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Tony Jaa

Tatchakorn Yeerum (born 1976) (, , ; formerly Phanom Yeerum (, )), better known internationally as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Phanom (, , ), is a Thai martial artist, actor, action choreographer, stuntman, and director. Known for his explosive martial arts stunt work, Jaa had his breakthrough in 2003 with ''Ong-Bak'', which earned him international recognition and spawned two sequels.

Jaa began training in Muay Thai at age 10, and fought professionally as a Muay Thai fighter when he was discovered by filmmaker Panna Rittikrai. He worked as a stuntman for Muay Thai Stunt for 14 years, before making the transition to acting. His first lead role was as Ting in ''Ong-Bak'' (2003), which earned him a Star Entertainment Award. He went on to star in the prequels ''Ong Bak 2'' (2008) and ''Ong Bak 3'' (2010), both of which he directed. In 2005, he portrayed Kham in ''Tom-Yum-Goong'', a role he reprised in the sequel, ''Tom Yum Goong 2'' (2013). ''Furious 7'' (2015) marked his first English-speaking role, and ''SPL II: A Time for Consequences'' (2015) marked his Hong Kong debut. His other notable films include ''XXX: Return of Xander Cage'', ''Paradox'' (both 2017), ''Master Z: Ip Man Legacy'' (2018), ''Triple Threat'' (2019), and ''Detective Chinatown 3'' (2021).

Jaa's films have grossed over $2.7 billion worldwide. Widely considered one of the greatest martial arts stars in the history of cinema, Jaa is credited with helping establish the Thai action genre worldwide and popularising the Thai combat systems of Muay Thai, Muay Boran, and ''"Muay Kotchasaan"'' (a fighting style Jaa and Rittikrai developed in 2005). Provided by Wikipedia