From Le Cordon Bleu to The Screen: Obey Punnavich’s Unexpected Acting Path

I’ve known Obey Punnavich since high school, back when most of us didn’t really know what we wanted to do with our lives. Most Thai students, including me, went straight to university. But Obey took a completely different path. Now, we are seeing him on the screen of the new Thai series “Taste”, and that’s exactly what makes his story so interesting.

Your new series “Taste” launched about months ago, how are you feeling about all the response you’ve been getting?

I’m really happy about the response of the series. I have never acted before. This was my first project. It turned out really good. There is a lot of good feedback, a lot of good comments on how l act and how I embodied a character in “Tokyo” in the series.

With that success, you’ve become more visible, how are you handling that? Does it still feel surreal?

Of course I gain a lot more visibility. It’s really unreal for me because I never got a lot of this spotlight before. Actually, there’s one time that really surprised me. Uh a couple weeks ago I went for dinner with my family. There’s a fan approaching me asking me if I was the cast of the series. And I was surprised if they were watching. So I said yes. They asked me for photos and I was very welcome. Yeah. It was really new to me. From being a no one to somebody.

Before acting, I heard that you actually studied at Le Cordon Bleu. What made you choose culinary school right after high school?

Yeah, the reason why I chose culinary school is that I have such a clear goal. At first I was so worried. That I wouldn’t fit into the Thai societal system where everybody goes to university. In the culinary world experience is a main thing to be successful. Without experience. You can’t do anything in the kitchens. So that’s why I chose to study as a diplomat for nine months rather than spend four years doing bachelor degrees.

Obey’s Le CorDon Bleu graduation

What was that experience like for you? Did it change you in any way?

There is also one of the senior chefs of mine that l’ve been working for in their restaurants. Said to me that if I were you, I would choose the same path as you too. For me, experiencing life in a kitchen is quite harsh but flourishing. I gain a lot of things through the path. Being responsible for people consuming your food, being responsible for a group of work. And so on. Being a chef is not easy. Cursed. You’re also under pressure from someone, of yourself, and of your team.

So how did acting enter your life? Was it something unexpected?

It was a bit of an unexpected experience, I’d say. I was meeting this guy at an exchange student program camp and he was interested in casting me for the role. However, at first I was going to deny them but I changed my mind. So, I went for casting with no experience. I went in there with a script in my mind. I act like I thought it’s supposed to be. I told myself that I did my best. If I didn’t get the role I would still be fine. I would continue living my life as a chef which I love to do. But fortunately, I got the role. I’m really glad that I’ve got a chance to express the role of Tokyo.

Shifting from culinary world to acting is a huge change. What were the biggest challenges?

Shifting from the culinary world to the acting is a huge change for me. The biggest difference is to be on the screen and represent somebody that existed only on the screenplay script. I’ve to imagine what they’ve gone through. What are they going to do and what they think in their mind, it’s basically like psychology for me. 

On the set of series’ premier shooting

Now that you’re working as an actor, do you feel like you’ve found your place?

I think I found my place at some point but there’s also some point or some goal that I still want to achieve. There’s also some achievement as an actress that I want to be in the future. 

What’s next for you now that “Taste” is out? Anything exciting coming up?

There’s quite some exciting projects of mine that I will come up with soon. And also some projects that have been shooting right now. So yes. Looking forward to seeing myself on a screen again some day. But, I’m really happy to be interviewed right now.