here is some proof is khmer origin.

his biography sites
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1388074/bio

Interview with him speaking khmer( he say our fighting technique doesnt state thai nor khmer)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AJ9tLpXn-yc

He's thai 4 sure! He was born in (the kingdom of thailand) he speake Issan, thai, cambodian and english ! he's currently filming Ong bak 2

here is what it saids in the bio -"Is actually of Cambodian descent, more known as "Khmer Surin".
So its like me im khmer living in the u.s im still khmer in ethnic.
Tony Jaa ethnic is khmer hes just Thai because he born in Khmer Surin land that was khmer land that got taken over by Thai.
So he both if anything

He can speak all the Khmer he wants. He can have whatever percentage of Khmer he claim to be, but in the end, He is not Khmer to me.

Well said.....but to me your also not Khmer!

Haha Why not?

so if my family come from bangkok but i was born in Surin hospital is that make me Khmer ?? NO!

Well, Tony Jaa said himself that he's Khmer descendant in Khmer, not Thai, so that makes him Khmer. Just because he was born in Thailand doesn't mean he's not Khmer.

In your case, its like a Khmer-French guy saying you are not Khmer because you eat, sleep American culture. Just because you live in American doesn't make you not Khmer, right? So again, Tony Jaa is Thai by nationality, and Khmer by ethnicity. Let leave it at that!

Last time I checked, I do my best to promote things that are Khmer and Cambodian. Can you easily say the same for him? And yes, I know he is doing whatever he can for a living. Aint nothing wrong with that, but he still isn't Khmer to me for that reason. So yeah he is Khmer by flesh. By heart, he can claim to be white for all I care.

^^you are right...he doesn't promote khmer culture.
To me he's thai of khmer background (if his parents parents lived in Surin).
We should focus more on the fact that a DARK asian is kicking @$$ on the big screen...just my opinion.
Just like that Buakaw kickboxer guy, who is born in Surin too I think. I don't care if he's khmer or not. He's black and he's kicking @$$...reprezenting!!! hahahaha!

To me, Tony Jaa is just confused. I could care less what he claim to be.

tony jaa is kuy origin . for all mon-khmer kuy is the close relate to khmer.

Is Phanom a typical name for a Kuy or Khmer living in Surin or Thailand? I know the name has its origins in the Khmer language but I've never heard of any Cambodian actually named Phnom before.

Is his last name actually Worawit? I always thought it was Yeerum. :O

khmer and kuy not like chinese don't use last name . most chin in cambodia not using real last name you have to ask
if you want to know their real family name they use grand father name for last name like modern khmer for thai alway change name many time in their life if bad thing happen
for kuy people some time claim to be khmer for high status now good to be thai same with some khmer sorin
.

Aww dude I almost ran outta breath trying to read that

!!!!
he probably part thai/khmer

anyone can put that on imdb.

Are you Khmer, Youn or Jen?

It doesn't matter where you are borne! If you are Chinese borne in Surin will make you Chinese with Thai Nationality. If you are Malay borne in Surin will still make you Malay with Thai Nationality. If you are a mixed then you are a mixed of two ethnicities but still have Thai Nationality. Due to the fact that you were borne inside Thai soveriegnty. People in Thailand have always have problems separating ethnicity and nationality. To best illustrate the concept for you is the situation in the southern changwat where the Thai Government referred to them as Thai Muslim but the people themselves are Malay Thai and would like keep it that way.

Tony Jaa can kiss my arse.

He's a money making brown chamelean border rat.

Get your technicallities straight. Hes is not Cambodian. Cambodian is a nationality granted to those born in Cambodia. He is not Tai, Tai is an ethnicity.

He is Khmer by ethnic, by blood. He is Thai by nationality, being born a Thai citizen. He is Khmer and Thai. Not Cambodian or Tai.

If he is a chameleon border rat, then what are you?

He's basically a person of Khmer blood that was born and raised in Thailand. END OF STORY!

