In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 1981
- Birthplace
- Kalasin Province, Thailand
- Country
- Thailand
- Nationality
- Thai
- Known for
- Born to Fight, Dynamite Warrior and the Crow Demon in Ong Bak 3
- Other credited names
- Chupong Changprung; Choopong Changprung
- Training background
- Physical education, gymnastics and Muay Thai stunt work
- Formative mentor
- Panna Rittikrai
- Leading-role breakthrough
- Born to Fight, 2004
- Ong Bak 3 character
- The Crow Demon, opposite Tony Jaa’s Tien
Why this life matters
Chupong’s career reveals another route through the Thai action-film community that produced Ong-Bak: physical education, ensemble stunt work, leading roles and collaboration with an influential mentor.
Timeline
Key moments
Born in northeastern Thailand
Profiles identify Kalasin Province; conflicting birthday months are explained in the date note.
Worked on Ong-Bak
His first-person account places his stunt work during his final year studying physical education in Maha Sarakham.
Led Born to Fight
Took a leading role in Panna Rittikrai’s new action production, not the earlier film with the same English title.
Starred in Dynamite Warrior
Played the rocket-using hero in Chalerm Wongpim’s action fantasy, alongside mentor Panna.
Played the Crow Demon
Magnolia’s Ong Bak 3 credits distinguish his antagonist from Tony Jaa’s protagonist, Tien.
Returned in Panna’s final film
Vengeance of an Assassin opened in Thailand on 13 November, after its director’s death.
A later US release
Well Go USA dates its Vengeance of an Assassin release to 14 April; this is not the original Thai release year.
Kalasin roots and physical education in Maha Sarakham
Dan Chupong was born in 1981 in Kalasin Province, northeastern Thailand. English-language film records also credit him as Chupong Changprung or Choopong Changprung. His birth year is more secure than the frequently repeated full birthday: a contemporary studio biography and later profiles disagree about the month, so this account does not assert an exact date.
In a 2006 interview, Chupong described studying physical education in Maha Sarakham, where Tony Jaa was a senior student associated with the krabi-krabong weapons club. Watching Jaa perform encouraged him to join. That educational setting brought sporting practice into contact with the performers who would help him enter films.
From Ong-Bak stunt work to Born to Fight
Chupong recalled working on Ong-Bak while still in his final year of study, then continuing to train after graduation. Prachya Pinkaew called him to audition when Panna Rittikrai was preparing Born to Fight. The role made a developing stunt performer into a leading actor rather than simply another face behind Jaa.
Released in 2004, Born to Fight became a defining collaboration with Panna. It was a separate production from the older film carrying the same English title. The studio’s account identifies gymnastics and Muay Thai among Chupong’s foundations; those skills supported an ensemble action career, not a documented professional boxing championship record.
Dynamite Warrior mixed village life with fantasy
Dynamite Warrior followed in 2006 under director Chalerm Wongpim. Chupong played a rural avenger who uses rockets while pursuing cattle thieves and the truth about his parents’ deaths. Magnolia’s English synopsis calls the character Jone Bang Fai; Thai publicity also uses the personal name Bak Siang and a rocket-thief nickname.
The role moved his action into a supernatural adventure rather than repeating Born to Fight unchanged. Panna appeared in the cast, giving their relationship a different screen dimension. The studio’s publicity links the film’s rockets, cattle trading and regional humour to Isan, while Magnolia explicitly describes special effects alongside physical action. Its fantasy is part of the film’s design, not evidence of real supernatural abilities.
The Crow Demon opposite Tony Jaa
Ong Bak 3 placed Chupong opposite Jaa in a different relationship from his early stunt apprenticeship. Magnolia’s cast list credits him as the Crow Demon and Jaa as Tien. The 2010 film belongs to the historical Tien story, rather than the contemporary setting of the original Ong-Bak.
