LakshmiWith a career spanning more than two decades, Mario Maurer has become one of Thailand’s most recognizable actors, captivating audiences with his versatility, charm, and ability to bring depth to every role he takes on. Rising to fame with his breakout performance in Love of Siam (2007), Mario went on to become a household name through the romantic comedy Crazy Little Thing Called Love (2010), which earned him widespread popularity across Asia. Since then, he has continued to explore diverse genres, starring in acclaimed projects including Pee Mak, Thailand’s highest-grossing film at the time of its release, as well as dramas such as Thong Ek: The Herbal Master and Bad Romeo.
Now, Mario returns as the legendary outlaw Suea Mahesuan in 4 Tigers, a prequel that explores the origins of the iconic character from the Khun Pan universe. After first portraying Suea Mahesuan in Khun Pan 3, Mario steps back into the role to reveal a different side of the figure behind the legend, bringing audiences closer to his journey, beliefs, and transformation.
4 Tigers is a Thai action fantasy drama and a prequel within the Khun Pan universe, exploring the origins of four legendary outlaws before they became the figures of folklore. The film follows Suea Mahesuan (Mario Maurer), Suea Fai (Sukollawat Kanarot), Suea Bai (Arak Amornsupasiri), and Suea Dum (Phakin Khamwilaisak) as their paths cross, bringing together four warriors with extraordinary abilities, distinct personalities, and their own destinies.
Blending action, Thai mythology, and traditional folklore, 4 Tigers reveals the untold stories behind these legendary figures, exploring their rivalries, friendships, and the events that shaped them into the infamous “four tigers” who would later become part of the Khun Pan legend.
In this One Lash Shot interview, Mario Maurer reflects on revisiting a character rooted in Thai folklore, the physical demands of filming action sequences, working with director Kongkiat Komesiri (P’Kome), and the experience of creating a story that blends history, mythology, and larger-than-life heroes.
What made you enter the acting industry in the first place?
Oh, it’s been quite a few years. You know, I started with commercials. I did casting for commercials and appeared in many different kinds of commercials. Then I got my first movie, Love of Siam. I went through the casting process for the film, and yeah, that’s how I started in the movie industry.
You have also like dabbled with singing, right?
You know, in Thailand, when you go to an event or something, you’ve got to sing. So, yeah, I do. Some people like it, and some people don’t, you know.
You are well known for playing the romantic hero, what made you step into the action genre?
Oh, because I’ve done many movies with this director. His name is Kome—P’Kome. He’s quite something. He’s the kind of guy who always has so many projects. In one year, he can have four projects. I don’t know how he does it, but he does.
Every time I work with Kome, it’s very exciting because he has such a great imagination. He always comes up with good stories and gives me characters I’ve never played before. Like this one in 4 Tigers—it was really fun for me because I got to be the bad guy sometimes. Normally, I play the good guy.
So, it was a lot of fun doing the action scenes and riding a horse again. It was quite dangerous, but that made it fun at the same time.
Before you acted in Khun Pan 3, had you watched the previous films in the series?
Actually, I’m a big fan of Khun Pan because I really like Ananda Everingham. He’s a senior actor, and I look up to him. Of course, I’ve watched many of his films. So, when I had the chance to be in Khun Pan 3, I was very excited about it. And yeah, I was very happy to work with him too.
How did you end up getting cast for Khun Pan 3?
It was Kome. Because I’d done a few films with him before. I think I did two films before Khun Pan 3. So P’Kome told me he had this project and that he wanted to expand the Khun Pan universe by making a film about the tigers too. The third film was going to introduce the new tigers—the new bad guys. So yeah, that’s how I came in.
Since you had already played Suea Mahesuan in Khun Pan 3, did returning to the role feel familiar, or did approaching his origin story require you to discover a completely different side of him?
Actually, 4 Tigers happened before Khun Pan 3, you know? So, I kind of had to act and think younger somehow because it’s set many years earlier.
For me, playing the Tiger was quite challenging because Kome had all these new techniques he wanted to use. He had these special fight scenes and used a style of action choreography that he’d never tried before.
Did you undergo any special training—horse riding, fight choreography, or weapons work—for this role?
Yeah, because we had to do these big fight scenes. We had to coordinate everything with the drones, and the cues were quite complicated because of the drones and the special effects.
So, we did a lot of practice. We spent many days rehearsing just the fight scenes before filming. Even then, it was still quite hard because there were so many people we had to fight.
You’d knock them down, and then they’d get back up again. They wouldn’t stop until they were supposed to die, you know?
