PHO KYAW lifts one of his eyebrows and breaks his deep concentration before stating:

As I understand, there is no destination for an artist. All one has to do is keep creating new things until he passes his last breath. When he dies, every thing is over. Before that, he must always make the best of him or herself,” he says.

For many, listing your job as ‘artist’ only guarantees a financially challenging lifestyle. But Pho Kyaw’s firm ideals paid off at the recent Myanmar Academy Awards, where he received the Best Supporting Actor award.

It was a great achievement and Pho Kyaw knows it will bring a lot attention to him and his acting.

One would assume that more attention would also bring more lucrative contracts. But Pho Kyaw hasn’t had any job offers since his win and is not interested in selling out to bad films for more money.

“No one has offered me a job yet. But, I don’t care. I make sure I save money when I am earning well and now I am living off that. It’s ok,” he says in his carefree manner. “Another movie role will come around when the time is right.”

Ecstatic after winning the Best Supporting Actor Academy Awards. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

Pho Kyaw is one of few celebrities in Myanmar who speaks openly and frankly to the media, providing journalists with everything they want and more, sometimes even too much for publishing.

He is ready to speak openly about his love affairs and life as an actor. He is also not shy to talk about the old and hard days when he struggled to step into the entertainment industry.

His beloved father sold their family car and used the money for his son to make a video, in 1992. Unfortunately, it was not successful and they were unable to try a second time as they had little money.

“I knew nothing about acting at that time. All I knew was I wanted to be an actor and to work in one movie after another,” he says.

After that failure, he ran away from home, wandered the streets and lived like a gypsy for a while. His life was like a rollercoaster, full of twists and turns that didn’t always work out well. A fortunate meeting with actor Dwe in Januray of 2000 changed all that.

He acted in a minor role alongside Dwe at the time before moving away from the camera again for a year and a half. After this break, to his surprise, a shooting manager came to him one day and told him that the now-deceased Dwe wanted him to co-star in a new movie called, taung tan tway ne pin le pyar (Blue sea with mountains).

It was the start of a great relationship; both actors worked together on projects over many years. They formed a remarkably close relationship, one that Pho Kyaw still cherishes to this day.

“I was very depressed when he passed away. I have certain reasons for that. Just before he passed away, he advised me to become a director for him. I showed him five stories I had written and he said he liked all of them. You know people came to me and tried to buy those stories when he left but I just burned all of them. It was my intention that those stories be exclusively for him. I can’t find a replacement for his role,” he says sadly.

He faces a familiar situation to many actors around the world — when audiences hear their name they think of villain characters. Donald Sutherland, Gene Hackman, Gary Oldman and, in Myanmar, Pho Kyaw. A popular choice for this role, he is content in filling the darker shoes on the set.

“I haven’t had many chances to play other roles. Directors just hire me for that role. I couldn’t survive without acting so I decided to make a name for myself in that role. It has been an interesting experiment. Once, some of the girls spat at me when we were shooting outdoors. They see me as a villain, not only in the movie but also off the screen. At that time I was so sad I couldn’t eat for two weeks. Now it’s over. The fans have become more understanding and they know me as the best villain in the industry,” he says with a smile.

Pho Kyaw said that the academy award was the first milestone in his career but there are still many things he wants to do and many levels he needs to reach. Between 2005 and 2007 he spent a significant amount of time writing poems, stories, scripts and working as co-director to develop his skills.

“At this point in time I don’t think I’m skillful enough to be the king of the set but I’m trying my best to become a good director someday. I am always learning, even from the people on the streets every day. They teach me what reality looks like,” he says.

The Academy Award is indeed a milestone in his career but with it comes certain extra pressures. With his profile growing all the time, the need to behave in public is a daunting challenge for the king of on-screen villains.

“For me, this academy statue is not only a pride but also a dangerous piece of property to own. Since the day I received that award, my younger sister warns me when I leave home to take care of every move I make. She said I have to be smiling, laughing and polite all the time, even if I don’t want to. I also need to care about my new work more than before. I can’t allow rubbish to be screened in my name,” Pho Kyaw said.

A unique individual, he is one of the very few artists in Myanmar who has devoted his whole life to his career without thinking about family, love and any other ties. He openly says he has many girlfriends but he doesn’t want to marry any of them. He also says he is the kind of boyfriend who takes extreme care of every girlfriend he has but he doesn’t want to put the pressure of family life on his shoulder.

“I just want to love, and to be loved. I don’t want to take respon-sibility. I know if I get married to a girl, she will become miserable. Now I go back home if I want to and if I don’t want to, I don’t. If I’m married, I can’t do that. I can’t allow any barriers that would disturb my working life,” he admits.

Now living with his parents in South Okkalapa, Pho Kyaw is adamant he will continue to pursue the challenges and rewards that only an actor knows until he passes his last breath — no doubt with happy memories of pursuing his life's passion, art.