It should not take very long before we find out if actor-turned-politician Prompong Nopparit's dreams have come closer to becoming reality. After all, he may be representing the opposition Pheu Thai Party in the Bangkok by-elections held on July 25 to replace the late Democrat MP Tiva Ngernyuang.
"My biggest dream is to become an MP," Prompong, who is currently the party's spokesman, said.
Should he become an MP, he would be able to represent people both inside and outside the Parliament, he said, adding that as a lawmaker he would be able to keep an even closer eye on the government.
Prompong has been working on demands from people to scrutinise the government and currently has 48 professionals voluntarily helping him on legal, political, economic, social and foreign affairs issues as well as graft probes.
"They can see that I work hard. When I publicise issues in press conferences, they see that their help is having an impact, so they are happy to continue assisting me," he said.
Besides, he said, as a party spokesperson he doesn't receive a salary or any share in the profits.
Prompong, a divorced father of three, says he lives on his savings and shares from his family's rubber farm and rental business.
"I don't indulge in luxuries and my aides only get four-digit salaries," he said.
Prompong, who previously worked as a spokesman for the Culture Ministry as well as the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said he initially intended to do this job for the first three months of Pheu Thai's inception until he could find someone to replace him. However, he has been in the job for a year and seven months so far.
During this period, he has filed 159 cases against politicians and organisations, and faces one libel suit filed by Constitution Court judge Wasan Soipisut after Democrat MP Sirichok Sopha withdrew his libel case.
Prompong's inspiration comes from late US president Ronald Reagan. "He proved that actors too have brains," he said. "I've been an actor and a businessman for most of my life. The acting was just a job, now I want to contribute to the public."
A native of Phang Nga province in the South, Prompong made his way to Bangkok when he was 18 with two dreams - to become an actor and a politician. He funded his history degree at Ramkhamhaeng University by washing cars, delivering newspapers and driving a taxi before he was introduced to veteran actor Sorapong Chatree's modelling agency.
He spent two years working as film crew before being given the job of an extra for three years and then graduating to lead roles on the big screen. It didn't take too long before he became a national award-winning actor and could afford to sponsor his younger sisters' education.
However, he quit the entertainment industry before his stardom faded. "I didn't want to play the lead characters' father or grandfather," Prompong, who is now in his 40s, said.
He then added with a smile: "I'm okay with the media calling me 'Sadet Phi' [a theatrical reference to older brother], I just don't want to be called 'Sadet Por' [father]."
Just recently, he turned down some acting jobs offering him a seven-digit salary.
"I represent the party's 189 MPs as a spokesman. I don't want to confuse people and am serious about politics," Prompong said.
When he was 25, Prompong wanted to join General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's New Aspiration Party but he could not due to his acting contract.
However, after finishing his master's degree in political communications from Bangkok's Krirk University in 2005, he joined the Democrat Party. His mentor then was Nakhon Si Thammarat MP Thepthai Senpong, though Prompong quit in seven months because he found the party's style "too conservative".
He then started pursuing a doctorate on human-resource management at Pathum Thani University, which he completed earlier this year.
In the meantime, former Thai Rak Thai MP for Phang Nga, Krit Srifah, who was banned after his party was dissolved in 2007, approached Prompong to represent People Power Party in the general election held the same year.
Though the former actor lost, he still kept up his connections with the party and avidly attended talks held by prominent politicians such as Chaturon Chaisang, Pongthep Thepkanjana and Surapong Suebwonglee.
"I really admire Thaksin Shinawatra's innovative ideas. His Bt30 universal healthcare scheme and the village fund has really benefited people," he said.
Yet, Prompong admitted that he had never spoken to Thaksin personally.
When asked which Thai politician he most looked up to, Prompong took a while before saying: "MR Kukrit Pramoj, whose motto was 'I'm not afraid of you'. Though he was one of the elite, he had a lot in common with me - being a writer, a thinker and a performer who had the soul of a fighter and a democracy advocate."
Prompong said he has tried to live up to Kukrit's motto. "From an upcountry boy, I've come this far. I'm happy to be here and want to contribute to Bangkok. I've never dreamed of going abroad," he said.
As for his future plans, Prompong is worried that if he ran as an MP while still hanging on to the spokesman's post, the party may face the risk of dissolution. According to the Constitution, a party can be dissolved if one of its executives is found involved in electoral fraud.
Therefore, he said, the party might be reluctant to let him go because it may not be able to find someone suitable to replace him.