Two individuals very close and who worked together until "Danny Sripinyo" is regarded as a life idol, are "Pa Gik Kiat Kitjaroen" and "Tik Klinsi." The three have known each other for over 30 years until the day their beloved had to journey far away. Recently, Pa Gik and Tik Klinsi shared stories on the "Kui Zab Show" on One 31 channel, revealing untold stories and life advice they gave Danny that helped him succeed today.
How did "Pa Gik - Tik Klinsi" meet?
Pa Gik: We met during the filming of "Klinsi and Glue Paste" in 1987. At that time, Tik was acting in the movie as a student and was actually a student in real life, born in 1961. She was still a fifth-year student, two years older than me.
Tik: I started studying in class 24 and graduated in 1987, the same year.
Pa Gik: She studied painting but was a senior in fine arts since our batches spanned multiple institutes. We've been friends for 40 years.
What was Danny like?
Pa Gik: Now we've stopped meeting because if we continued, I'd have to follow him (smiles). I want to say, for me and Danny, we've known each other a long time. Emotionally, I feel both sadness he's gone and relief that he is at peace. He's stopped struggling, no longer tired, like he's taking a rest without worries. But we don't know what comes next because no one has been there. I'm sad I can't see him in person but glad he's okay and free from burdens. I don't have to grieve much since we're not relatives. We first knew Danny as fellow actors, playing students together in films.
But Tik met Danny first?
Tik: I met him as a child. He was a mixed-race kid. My friend's house was in Din Daeng, and Danny's house was nearby. We used to tease him.
Pa Gik: At that time, Danny was under 10 years old because his adoptive mother's home was next to Tik's friend's house.
Tik: We went to my friend's house, which was a music rehearsal room. We hung out there, and Danny was a little kid next door. We teased him. I'm sharing these cute memories of interactions with him as a child. Later, we heard Danny became a domon man (a kind of actor). At that time, mixed-race actors were trending. Then he acted for Kantana. He became an actor.
Pa Gik: When he joined Kantana, he was already an actor, but Tik Klinsi was still just a regular student.
When did you start working seriously with Danny?
Pa Gik: Probably when we started our company seriously, with shows like "Saeb Khun Song" and "Game Pun Na." At that time, Danny was "Jae Toom." He was multi-talented — besides acting, he could do comedy and hosting because he was a good speaker. We then moved on to "Game Pun Na" and put Danny in the "Cat Gang," a group of scouts to bring others onto the show.
I heard when working on the shows you sometimes went drinking until dawn?
Pa Gik: I have to say, that started before working together.
Tik: I have to say this was a recreational activity we happily shared, using drinks as a social lubricant. At that time, we were about 30 and Danny in his early 20s.
Pa Gik: Danny came along because he was cheerful, and I was an entertainer. Not every day, just some nights when we'd leave the bar at sunrise. This was before the curfew, since we’ve been going out together since the old Palace days.
But Danny looked up to Pa Gik as an idol?
Pa Gik: He probably saw our joyful way of life. We share the same concept — we’re hedonists. Like, “Hey, believe me, life has many problems already. Problems aren't the real issue because they’re many. Every problem has a solution, but if you can’t find one, just exit from where you entered, because you just came in. Every problem has a solution.” So stop struggling and fighting. Danny probably thinks we are easygoing people who live happily.
Tik: When we talk, our conversations usually head in the same direction.
But on the other hand, Danny sometimes felt hurt or discouraged?
Pa Gik: I wouldn't say discouraged, but he sometimes felt "I’m not good enough." We told him he overthinks, which gave us topics to discuss often. Many think Danny consulted us about his problems, but that's not true. Actually, he just liked to ask questions because he lacked confidence. For example, when he wore certain clothes, he’d ask if people would dislike him. We said it’s okay; if they don’t like you, they never did. Did we encourage him? For me, it wasn’t encouragement but honest feedback: if it’s good, I say it’s good.
I heard Tik helped Danny buy a house and taught him about saving money?
Tik: Actually, when it comes to planning the future, I thought he should have a house and a financial safety net. I advised Danny to buy a particular house facing a good direction. I suggested how to use a lump sum of money or which car to buy. If I didn’t step in, he might have had his own mindset, but as a senior, I gave advice, and he accepted it.
Pa Gik: People nowadays might see us as caring people.
And you also helped pick out a gift for a woman?
Pa Gik: Let me tell you — he had a girlfriend and wanted to buy her clothes. He asked me to help pick a color; I chose white, but Danny wanted red because the outfit was black. This woman is his current wife, Ja, whose real name is Kwang. When we first met her, everyone called her "Ja" for eating this and that. She was confused and asked who they meant. They said, "You're not Ja?" She said her name was Kwang. I scolded Danny, "I thought you said her name was Ja?" He said he never said that; he called her Ja because her name is Kwang Ja. It was almost a disaster, but it was the same person.
And Pa Gik named Danny’s daughter "Nong Ava"?
Pa Gik: I was happy he had a family to settle down with. I like people to have families because, in the end, no one lives alone. Even if we can live alone now, when we get old and friends fade away, I told him, "Believe me, you should have your own family." I think that was his dream since he didn’t have one. When his daughter was born, I rushed to see her. Danny said, "I have a daughter; please help name her." I asked if it was a girl, and he said, "Ava." It comes from Adam and Eve because we're Christian. I cared about his family.
Danny respects you both a lot?
Pa Gik: He had no family or relatives.
Tik: I once asked if he had siblings and why he didn’t look for relatives in America since his father returned there and might have siblings. I told him to go find them. If it were me, I would. But he wasn’t very interested, so that ended the matter. If I went alone, it wouldn’t work since I had no relatives there either, so we decided not to go.
Why did the company you worked on together close down?
Pa Gik: Over 20 years. At the time we had to close because business changed; selling became harder. We had only one show and sold products ourselves, but income decreased. So we decided to stop now while we still had money to compensate employees to move on since we had no more resources. Did we fight? No.
Tik: Well, if you didn’t argue, why close?
Pa Gik: Just talking. No fighting. It was a business decision. As I said, we agreed it wasn’t sustainable and better to quit now. We could still give money back to employees. We had weathered many storms and ended gracefully.
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