It features a universal theme centered around debt, but also deeply-rooted it in the local culture.
Recently, the Thai action-thriller movie The Debt Collector made its debut on streaming giant Netflix.
According to the he platform, just one week after its release, the movie that stars Nadech Kugimiya and Daou Pitaya Saechua was able to claim the number 3 spot in its Global Top 10 Non-English films.
It also quickly claimed the number 1 spot in Thailand within 24 hours of its release and has held the top spot in the country ever since, and also landed in the Top 10 Movies list in 56 countries.
The Debt Collector follows a former brutal debt collector, haunted by guilt and racing against a terminal illness after his time behind bars.
“When he returns to the world he once terrorized, this time he avenges the victims of loan sharks and seeks redemption before it’s too late,” Netflix furthered shared the premise of the film.
In a statement, Director Surapong Ploensang shared his hope that audiences would be enhoyed when watching this film. “I want everyone to watch this film and feel extremely excited and satisfied; all our effort is aimed at that. The simplest essence of an action film is for the audience to have fun with it and feel thrilled. We put our heart and soul into delivering that for our audiences,” he said.
The creative also said that the film speaks about something universal with debt and the weight it puts on people’s lives.
“I believe audiences everywhere understand that message without us needing to spell it out. Seeing it resonate with viewers across so many different countries has been incredibly rewarding for everyone involved,” the director concluded.
As for Nadech Kugimiya, who embraced a major transformation by embodying Num, he shared: “At the beginning, we would spend around three to four hours in the makeup chair experimenting — darkening my skin tone, adding tattoos and scars, trying different things until we found the right look.”
“After that, the process moved much faster. My favorite moment was actually seeing myself in the mirror, those details made me truly feel like I had become Num. As filming went on, I tried to live more like the character. I stopped paying much attention to my own appearance and did my best to leave ‘Nadech’ behind, so I could stay fully immersed in Num throughout the entire shoot,” he added.
Meanwhile Daou Pittaya Saechua, who acted as his archnemesis Po, expressed that playing his character was both “physically and emotionally demanding,” yet is also an incredibly exciting challenge.
“I believed that someone as ruthless as Po had to have a reason for becoming who he is, so I worked closely with my acting coach to understand what drives him and what could push someone to such extreme violence,” he detailed. “Those motivations shaped every action and every thought behind the character. In the end, if audiences truly hate Po, then I feel I’ve succeeded in doing my job as an actor.“
