David Lee McInnis

THAIS KNOW David Lee McInnis from several South Korean TV dramas as the English-speaking bad guy, and more recently as the nasty ex-soldier in the series “Descendants of the Sun”. His mother is Korean, so he does well in that country.

Now we might have a chance to see Dave in person because he’s in Thailand – not meeting the fans like his “Descendants” co-star Song Joong-ki but working on the Thai series “What Lies Beneath”.

The soap opera produced by Shellhut Entertainment and Loei Do Dee Studios will air on True4U Channel 24 and has Wiraporn Jiravechsoontornkul, Patarapon “Ron AF 5” Tooun and Attaporn Theemakorn among its stars.

There’s been no word yet who’s playing the male lead, but it sounds like another actor will be imported from Seoul to fill the role.

The story is about Tim, the publicity guy at an entertainment company who has to constantly tell lies to the media to salvage a wayward actor’s image. Then one of the company’s actresses, Bell, gets involved in a scandal just as she’s auditioning for a Hollywood film being shot in Thailand. Bell and Tim develop a relationship, but it’s not easy when they’re always telling fibs.

McInnis appears as Hollywood actor Harry, in Thailand to make the movie. He describes his character as slick, funny and mysterious, which is intended to leave viewers feeling ambiguous about him. McInnis says working with a Thai production team is quite different from what he’s experienced in South Korea, but he’s enjoying it. 

This isn’t his first time in Thailand. He was here for two months 12 years ago shooting the Korean action blockbuster “Typhoon”, starring superstars Lee Jung-jae and Jae Dong-gun. 

That time he was playing yet another bad guy – and a Thai one at that, named Somchai, so he had to learn some lines in Thai. He recalls with a laugh that he picked up as much as he needed by translating his Thai lines into Korean so he’d understand them better.

It got him through the picture, but if any Thais saw “Typhoon” his part couldn’t have been that memorable. Even though McInnis is a veteran of many TV shows, his name isn’t familiar here. Only when he arrived in Thailand this time was he recognised by face as the English-speaking guy from Korean TV, usually an evil guy and sometimes even an international terrorist, as was the case in the action series “Iris 1” and “Iris 2”.

What is definitely memorable about McInnis is that, despite being regularly cast opposite Korean superstars, he always manages to steal the scene. Of course, being the only person speaking English in the scene helps him stand out, but his acting abilities deserve credit too, not to mention the choice roles he’s given.

This time around McInnis is spending between 10 and 14 days on the Thai set – and then a good few more on a well-deserved vacation somewhere among our beach-rimmed islands.