Rule breakers

Students fight for their rights

By Thanakrit Charoenphon
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

Last year, eight new actors created a buzz on the variety show Grean Possible (Punk Missions) on GMM 25 Channel. The gang recently starred in the new TV comedy series, GPA Sathaban Phan Sabb (GPA: Badass Institution), released on July 30.

The series is about the prestigious all-male school, GPA, which a lot of parents want their sons to attend. Pathompong Reonchaidee (Toy) plays a new student, Toy, who is unhappy because the student president and his privileged friends don’t have to follow the strict GPA rules, unlike the other students. Toy becomes more upset after he meets the ruffian Foei (Patara Eksangkul or Foei). Though at first they don’t get along, Toy and Foei eventually team up to run an election campaign to be the new student president.

Student Weekly recently met up with the leading actors at GMM 25. The 20-year-olds Toy and Foei were joined by 22-year-old Aniphan Chalermburanawong (Nitar), and told us about their high school lives and the GPA series.

Student Weekly: What were you like during high school?

Foei: People assumed that I was arrogant and they picked fights with me. I also got into fights because I didn’t let anybody bully me.

Nitar: I was very academic. I got pretty good grades and was the student president in elementary school. In junior high school, I was secretary of the student committee.

Toy: I was overweight. My turning point was when a pretty girl broke up with me and I wanted to change myself, so she would regret her decision. I exercised a lot. In the new semester, some classmates didn’t recognise me. They thought I was a new student.

Student Weekly: Are you similar to your onscreen characters in real life?

Foei: My character is hot-headed which is like me, but he’s more violent and easily gets into fights.

Nitar: I play Jakjan who is comfortable hanging out with guys. She is cool because a lot of guys like her, but I don’t like the way she gets mad easily and doesn’t listen to others.

Toy: My character is a leader who comes up with plans, but I‘m not like that.

Student Weekly: Have you ever broken the rules at school?

Foei: The food at my canteen wasn’t delicious so my friends and I used to climb over the wall to get lunch, and sometimes we didn’t come back.

Nitar: I once skipped a class, but every student did because the teacher wanted us to study in the evening.

Toy: I didn’t like the strict rules about the length of socks and pants. My pants were cut by a teacher because they were too long. I think these rules have nothing to do with studying.

Student Weekly: Do you agree with Toy and Foei in the series wanting to change the school rules?

Toy: Absolutely. A lot of the rules don’t make sense and the sons of the school owners and his friends can do whatever they want, so it’s unfair.

Foei: I agreed with rules in my high school, except the military hairstyle rule, but the rules in the series are stupid. That’s why they decide to change things.

Student Weekly: What were your first impressions of each other?

Foei: Though Toy and I didn’t really like each other when we first met, we soon became close. He’s determined which sometimes makes him stressed. Nitar is kind of boyish, but goofy. She’s a fast learner at work.

Nitar: While Foei is reckless, Toy is quiet. Because Toy appears in every episode, he works hard and is always well prepared. They’re both funny and can act naturally, but I sometimes don’t understand their jokes.

Toy: Foei speaks his mind in a way that most people don’t. At work, he’s very serious. Nitar has tried to fit in and tell jokes, but they’re not always funny. [Laughs.]

Student Weekly: How is GPA different from other school-themed series?

Nitar: Other series reflect teenage lives, but this series doesn’t. At the end of each episode you won’t be able to guess what happens next.

Toy: The series isn’t realistic. It’s like a comic with exaggerated action.

Student Weekly: Will this series be as successful as Hormones?

Toy: I don’t expect that, but I hope people will talk about it and watch it. The first three episodes of Grean Possible didn’t have a lot of viewers, but it gradually gained more. I hope this series will get a better response.

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