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Tony Jaa

Tony Jaa

Actor, also director, producer and writer · Born February 5, 1976 (50) · Surin, Thailand

Tatchakorn Yeerum, better known Tony Jaa, is a martial artist, actor, and director who transformed Thai action cinema with his intense, acrobatic fighting style. Inspired by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li, he trained in Muay Thai and gymnastics, developing a breathtaking mix of speed, agility, and raw power. Jaa got his start in the film industry as a stunt double in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), where his impressive athleticism caught the eye of director Panna Rittikrai. Under Rittikrai’s mentorship, Jaa honed his craft and eventually starred in Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003). The film, featuring real, wire-free stunts and bone-crunching Muay Thai, revolutionized Thai action cinema and gained worldwide acclaim.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 5, 1976 (50)
From
Surin, Thailand
Works as
Actor, also director, producer and writer
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 33 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 2% in 30 days

What are Tony Jaa's films like?

Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
36%
Bonds
34%
Survival
23%
Self
5%
Society
2%
Justice9 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival8 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption3 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 17 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 6 · Dark 7

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 11 · Heightened 4

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 15

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 12 · Whiplash 4

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2

Relentless: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their relentless movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 11

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 11 · Full focus 1

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 9 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 17 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

13 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 7 of 13 analyzed roles.

Hero
7 of 13
Ally
6 of 13
Show the 13 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
15
Thrilling
15
Dread
3
Joyful
2
Triumphant
3
Other
8

How their films linger

Fun10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy11
  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Tony Jaa's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (14).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Tony Jaa's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

33 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Lakadbaggha 2: The Monkey Business (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Striking Rescue(2024)

    as Bai An

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films

  • The Expendables 4(2023)

    as Decha

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Detective Chinatown 3(2021)

    as Jack Jaa

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Monster Hunter(2020)

    as The Hunter

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Jiu Jitsu(2020)

    as Kueng

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Detective Chinatown(2020)

    Show 4 episodes · as Jack Jaa

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all shows

  • Triple Threat(2019)

    as Payu

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy(2018)

    as Sadi the Warrior

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Guardians of Martial Arts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Master Jaa

  • Paradox(2017)

    as Tak

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • xXx: Return of Xander Cage(2017)

    as Talon

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Never Back Down: No Surrender(2016)

    as Tony Jaa

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Kill Zone 2(2015)

    as Chatchai

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Furious 7(2015)

    as Kiet

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Skin Trade(2014)

    as Tony Vitayakul

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • The Protector 2(2013)

    as Kham

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Ong Bak 3(2010)

    Director · Producer · Story · Writer · as Tien

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Ong Bak 2(2008)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Tien

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • The Bodyguard 2(2007)

    as Piggy Bank Vendor

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • The Road to Glory: The Making of Ong-Bak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Actor

  • The Protector(2005)

    Martial Arts Choreographer · as Kham

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Bodyguard(2004)

    as Supermarket Fighter

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior(2003)

    Martial Arts Choreographer · as Ting

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat: Annihilation(1997)

    Stunt Double

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Puta khatha thalom khon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Actor

  • Hard Gun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    as Sak

  • Mission Hunter II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Actor

  • The Rowdy Bunch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Actor

  • Spirited Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Actor

  • Siamese Lion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    Actor

  • Nonstop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • Untitled Amazon MGM action project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 33 titles, 30 of them dated from 1992 to 2024; peak year 2014.

Biggest box office

Detective Chinatown 3 (2021)

$686M worldwide

Highest rated

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

Midcredits 88th

Most popular right now

xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)

Film career

19922024

Peak 2014 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 14 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting32 of 33: 28 only acting, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score36thDirecting2 of 33: 0 only directing, 2 with another roleWriting2 of 33: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing2 of 33: 0 only producing, 2 with another roleOther crew3 of 33: 1 only other crew, 2 with another role

33 titles, 4 with more than one role — acting and other crew overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1990s7 · 6 acting · 1 crew2000s6 · 6 acting · 3 crew2010s11 · 11 acting · 1 crew2020s6 · acting

Billing

usually 3rd · top billed in 38% of 21 roles
031318

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Tony Jaa's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 36th percentile, the median of all 21; across their 17 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 37th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

37thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Approval · how many liked their films

35thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 17

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 22 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Mixed12

Most divisive · actor

The Bodyguard 2 (2007)

72nd percentile spread · 25% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

Midcredits 88th · 77% liked

Reviewers score the acting 44/100 in their films, across 17 reviewed titles; fans 60, detractors 28. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Tony Jaa's work okay for kids?

Across up to 13 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore9 titles53–90 · median 82 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity13 titles13–51 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles23–77 · median 55 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs6 titles20–53 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense6 titles33–62 · median 58 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Tony Jaa work with?

People who share at least 2 of Tony Jaa's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Phetthai Vongkumlao shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles