Tony Jaa: The new Desmond?

Word on the street is, my favorite thai kick-boxer/ martial artist, Tony Jaa, has decided to leave the film industry. He's traded in his action star status to become a monk (buddhist, not Christian, duh). Last Friday the actor rode an elephant to a temple in Surin, Thailand.

At which point, he shaved his head, took vows, and became an ordained monk, brother.

There's a lot of speculation as to why the actor took this spiritual leap of faith. This article points out that it's probably related to his recent attempt and failure at taking total creative control over his latest (and now, maybe, lastest) starring movie. The whole thing almost seems like a plot line of an action movie he would star in; a popular handsome martial arts star falls from grace and seeks redemption on a soul searching journey to a temple where his craft was originally forged. Man, I smell a biopic that's too good to be true. "The Tony Jaa Story"...

At any rate, I am quite sad that he's taking this indefinite hiatus, because he's absolutely the man. I will miss seeing his stylings! But I hope this life change brings him inner peace.