Tep Rindaro

Early life

Tep Rindaro was born in the village of Samrong, Battambang province, in western Cambodia and developed a passion for films at an early age. As a little boy, he went to the movies a lot and always dreamed of one day appearing on the big screen. Life was peaceful and tranquil in Samrong, relatively speaking, until the Cambodian civil war intensified, affecting evem tranquil Samrong. In 1975 the country finally fell to the communists and the nation was plunged into turmoil and chaos. The country's movie industry dissolved overnight and life drastically and irreversibly changed for everyone. At age twelve the young boy was sent to a work camp to do hard labor for the next three and a half years. Somehow, Rindaro managed to survive this terrible period though tragically, his father and several other family members did not survive the khmer rouge era. Afterward, Though he still dreamed of becoming an actor, he wanted to honor his father's wishes for him to be a doctor, a prestigious position in Cambodian society. Rindaro chose to study something more practical and decided instead to become an air plane mechanic. In 1981 he received a government scholarship to study in Russia as an airplane mechanic, though he never lost his dream of stardom. He worked as a mechanic mainly out of respect for, and in order to honor his now deceased father's wishes. In 1984, he returned to Cambodia from Russia with flying qualifications. Since there were no employment opportunities available at the Pochentong airport of Cambodia, now Phnom Penh International Airport, Rindaro decided to leave for Vietnam and work at Ho Chi Minh's airport for three years.

Early success

Upon returning home from Ho Chi Minh City in 1987, he was stopped by another driver who was an owner of film production company. He knew Rindaro from Battambang province. Because his look was similar to a certain Cambodian actor who was famous at that time, he was offered a role in a film "Secret Tears in the Quiet Purple Night". With no acting training, his ability to act naturally came merely from other films he watched and his own imagination. Although he had been promised to, Rindaro in fact never got paid for his acting in his first film. The film did not end up successful, but Rindaro gathered attention of other producers. He was later offered roles in other films such as Bopha Phnom Penh by Fai Sam Ang or Ark Kambang Kech Sanyar. In later films, he for the first time met actress Ampor Tevi, who then became his most common acting partner for more than decade. During the early 90's, he starred in more than ten movies per year. In 1994, he was cast in Peasants in Distress, a drama film written and directed by the ruling king Norodom Sihanouk. As one of the most famous Cambodian celebrities of that time, Tep Rindaro with some other local celebrities attended a tour to the United States of America, which has a large community of Cambodians who fled during the Khmer Rouge era.

Later career

During the late 90's, Cambodian cinema suffered from lack of funding and interest from producers, Tep Rindaro started to act in karaoke music videos. Some of them were with Dy Saveth, one of the most popular actresses of pre-Khmer Rouge cinema. Until 2001, all films made in Cambodia were cheap productions released directly as videotapes; however, this changed when Fai Sam Ang directed a Cambodia-Thai horror film The Snake King's Child, based on a famous Khmer legend about Snake King. This first-ever full-length feature film for cinema to be produced in Cambodia since 1975 featured Thai leading man Winai Kraibutr, and Tep Rindaro was offered a role of Snake King, with his longtime acting partner Ampor Tevi as his lover. This was also the last collaboration of this famous pair on screen, as Ampor Tevi sometime after release ended her acting career and moved to the USA. After a big success of The Snake King's Child, Tep Rindaro continued acting in more films and karaoke videos, and was offered a role in some Norodom Sihanouk productions, like a comedy film Lon Nol Lon Non Lonnoliens, and dramas Arsina, Le Cid Khmer and La Chatelaine de Banareath. Since 2010, he starred in some Khmer Mekong Films TV series, such as AirWaves, Beauty of Life, and My Family My Heart.

Personal life

Tep Rindaro got married in 1987, a marriage arranged by parents of both sides. They had one daughter, but the relationship lasted for only one year, before the couple got divorced in 1988. Shortly after that, his ex-wife and daughter left Cambodia and are now living abroad. He never got married again, but he has been taking care of two children of his deceased sister.

Awards

In 2005, he was awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation from Princess Bopha Devi on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and also received Royal Officer rank called Sina. Later, he was promoted by the King Norodom Sihamoni to a higher rank of Sina Mony Sophon. In 2012, he acquired Empire of Star Award.

Other activities

He is the owner of a coffee bar in the town of Siem Reap in western Cambodia.

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