Its production credits also clarify the collaboration: Jaa and Panna share directing duties, while Chupong is credited as an actor. Those distinctions allow his antagonist’s contribution to stand on its own. They also show why a list of films sharing a star or an English title cannot automatically be read as one continuous fictional biography.
Vengeance of an Assassin and the work behind a fight
Chupong reunited with Panna for Vengeance of an Assassin, playing Natee, a killer investigating his parents’ murder. Thailand’s Ministry of Culture records its Thai release as 13 November 2014, after Panna’s death. Well Go USA’s 14 April 2015 listing refers to a later US release.
Interviewed in 2014, Chupong described extended preparation and repeated rehearsals for a safe-house sequence. He also explained that much of the apparently remote action was filmed around Bangkok and in studios. His recollection of Panna as both mentor and family places the finished spectacle within a working community: locations, rehearsal and trust were as important to its construction as the performer visible on screen.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Dan Chupong
- Who is Dan Chupong?
- He is a Thai actor and stunt performer known for Born to Fight, Dynamite Warrior, the Crow Demon in Ong Bak 3 and Vengeance of an Assassin.
- Are Dan Chupong and Chupong Changprung the same actor?
- Yes. Distributor and ministry credits use Dan Chupong, Chupong Changprung and Choopong Changprung for this performer. The spellings do not identify different actors.
- Was Dan Chupong trained by Panna Rittikrai?
- He worked in Panna’s stunt community and identified him as a mentor. Chupong also described physical-education study and a connection with Tony Jaa before becoming a leading actor.
- Who does Dan Chupong play in Ong Bak 3?
- The Crow Demon. Tony Jaa plays Tien; Jaa and Panna Rittikrai share the directing credit.
- Is Vengeance of an Assassin a 2014 or 2015 film?
- Its Thai release was 13 November 2014, according to the Ministry of Culture directory. Well Go USA lists 14 April 2015 for its later US release.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Panna Rittikrai
Follow the mentor and director behind Born to Fight and Vengeance of an Assassin.
- Tony Jaa
Read about his physical-education senior and Ong Bak 3 co-star, whose character Tien faces the Crow Demon.
- Cecep Arif Rahman
Compare an Indonesian silat teacher’s separate route into screen action; this is a craft connection, not a claim that they co-starred.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. IMDbDan Chupong — biographical overview and commonly listed birthday
Used narrowly for the commonly listed March birthday and Kalasin birthplace, not as a civil record or a complete independently checked filmography.
- 2. Sahamongkol Film / ThaiPR, syndicated by RYT9Dynamite Warrior — studio production publicity and cast biographies, 2006 (Thai)
Sahamongkol Film’s 2 November 2006 publicity, syndicated through ThaiPR/RYT9, gives 23 January 1981; later database biographies give 23 March. Year-only birth precision preserves the disagreement. Promotional plans and claims about performing without doubles are not treated as independent verification.
- 3. SanookInterview with Deaw Chupong — education and early film work, 2006 (Thai)
The 6 December 2006 first-person interview supports the physical-education club, early stunt work and audition account. These are attributed recollections, not independently dated education certificates.
- 4. Magnolia PicturesDynamite Warrior — official English synopsis
- 5. Magnolia PicturesOng Bak 3 — cast and production credits
- 6. British Board of Film ClassificationOng Bak 3 — 2010 film classification record
- 7. Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, ThailandVengeance of an Assassin — credits and Thai release, printed p. 81
Printed p. 81 (PDF p. 83), checked in text and rendered form, records the cast, Natee role and 13 November 2014 Thai opening. The April 2015 distributor date concerns a later market.
- 8. Student WeeklyAssassins in action — Dan Chupong and Nattawut Boonrabsap interview, 2014
Dan’s answers support preparation, locations and mentorship. The adjacent boxing-gym childhood belongs to interviewee Wut, not Dan. The introduction’s release-week wording is not used for the precise Thai opening date.
- 9. Well Go USAVengeance of an Assassin — cast, synopsis and later US release
