Thai Stars Mik and Benz Admit Near-Divorce, Suicidal Thoughts

Mik Boromwuti revisits the family crisis, revealing dark thoughts that nearly led to divorce. Benz Prachita admits to having similar dark thoughts, while also sharing cute updates about their three children: Prim, 10; Prang, 8; and Prem, 6 — each with their own mischievous, distinct characters. Benz is thrilled by the massive buzz surrounding his return to acting after 10 years in the hit drama 'Krang Raeng Ngao' on One31, hosted by Chompoo Konbai and Pokie Sritanya.

On the 'shadow' buzz? Benz: Many people like it, many laugh, many go 'ooh' — it'll be the talk of the town for two or three rounds. I intended for it to look like a meme, wanted people to talk about it — 'what is this, falling down stairs three rounds, where's his sanity?' They'd probably figure it out eventually. This version — get slapped, fall down stairs, get up, get slapped again. People are asking if it's the 'Indian version' of intense drama. Was filming hard? Benz: Very hard. During the fall, a stuntman was already helping, but the director (P'Koo) felt bad for the stuntman because the steel stairs definitely hurt. So he had me fall but not all the way down — what you see rolling down is the stuntman, filmed separately and composited, otherwise filming would've taken forever. Foreign outlets picked up multiple scenes from 'Krang Raeng Ngao' and it became a huge trend? Benz: That's great to hear. When reading the script I asked, 'Really? Fall three rounds?' I laughed reading it myself. But the director said no, you have to take three rounds — one take wouldn't feel right. 10 years without returning to lakorn — did Mik keep Benz like a bird in a gilded cage? Mik: I didn't keep him. I told him he could go work, but he refused — because of the kids. But coming out must have been a relief? Mik: Every time Nang Fern gets slapped and rolls down — the camera doesn't cut. I call 'cut' immediately, demand another take. For real, he only did one take. Was that Mik's order? Mik: Yes, I called cut and demanded another take. Benz: (laughs) Another scene — putting a monkey around the neck, negotiating with the police chief until the chief says he doesn't want to be chief anymore, 'I'd rather be a janitor'? Benz: Yes (laughs). I want everyone to watch P'Poh Benz because this is a version no one has ever seen — the Police Chief version. The line about bringing a mop, wanting to be a janitor — was that in the script or improvised? Benz: Not at all (laughs). That's me having fun with the role. At first I was stuck on 'does he really talk like this? Do people really curse their wives like this?' But after a bit I thought, 'Hey, this is fun.' Let loose — I'm this kind of person, take it or leave it. The 'this is fun' feeling — like P'Poh released pent-up frustration? Benz: (laughs) Want to curse the wife? She's cute, he wouldn't. But acting this role — 'this is fun.' Then improvise more. Poh improvs every scene. Sometimes the script is next level, Poh asks me 'can I say this? Can I add this?' He enjoys the role, wants to curse more. 10 years Benz hasn't done lakorn, wife plays in #1 rating drama — how does that feel? Mik: Proud. Because the day he returns has always been our agreement. Throughout 10 years, people contacted Benz for lakorn. Benz always asked, 'Want to act? Can I go?' I told him he could, but if he acts, home sacrifices a lot — he paved the way for raising kids, someone must be with them always. We told the kids: 'If one day mom gets a really great role, we hold hands tight — go work, kids.' Then we waited. Until this intense 'Krang Raeng Ngao' role came — go act. When Nang sat reading the script, she started feeling uncertain.