Big laughs

Sathan Koomgate doesn't know Peter Dinklage, though they share a profession and a physical condition. Dinklage, a dwarf and the beloved star of Game Of Thrones, won an Emmy for best supporting actor last month for playing Tyrion Lannister in the hit series. Sathan doesn't dream of such glory, content that his abnormal stature gives him a livelihood as a more simple form of entertainer.

Dinklage -- since his character is very complex and arguably the richest in Game Of Thrones -- shows that it's possible for dwarves to move away from playing stereotypes, such as leprechauns or mystical creatures. But things are different here, and dwarves in the entertainment industry in Thailand are still largely playing the role of clowns.

Sathan is one of the very active dwarves in the showbiz industry. In a way, he has fully let himself be exploited by the comedy world -- playing up his physical disadvantage for laughs -- but in return, he has also exploited the business to make a living for himself over the past 20 years. We followed him around for a day. 

5AM

Sathan Koomgate, 42, and standing at 120cm, wakes up at daybreak since he has to travel from his rented apartment in Nakhon Pathom to a television studio in Rama IX to shoot three episodes of a variety show.

The show is called Ngan Kao Tee Lao Ped (Busted In A Duck Pen), featuring celebrities who are challenged to stifle their laughter through a series of slapstick comedy sketches. If they crack up, they will be attacked by ducks. Sathan is a duck.

He is dressed up in a duck costume. Two other dwarves join him in the show; one, who is taller, plays a duck like himself, the other, who's shorter, takes up different roles in each episode. 

Aside from TV shows, other roles Sathan has performed include being in a panda costume for a Japanese air-conditioner commercial; starring in both Thai and intentional films as an extra as well as being hired to play football with celebrities and country politicians. 

Sathan's journey started from being a walk-on comedian back in the heyday of "comedy cafés" in the 90s to forming a freelance crew "Super Dwarves" with his dwarf friends to accept all kinds of entertainment jobs to earn a crust.

"We dwarves always say that it is because of our physique that we are able do what we are doing," said Sathan. "We use our physique to bring humour. We sell our physique to make a living."

9am 

The earlier he makes it to the bus stop, the better, he says. The bus he takes is usually not packed in the morning, which is preferable to him because he finds it uncomfortable to stand in a crowded space as his head is only at about the same level as other passengers' waists. 

"But apart from something where height is a prerequisite, I can do everything like normal people," said Sathan. "I eat what other people eat and I do things other people do. Everything is the same."

A native of Phetchaburi, Sathan was born with achondroplasia. He is the third of five children and his eldest sister is also a dwarf. His family makes a living from farming.

His parents didn't know he was a dwarf until he was seven. However, Sathan himself didn't know until several years later. He just knew that his friends were getting taller than him. 

"From Grade 2 to Grade 6, I would just grow a centimetre taller a year," said Sathan. "Then it all stopped at end of Grade 6, leaving me with this height forever."

Coming to terms with dwarfism was not easy. He and his sister were the only dwarves living in the village comprising over 100 households. He couldn't work in rice paddies during summer breaks like his friends and wasn't allowed to go to temple fairs with his siblings because they thought he wouldn't survive if dragged into a brawl.

"I felt down in the dumps," Sathan said. "I always thought why me, why does it have to be me, and why am I not like my friends? I always cried myself to sleep."

He quit school after finishing elementary education and spent his teenage years at home until 17 when his family sent him to Bangkok to attend a technical school for people with disabilities. He got in with help from his relatives.

According to the Ministry of Public Health, a dwarf doesn't necessarily fall into the disabled persons category.

But they are able to access free healthcare, welfare allowances and other privileges provided for the disabled by the state as stipulated in the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act in 1991 if they are confirmed of their disabilities by a physician.

However, given this ambiguity, many dwarves have been excluded. No study detailing the population of dwarves in Thailand has been conducted.

Being in school with classmates physically more unfortunate than him, Sathan never again felt despondent about being a dwarf.

Noon

At the studio, the shooting begins. Sathan and one of the two other dwarves in duck costumes sit waiting backstage, keeping track of what is going on at the shoot through a small television. 

After one of the celebrities bursts out laughing -- meaning he loses -- it's time for Sathan and his friend to wobble out on the stage to feign attacking him. A fun jingle reminiscent of a circus song blares out. Their stage appearance lasts less than 30 seconds and they swiftly make their way out of the scene.

While Sathan and his friend get to wait for their upcoming turns by sitting comfortably on plastic chairs, the other dwarf lies in a wooden crate, the size of a dog carrier, to get ready for his stunt.

"You may think of it as abuse when you see [what we do] but you shouldn't see it that way," said Sathan.

"I think it's perfectly fine. I never thought that I was being abused. I never questioned why I have to be a joke for other people. I can do anything to make a living." After all, for Sathan, it is an easy job and he is happy to do it. And he has his reasons. He tried something else before but he learned that actually nothing suits him better than being a comedian.

At technical school, he studied to be a welder for almost a year only to learn that continuing with such a path was close to impossible. Later, he changed to leather-making. Before long, he was offered a job at a leather bag factory, where he was responsible for gluing leather bags. He received 60 baht a day.

The day that changed his life forever came after he had plugged away in the factory for three years. On the way home, a strange-looking man spotted him from the petrol station nearby and ran to him. The man told me him that he ran a comedy group and asked whether Sathan was interested in joining. Terrified, he took the name card and ran away. "Back then I didn't know what being a comedian meant," said Sathan. "I thought I was going to be abducted. As a dwarf, this was something that I was rightfully afraid of."

Three weeks later, he was bored and thought of that man. He called him to ask for more details. The man soon showed up at the factory to pick him up in his van.

Sathan went on the stage at a comedy café that night after gulping some whiskey to give him Dutch courage. All he had to do was let other comedians make fun of him and he received 200 baht in return.

Easy money, he thought. And in the blink of an eye, he has been funny for over 20 years.

2pm

After shooting is over, it's time for lunch. The dwarves come out to sit on the couch outside the studio to eat. They still have a little over an hour to rest before the shooting of another two more episodes resumes.

Sathan makes 4,000 baht an episode. Though it seems like a lot of money, sometimes he finds it difficult to make ends meets as his income is never fixed and he needs to send money to his stay-at-home wife and son back in Phetchaburi.

His wife is a non-dwarf while his 11-year-old son is like him.

Asked what he wants his son to be when he grows up, he doesn't hesitate: "A comedian." He added: "A comedian is a job for people like me. Being a comedian is the most awesome job."

9pm

His work is finished and he's ready to go home. Sathan grabs his tote bag, which is almost as big as his body, and leaves the studio. He heads towards the bus stop at the street in front of the studio. After a long while, the bus, one with not many passengers on it, arrives. 

He clambers up, slowly and carefully, and seats himself on one of the unoccupied window seats. He looks out of the window, his chin resting on his hand and face tinged with the entire day's exhaustion, gazing at the world where the majority of people are much taller than him.

"As a dwarf, I used to think of jumping in a river to kill myself when I was young," said Sathan.

"Now I thank myself for not having the guts to do it."