By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
You’ve seen his photos and videos in stories from the Asian Weekly, where he’s been contributing for about four years. At the same time, he’s been working on big projects of his own. Nuk Suwanchote, actor, director, producer—jack of all things film-related—has a mission to make more space for Asians and Asian humor in comedy. Particularly, with a venture called “Thai Guys TV,” now being pitched in Hollywood, he wants to spotlight Thai people and culture.
Nuk Suwanchote (Image by Irina Dhal and courtesy of Nuk Suwanchote.)
Funny and respectful.
“Thai culture is so underrepresented that you probably know more Thai restaurants than you know Thai people,” Suwanchote told the Asian Weekly.
It’s true. As with all Asian cultures, Hollywood and media in general has some way to go. And even if there has been some increased representation, many people, including Suwanchote, feel that roles for Asians are still stereotyped, and not in a good way. Nuk and his team want to be funny, yes, but not at the expense of perpetrating negativity. They want to highlight stereotypes, sure, but in a way that emphasizes benign and culturally relevant behaviors and habits. This allows people in the know to laugh at themselves, while helping people unfamiliar with Thai culture to learn what it means to be Thai.
“In media, and in cinema and TV, the portrayal of Asians has not been flattering,” Suwanchote said. “It’s very demeaning, without any positives.” On the other hand, Suwanchote insists on “being real, but with a kind of a confident approach.” He’s going to eat those chicken feet, even if he knows some people find it weird (“nobody’s going to stop me,” he joked)—he’s going to show us what Thai culture is—the way Thai people talk, the way they eat, be it someone from Thailand or someone with Thai heritage that grew up in the United States, such as himself.
This is Suwanchote’s mission with the show he hopes to get onto a major network: “Thai Guys TV.” He already has a few shorts out on social media, something along the lines of the skits from “Key & Peele,” which he names as an inspiration (Jordan Peele, especially). The best place to see this material right now is on Instagram. However, he and his production company, Empower Video Productions, want to take “Thai Guys TV” to the next level.
Nuk Suwanchote (left) and his brother Nut Suwanchote are part of Empower Video Productions. (Image by RJ Hansen and courtesy of Nuk Suwanchote.)
“If you’ve never seen a Thai person and then you see ‘Thai Guys’—this wacky, crazy, loud, dude [played by Nuk] …Even if I’m dressed like a clown, I still look good.” In his view, his characters are not “not someone you want to bully.” They are, instead, “someone likable,” someone you want to hang out with.
Bring the family.
It may be that working with family—always including and always honoring family—is an Asian characteristic. Suwanchote is no different. He and his two brothers, Note and Nut, collaborate all the time. Older brother Note now leads Lightform, the company they started in 2013, while Nuk heads Empower as CEO.
“It’s definitely an Asian thing to [work with family].” Maybe it’s filial piety. Suwanchote finds it amusing that in the U.S., white kids tend to say “peace out” to their parents around 18 and get out of there. In contrast, Suwanchote still sees his parents every day. He also brings close friends into his circle, such as Minh Le, who has been with him “since the beginning.” All of them keep incredibly busy, to the point that Suwanchote was battling a cold when the Asian Weekly caught up to him—a result of a weekend in Cleveland doing interviews for one project, then going back to the hotel and burning the night oil for another.
When you love what you do, it shows.
Suwanchote was born in Thailand, and moved to the United States when he was 2 years old. “So basically, I’ve been here all my life.”
His parents raised him Thai—they spoke Thai and Lao at home. You might even know his parents as they run a jewelry company of their own out of Pike Place Market, making custom, handmade silver and gold jewelry. They even named it after their kids—Tri-Sons.
“I’m really lucky,” Suwanchote said about having a loving, supportive mom and dad. As artists themselves, they encouraged their son to find his own passion as a career. When he was 12, Suwanchote felt it was “time to figure out what to do with my life.” His parents told him, “do what you want to do,” rather than “staring at the clock” unhappily awaiting the day’s end. And, “make sure you can make money off of it!”
At that young age, a lot of things sounded cool. The military? Boxing? He was into sports. But then, an interest was triggered by his mom’s digital camera. One day, Nuk’s brother informed him that the camera could take not only photos but also video. His world was broadened immeasurably and it was the start of a lifelong passion.
“Are you saying I can capture reality and play it over and over?” Suwanchote rejoiced. “It was addicting and intoxicating. I loved it.” He attended the University of Washington, where he got a degree in video production and economics. In 2017, he did a project called “Dogs” in which he acted and directed. They got third place in a competition, Nuk won best actor, and turned right around and invested the prize money into camera equipment. That was the pivotal point when he said, “I’ll be a professional filmmaker.”
Jobs and accolades have been rolling in ever since. In what is becoming a trademark narrative style, Suwanchote has created commercials and documentaries for clients such as Amazon, the Seattle Seahawks, and King County. If he can support the local community—especially the local Asian community—while he’s at it, all the better. In 2020, he came on board the Asian Weekly to assist with a video project documenting the murals going up in the Chinatown-International District in response to tensions during the pandemic.
“I was all about helping the Asian community, with all the Asian hate going down,” he said, and told the Asian Weekly at that time, “I’m trying to fix that. Can I help somehow? We just went from there.” His projects have received awards at the “Yes We Cannes” 48 hour film competition at the Cannes Film Festival, at the International Asian American Film Lab 72 Hour Shootout, and at the Northwest Regional Emmys.
This is only the beginning.
It has become very apparent in an increasingly polarized world that we are what we watch. Therefore, it’s important to watch shows that present diverse and positive role models.
“Film and television is the most powerful art form there is,” said Suwanchote. “It has music, sound, art, everything…It acquaints audiences and society with messages, culture, expectations, and is a reflection of the world. If it’s real or if it’s not, it makes it real to the people watching.”
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.