Director Thongchai Shares Life Lessons on Poverty and Letting Go

Tuck Boriboon recently shared an interview with accomplished actor-director Thongchai Prasangsan, posting clips from their conversation at the director's home garden and thanking him for his valuable life philosophy. Thongchai discussed how what matters most is the step you take after cleaning off yesterday's makeup—moving forward with intention. Growing up in a farming family with a father who drove tuk-tuks, Thongchai admits he was never good at saving money, but was fortunate never to be wasteful. He reflects poignantly on his past: "I've struggled for a very long time. My house has struggled my entire life. If I had the chance, I would have struggled while being rich. It's heartbreaking and cuts deep."

Thongchai frames poverty as a form of capital that can drive ambition, contrasting it with those born into wealth who squander everything through idleness. He takes pride in owning his own land, noting that every step fills him with pride in how he earned it. On life's impermanence, he offers this reflection: "One day you will surely go out. Whether you're a big fire or small, you will go out. How big the log, it will still burn down. It's only a matter of when. Everything that rises must fall. So in the present, don't burden yourself with it. Let it be."

Thongchai also shares his philosophy on acting: to perform as if not performing—a natural approach to planning and practice that has become a life lesson many admire and apply to their own lives.