Tsunami, The Aftermath
Samrit Machielsen plays Than
The young Thai actor Samrit Machielsen plays Than, a waiter in a Khao Lak hotel whose life is bouleverse in the aftermath of the tsunami. His hotel is destroyed and, to make matters worse, his home village is wiped out and many of his family members lost.
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The ruins of his village are then razed to the ground as bulldozers move in and seize the territory for big hotel chains. Than tries to fight against this land grab and enlists the assistance of a bereft father, Ian (Chiwetel Ejiofor), to help with the rebuilding of his village.
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Samrit, a charismatic young actor for whom this drama represents his big break into international films, gives some further details about his character. "Than's a very determined man. He likes to help people and always tries to do his very best.
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"When the tsunami hits, he tries to help everyone from the hotel, and others too, but mostly those from the hotel because he feels that it's his duty to protect them. It's like part of his job."
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The actor goes on to explain Than's attitude to the disaster. "He loses a lot of his family, but for Than it's something that he must simply understand. He's a Buddhist, so he feels that it's like fate that it happened."
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Samrit reckons that Than has other functions in the drama. "The figure of Than helps to explain to the Thai people who didn't experience the tsunami first hand what it would have been like to be in his position.
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"So it is, I hope, educational for people in Thailand. Of course, for some it will bring back painful memories, but for others it'll be educational because nobody knows what to do when a tsunami hits."
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The actor recollects the impact the news of the catastrophe had on him on Boxing Day two years ago. "I was at home in Banglamun, that's about an hour and three-quarters south of Bangkok.
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"My dad told me about it at eleven in the morning because he has friends living in Phuket who called him. We quickly went into the living room, turned on the TV and we just sat there the whole day watching what was happening in Phuket. It was a shocking day."
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Being in Phuket and Khao Lak for filming, Samrit heard many amazing stories from the locals. "I've heard many ghost stories or dreams that people had before the tsunami hit.
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"One woman, for instance, told me she dreamt that there was a big image of Buddha in the sea. And he was just sitting there meditating. Then all of a sudden, he moved his hand and pushed the waves inland. That's quite a powerful image, isn't it?"
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Samrit ends by stressing how delighted he is to be appearing alongside many of his heroes in Tsunami, The Aftermath.
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"It's actually an honour for me to work with performers like Chiwetel, Sophie, Toni, Tim and Will (Yun Lee). It's just like a dream come true for me to be with some of the biggest names in the movie industry.
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"Being able to see them all acting is just amazing. I want to be just like them. I'm not saying I want to be up there in the spotlight, but I just want to be able to act like them and be able to match up to their expectations so I don't feel left out!"
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