'I feel like I fill my life with crap,'' Worrawech ''Dan'' Danuwong says. It's an odd statement coming from a guy who at only 27 years of age has played numerous roles including being an entrepreneur, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, short film and
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With such a long list of responsibilities, does he really have the time to laze around doing nothing?
''Not really,'' admits Dan, laughing.
''Luckily my two companies' offices are actually in my backyard,'' he says, pointing to a one-storey building on his compound that houses his TV drama production company Genokai and his film/music video production studio Jogging Chill. ''That makes my life easier.''
Dan has been particularly busy recently with three movies premiering over the past couple of months (last month's Sor Kor Sor Sweety and its sequel Valentine Sweety last week). His latest film is the romantic drama The Melody ... Rak Tamnong Ni, which opens on Valentine's Day.
Dan's role as Win, a depressed musician who travels to Mae Hong Son to find new inspiration for his work, marks a departure from his previous comedic work. The journey changes the character's life as he finds love upon meeting Mok, played by Pariyachat Limthammahisorn, a talented pianist in a remote hilly hamlet of the northern province.
''It's an unusual script for me. I've never played drama or love movies before. I'm frequently typecast for comedy, horror or suspense,'' says Dan. ''It's good to talk about love in the sense of how it lifts spirits. The movie is not entirely about the love between lovers. It's about sharing love with everyone around us. I'm personally touched by the inspirational message of the film. It's good to say something positive.''
Dan says that he and his character share a passion for music. ''Win is a musician just like me. This touches me inside out as I am allowed to put my musical side into the character without acting.''
The multi-talented entertainer is accustomed to multitasking as he's been keeping busy since childhood. ''I was quite an energetic kid growing up. When I went to secondary school in my hometown of Suphan Buri, my teachers always asked me to join extracurricular activities. I was also a jock competing in football, sprinting and ping-pong in school and at the provincial level. I played drums for the school brass band and alto xylophone for the Thai traditional band.
''Back then I always wanted to play piano, but my family couldn't afford it. I could afford to only dream about it from the shop window and hoped one day I'd have one. When I started in showbiz, I bought myself a piano and learned how to play. It's never too late if you have real passion.
''But the most important thing I did as a kid was to represent my school in a recitation contest. That helped a lot with my career.''
How so?
''To read rhyming prose fluently and beautifully, you must have correct pronunciation according to the Royal Institute through and through. To master that, you must have wits, discipline and showmanship. I won the provincial championship and third place nationwide. When I became a singer, I never had a problem with stage fright or mispronunciation.''
The young prose reciter moved to Bangkok after earning a scholarship to study at Badindecha high school. Once in the capital, he won the city's prose recitation contest. In his senior year, Dan won third place in RS's star search contest and signed a contract with the RC Promotion Record Studio. In 2002, he became a part of D2B, one of Thailand's most successful boy bands of all time.
''It was hard but it was quite a ride,'' says Dan, all smiles as he recalls his boy band days. ''I was against the image of male singers singing and dancing together. It wasn't cool. Then again all of us put a lot of effort into every song and move.''
D2B was prematurely disbanded at the height of their success after Apichate ''Big'' Kittikorncharoen, the lead vocalist of the trio, suffered brain damage after plunging into a canal in his car. He remained in a coma for four years before passing away in 2007. Dan and his other bandmate, Kawee ''Beam'' Tanjararak, carried on as a duo before parting ways. Dan moved from RS Promotion, the company that had catapaulted him to singing stardom, to Sony Music to become a solo artist.
His fans have remained loyal. Dan released two solo albums Blue and Solo Motion, which features a unique blend of pop, rock and acoustic music.
His Melody character Win is a former teen heartthrob just like Dan. In the film, he receives a letter from a loyal fan from those days, which has a profound effect on his life outlook. Does that kind of thing happen to Dan in real life?
''Absolutely. But my fans are too young to be sending letters. These days they tweet,'' says Dan with a wink, who true to his word exchanges tweets with fans during the interview.
''Fans don't recognise me as a boyband singer any more. In fact I have more male fans these days,'' he says, laughing. ''They open up to me as a solo artist. I'm more myself now. But it's not close to my true self yet.''
Dan pauses and grins. ''In the entertainment world, you cannot be yourself entirely. It's a lot like love, it's give and take. As an entertainer, I'd like my fans to enjoy my music too. If I had things my way, Solo Motion would be my last album,'' he says with a laugh. ''The melodies would be too complicated for people while the lyrics might not rhyme and would seem irrelevant. There'd be no joy in singing songs that people couldn't relate themselves to.''
Nonetheless, Dan is passionate about songwriting. ''The first song I wrote both melody and lyric was Nai Jeb Chan Jeb [When you're hurt, I'm hurt] dedicated to my late bandmate Big. It's very emotional and personal to me. You have no idea what it meant to me when I first heard it on the radio,'' says Dan. ''Then I had a chance to compose the soundtrack of Channel 3's Hoy An ... Chan Rak Ther soap I played ... for free! Well actually I offered to do it because I really had something to say about it.''
Dan also composed and sings Rak Mai Mi Kam Wa Rak (Love without saying love) the theme song of The Melody. ''The song features a 30-piece orchestra. I composed both the melody and the lyrics. The song talks about inspirational love that brings lovers happiness, strength and joy.''
What's next for Dan?
He is currently working on his third album, which is scheduled to be released around June. He is also set to direct his first film for Sahamongkol Film, a project he is excited about.
''In my life nothing falls in my lap. I work hard on one thing and it opens other doors. Trust me I have been rejected more times than I want to count. But I learned to be patient and that timing is everything. In the music business I started as a singer, I wanted to write and produce my own songs. Then I got to produce a music video. I did all of them. In television, I started as an actor and now I own a production company. In films, I wanted to try my hand at directing.''
But of course, whenever he has his spare time, he gets back to what he calls ''crap'' around the house and tennis.
''I always wanted to play tennis. Again my dad couldn't afford to buy me a tennis racket just as he couldn't afford a piano. Instead I watched other kids play in the school court and got hit by tennis balls one too many times. I've just bought a new tennis racket. That's another crappy thing I'm going to do in my free time.''