P’Kome (Kongkiat Komesiri), the director, is best known internationally for KinnPorsche, which gained a huge global fanbase. Did you notice any distinctive filmmaking style that he brought to 4 Tigers?
I think it’s a different style, you know, because KinnPorsche is very good too. I’ve watched it. But Khun Pan is more of a Western-style film. If you look at it, it’s set in the old days, with a more classic style. The way we dress, the cars, the equipment—everything is like it was 50 years ago or something like that.
It’s always fun working with him because his energy never drops. He’s the kind of guy I want to ask, “When do you ever get tired?” He’s never tired. Sometimes we’d start shooting at six in the morning, and on the last days of filming we’d keep going for two nights or something just to finish. Sometimes I’d forget everything—the character, the lines, everything—but he’d still be there saying, “Cut, action,” and he’d stay completely focused.
So, I really have to give credit to my director.
The film features four strong personalities. What was the dynamic like working with the rest of the cast?
When we were in character, the other cast members really helped me out.
P’Pae (Arak Amornsupasiri), for example, had already done Khun Pan. I think he was in it twice, and then he was in 4 Tigers too. So, his character was already quite well established. For me, I started with Khun Pan 3, and then I did this.
The other cast members really helped me with the film because they all had very strong characters. My character is more of a guy who stays in the shadows and plays things a little differently than they do. They’re more like tough guys, while I’m the smaller one who’s more about planning and strategy.
I’m a journalist, but also kind of a spy, right? I’m always moving around, gathering information through my work as a journalist and writing books about everything that happens.
Can you share a memorable behind-the-scenes moment or a favourite scene that you particularly enjoyed shooting?
One of the memorable moments was riding the horse. I’d ridden horses a lot before, but I hadn’t done it for quite a long time after my last movie. So, when we came back to film this one, I had to ride really fast.
There was a scene where the four of us were riding our horses at full speed, and it was quite dangerous because we had to work quickly. The sun was going down, so we only had a limited amount of time to get the shot.
I almost flew off the horse, so I was holding on really tight. At the same time, there was a camera rig mounted on a car driving alongside us.
And they kept shouting, “Faster, Mario! Faster, faster!” But in my head, I was thinking, “I’m going to fly off at any moment!” We couldn’t really go any faster, but I still had to say, “Yeah, yeah,” and keep going.
My butt really hurt because of the horse bouncing the whole time. I was thinking, “Oh my God, I have to make it quick! I’m going to fly!,” but I had to keep riding. In the end, the scene came out really well. It was definitely dangerous.
In many of the action scenes, Suea Mahesuan carries his amulet in his mouth, which becomes a distinctive part of the character’s appearance. Wasn’t that challenging while performing fight sequences and maintaining the intensity of the scenes?
Very dangerous. Don’t do that, you know. Don’t do that at home. They should say it in the movie: “Don’t do it at home.”
First of all, it’s a real amulet. I put the real amulet in my mouth, and it’s made of metal, right? So, it was really in my mouth. I could smell the metal for many hours, even for days, you know. And then we had a special team cleaning the amulet for me.
But it’s very dangerous because I had to hold the amulet in my mouth while I was fighting. Sometimes it would hit my teeth, you know.
And the other thing that was more uncomfortable was the glasses. I had to wear the glasses while I was fighting all the time. Oh yeah, and I also had to wear a hat. The hat, the glasses, and the amulet—everything would shake every time. “Did Mario put the amulet in his mouth? Did his glasses come off?” Something like that. We had to put something special in here to tie everything together, to hold it in place.
It was quite… yeah, uncomfortable, but I had to do it.
Considering the shooting process of both films, did you prefer Khun Pan 3 or 4 Tigers?
I like 4 Tigers more because there was a lot to play around with in this movie, and there were many good scenes that I really liked—like the fighting scenes with the women and things like that.
Do you think there is a possibility of expanding the Khun Pan–4 Tigers universe with a sequel or another installment? If the story continues, what kind of direction or new chapter would you like to see explored?
I think each Tiger could have their own story. That’s what the director is looking for. The whole thing is like a combination of the origins and the future. Yeah, and maybe telling the stories of each Tiger, you know.
What’s next for you?
Next, I have a new Thai film coming out in December this year.
It’s Saming Thi Soengsang. It’s kind of another Tiger, yeah, but it’s not part of this. It’s not connected to this film at all. It’s with another director.
The cast includes Lina and Miu. They are two Thai actresses who are very famous at the moment.
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Lakshmi