DJTherkTrei?!?!?! Hahahahaha...that's a freaking cool name!

I am what you think i am, when you look in the mirror.

That is deep Point Dexter. What a Khmer name is that "Point Dexter"?

I'm just bummed out that he doesn't promote his khmer-ness. But i'm sure later on in his career, he'll show it.

To Wardrum, thank the khmer comedians I saw on "Best of the Best", and my love for steak and spicy fish sauce for the inspiration.

I'm not gonna argue...steak and spicy fish sauce is a good combo. A freaking good one. My mouth is watering man!!!

I don't even know if I gave it the right name, spicy fish sauce was the first thing that came to mind, besides Red stuff that I assume is chilli peppers with fish sauce.

ne'yeay brap lok pomaan dong hauy kaw ke nov tae men chue kynom kaut mej jung?​ Kynom chea chon cheat Khmae te.

និយាយប្រាប់លោកប៉ុន្មានដងហើយក៏គេនៅតែមិនជឿខ្ញុំកើតម៉េចអញ្ចឹង?​ ខ្ញុំជាជនជាតិខ្មែរទេ។

What do you mean? He said he Khmer, he practice and promote Khmer martial arts (he said this himself) and he wears the red scarf (I think its call the Karma scarf?). From all of this, I’ll say he is more Khmer than most Khmers abroad. That's more than what expect I expect from someone who is born and raised in Thailand.

He say that to gain support from Cambodians, but I wonder if he actually follows through with it all.

^ If it's purely for monetary gain then I don't see why he would bother with Cambodia to be quite honest...

^Yeah true, but you see the moves he used in Ong bak that is Bokator and Khmer boran style

Tony Jaa is Lao-Khmer from Surin. His mom is Lao and his dad is Khmer.

Nah... Tony Jaa is nothing but a beautiful liar.

yes, he's a human like us all here, who try to live his own life.Success and failure mainly come from himself. I just know I like him in the movies,ouside the screen I don't care who he is or from, as long as he 's nice guy doing no harm to anybody verbally and physically.

Tony jaa rule!

What i feel pissed about him was that he came here, tried to speak beh-buh Khmer, just to advertise his movie. He lied to us to support his movie, he would comes and make film with us. The hell! where is he now? And looking at his profile, they say he knows Muay Thai, not Khmerboxing... shhhhhht

Exactly. Even that guy Nop Bayarith is more Khmer than this nigga Tony Jaa.

If you guys want to put it that way. Tony Jaa is not Khmer but Pol Pot, Eing Sary, Khieu Sampaun, Noun Chea, etc ......... are true Khmer. They never lie.

Don't let the small things hurt you by seeing the big picture of all things. Tony Jaa ia just a figure of what is happening with our people. Take the higher ground by not calling anybody names.

the guy is khmer and thai, (khmer surin) the reason why he had to put out he parts thai so he could be in the fame...the end.

Tony Jaa: Big Sellout!

I know that if Tony turns out more to be contributing to Khmer, then we will benefits alot. But actually, he is benefiting from us.

They are all sellouts, which demerits them of being Khmer.

wtf? tony jaa isnt Lao lol, where you'd get that from?? if you guys watch the full interview when he was in Phnom Penh promoting Ong-Bak in September 15th, 2003, he claimed to be full Khmer. Who said he was Thai by blood anyway? Thai people just like Khmer claiming him as Khmer lol? Anyway, thats not even matter anymore, most westerners sees him as Asian, Chinese or Taiwanese...

Lolz, even Laos wants him now.

Say what? I'm confused. You meant Pol Pot, Eing Sary, Khieu Sampaun, Noun Chea are khmer? Are you sure?

Everyone wants a piece of this guy as if being of the same ethnicity as he, would somehow boosts your ego.

he's being regarded as new, or Thai, Jackie Chan.

Well the Thais and Lao can be proud to have him. More power to them!