Early life biography
Mario Maurer was born at the Bangkok Christian Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. He is ofThai Chinese and German descent. His father chose an Italian name for him because he had a faible for Italian motorcycles. Growing up, his father Roland and his mother Waranya owned several gas stations. Later they owned a business in Nakhon Nayok Province for production and export of roll-on deodorants to countries such as France and Germany. Maurer has an elder brother of five years, who was born in Germany. He attended school at St. Dominic Savio Catholic School in Bangkok and now is studying inRamkhamhaeng University, majoring in Communication Arts.
When Maurer was 16 years old, he was approached at
Siam Square to try out modeling. From there on, he started doing photo shoots, commercials and music videos.
[5] In 2007, he made his feature film debut in a leading role in
The Love of Siam, written and directed by
Chukiat Sakweerakul.
[6] The role "Tong" brought him many accolades and instant fame far beyond Thailand's borders. Commenting on his new-found fame, "I didn't want to do it, Acting wasn't on my list to do." He decided to do the movie because he trusted the director "Chukiat" and the movie would give him many opportunities. He'd be making money to help his family. He became famous in this film because of his gay role.
[7]
His other work as a model.
The film's promotion did not play up its homosexual romance. Nonetheless, most critics have given extremely positive reviews.
[8] When asked about his kissing scenes with
Witwisit Hirunwongkul in
The Love of Siam, Maurer said, "I was nervous. I've never kissed a man and kissing is not something you do every day."
[9] Maurer has been nominated for an
Asian Film Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his performance in
The Love of Siam, but lost to
Sun Hong-Lei for
Mongol.
[10] He won the Best Actor award in Southeast Asian film category at the 10th
Cinemanila International Film Festival. His performance was described as "Mature acting choices within a wide range of situations. Beneath a calm and placid external demeanor his performance he displayed a rich inner struggle dealing with emotional burdens, with family, friends, his social circle and his romantic and sexual awakening."
[11]
He won the Best Actor award in Starpics Thai Films Awards and also nominated in Bangkok Critics Assembly and Star Entertainment Awards.
[12]
[edit]Other work
Maurer (right) with his brother and his mother
His brother Marco, teamed up in a
hip-hop duo "PsyCho & Lil’Mario" with Mario. They have released their debut
PsyCho & Lil’Mario: Dem Crazy Boyz on October 31, 2007.
[17] He worked as a hypeman in this album. But Maurer later described "It was just for fun. I know myself – I'm not a singer. That's not my dream."
[7] n
Maurer participated in endorsements for the first time for Exit Rollon and other popular brands such as
The Pizza Company,
Sugus, Foremost and now he acted as the presenter for
Honda Jazz,
[18] Pepsi,
Dutchmill and
Sony Ericsson. In July 2011, he was signed to become an endorser for the
Philippine clothing brand,
Penshoppe [19] He also signed a one movie picture contract with
Star Cinema, a Philippine film production company. He will be paired with
Erich Gonzales in the film that is due to release in 2012 entitled
Suddenly It's Magic.
[20][20] On October 28, 2011, Maurer had a Press and Fan Conference in
Philippine International Convention Center with thousands of fans in attendance, as a part of his official launch as a Penshoppe endorser.
[21] On October 29, he hit the runway at the Philippine Fashion Week held at
SMX Convention Center.
[22][23]
[edit]Personal life
Maurers interest include
skateboarding,
hip-hop, and cars. Even though he is of Thai Chinese and German descent, he can't speak German and only understands
Mandarin a little bit.
[24] He's fluent in Thai and speaks English on a conversational level. He is a
Roman Catholic.
[25] His father Roland died of a heart attack resulting from diabetes on June 27, 2011.
[26] He has a very close relationship with his elder brother who works as a hip-hop artist and actor as well.He has been in a relationship with Thai actress Gubgib Sumontip Leuangtha for seven years now.
[27]
[edit]Controversy
[edit]Mario and Pchy
Maurer with
Pchy at
Star Entertainment Awards in 2007.
Due to the success of
The Love of Siam, the chemistry between Mew (played by
Pchy) and Tong (played by Maurer) have been an issue and a trending topic.
Pchy told reporters that Mario and him are just good friends. He credited film editing for the good chemistry displayed on-screen. "
We are not that sweet to each other," Pchy laughed. "
Usually, when having dialogue in the movie, we were facing different cameras." On the movie set, their eyes usually met the film crews, who made sure they made the right expression.
[28] On the side note, they performed together on a concert after not seeing each other for years, in which Maurer asked Pchy "
Mew, do you miss Tong?", and Pchy responded with "
Let me think about that. If Tong didn't invited me, I wouldn't be here".
[29]
[edit]Filmography
[edit]Awards and nominations