Artists who Inspire me: Actors and directors Sky Wongravee dreams of working with

Among Sky’s top list lies 48-year-old Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Primetime Emmy Award winning actor Mahershala Ali – the star behind critically acclaimed movies such as Moonlight and Green Book.

It was, in fact, Ali’s acting in the Academy Award-winning Best Picture Green Book that caught the attention of the young actor.

“Did you know that I got the chance to meet him in person? I was so excited,” Sky beams with excitement. “That was during Fashion Week in Milan.”

“I got to sit so closely to him, there was only one other person sitting between us,” the actor continues. “I was always glancing over at him because I was so excited. There was a spotlight on him, every media outlet there was just snapping away and taking photos of him. Because I was sitting so close to him, I was quite tense and nervous, so we didn’t speak.”

It was at the dinner after the show when Sky mustered up the courage to speak to his idol.

“We met again at dinner, so I got the chance to tell him that I looked up to him and admired his work. He thanked me and said he was glad to hear that,” Sky tells us. “But that was it. I didn’t dare say much, I was nervous and wanted to give him space. My mind was completely blank, I couldn’t think of anything to say.”

After Ali, Sky immediately mentioned the next artist he dreams of working with – award-winning director Christopher Nolan, a filmmaker known for his cerebral, non-linear storytelling behind successes such as Inception, the Batman trilogy, Interstellar, and Tenet.

“I’ve always liked his work, way back from the beginning, so I’ve been following him ever since for years,” Sky explains. “I want to try acting in a project that is challenging and difficult to interpret, like the movie Tenet. I want to try doing something like that.”

“As an actor who gets the chance to work with a director such as him [Nolan], I know that you’ll have to undergo some intense study and homework into the character and the craft,” the actor notes. “I want to talk to him and ask him about his work process: what he thinks, how he’s able to come up with such ideas or angles, how he designs the development of his characters.

“I’d see how he directs, and I really can’t imagine what it must take for the actors to be able to prepare and execute their roles. He also comes off as someone that’s not easy to approach.”

Did we mention how Sky dreams big? Here’s another award-winning veteran actor for the list – Tom Hanks. Widely regarded as a cultural icon and one of the most recognisable film stars worldwide, the 66-year-old Tom Hanks is versatile in any role he takes on – from drama and action, to comedy. 

“I really, really like Tom Hanks,” Sky says. “I used to dream of getting the chance to be in movies like The Terminal just like he was in. It seems like such a hard role to take on, because there was only one leading character. Tom had to carry the entire movie himself, and it seems like so much hard work and craft.”

“When I see him acting, it always looks so real,” the actor goes on to explain. “From The Terminal to Saving Private Ryan, it never looked like he was acting. It was like a friend, or someone we know, showing us how or telling us how he was living his life.”

“Any project he takes on is very challenging, complicated, and rather shocking. He never picks an easy character to portray. Take Castaway for example – what does it take for someone to execute such an intricate and delicate role? Would an average person be able to do that – to lose weight, grow a beard, and develop a completely new persona? I find Tom Hanks to be such a high-quality actor and individual.”

Quite a turnaround from the list, but not that surprising nonetheless, because how can you not include a cultural icon and action star that is Tom Cruise? 

Sky knows this fact very well himself, as he regards the actor as somewhat of a legend. Even if he only gets a minor, supporting role alongside Tom Cruise, Sky says that would already be enough to make him happy.

“I recently got to see Top Gun: Maverick, and it was so much fun. I was so into the film,” the actor tells us. “Another film I love from Tom Cruise is the Mission Impossible series. In the films, you’ll see that Tom will always have a sidekick to help him manoeuvre through all his missions, so I want to try being that [sidekick] as well. I can just play his minion honestly, that would be enough.” 

“Like the movie Top Gun, I found out that Tom took his fellow actors to attend workshops together,” Sky muses. “If I get to work with him, then I’d also get to participate in these very real workshops where I’ll have to be able to perform and deliver like the stuntmen do. I’d come back being able to fly planes, breathe in water – I’ll be able to become a soldier!” Sky laughs.

We thought that the last person on Sky’s list would be another international actor – but nope, this one’s local. Sky actually listed his fellow co-star and acting friend, Pachara “Peach” Chirathivat, as one of the actors he looks up to and wants to work with the most.

The 24-year-old mentioned that prior to this project (OMG! Oh My Girl), he never got the actual chance to really work with Peach – who’s been in the same industry and even the same talent agency with him for years. Sky mentioned that even though they got to be in the same films or series, they rarely had scenes together.

“To be honest, I’ve never actually gotten to really work with Peach, even though in reality we’d always meet ever since Nadao,” Sky notes. “We still haven’t gotten the chance to really, seriously work together. We’d get to talk in passing, mostly we’d only meet a couple of times during filming, but we would hardly get to act together in the same scene.”

“We’d bump into each other in a flash, and in five seconds, it’s gone. So I am curious to know what it would actually look and be like if we really got to work together – how much fun we would have working together. I want to work on a project that is playful, lighthearted, and fun; where we get to mess around with each other. I find Peach to be very charming when he is being playful.”