there would be a sequel to Ong-Bak, Ong-Bak 2.

With Jaa both directing and starring, it started pre-production in fall 2006 and was released in December 2008.

Jaa's films captured the attention of his hero, Jackie Chan, who asked director Brett Ratner to cast Jaa in Rush Hour 3.

"I gave the director videos of Tony Jaa because I think Tony Jaa is the most well-rounded of all action stars," Chan told the Associated Press.

"The director liked him a lot," Chan said.

After leaving the Thai movie company Sahamongkol Film International in 2013, Jaa signed with Universal Studios, and focused more on an international fan base.

Since then, Jaa has appeared in films such as Furious 7 (2015), SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015), Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018), and Expend4bles (2023).

Tony Jaa was born and raised in a rural area in Surin Province to Rin Saipetch and Thongdee Yeerum.

He is of Kuy descent, a Mon–Khmer ethnic group that inhabits Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The Kuy are known for being skilled trainers of elephants.

Tony Jaa speaks Kuy, Thai and Northern Khmer.

In his youth, Jaa watched films by Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan at temple fairs, which inspired him to learn martial arts.

He practiced the techniques in his father's rice paddy.