Thu Riya

Biography

Thu Riya (Burmese: သူရိယ; born Thura Lynn on 6 May 1989) is a Burmese actor, model, television presenter, and a comedian. He has starred in over 40 films in his acting career.

== Early life and education == Thuriya was born on 6 May 1989 in Bago, Bago Region, Myanmar. He is the eldest son of Kyi Linn and Cho Cho Mar, proprietors of Sein Bayek traditional medicine production. He is the eldest of four siblings, having two younger brothers, Aung Thu Linn and Chan Pyae Pyae Linn and a younger sister Khin Thissa Kyi. Thuriya started his schooling at the Basic Education High School No. 3 Bago, till 9th grade and moved to Yangon to attend the Basic Education High School No. 1 Dagon. He then enrolled at the Institute of Myanmar Traditional Medicine, Mandalay in 2005 and graduated with a Dip.T.Med. in 2008 and then relocated to Yangon to help out in his parents’ family business.

== Career ==

=== Beginnings ===

Thuriya's first appearance in television was in 1997, in the advertisement of his parents’ Sein Bayek traditional medicine house. He began his acting career as a child and performed in many Myanmar history films. Due to his schooling, he was not able to contribute fully in the acting career, but occasionally he participated in many entertainments of school concerts and educational films. In 2009, permission was granted by his parents to enter into the field of acting, which is the focus of his life, since his childhood.

=== 2010–2013: Acting debut and breakthrough ===

Thuriya's acting debut was a supporting role in 2010 in Myawaddy TV’s short films. Through these experiences, he became connected with Myanmar films enterprise and performed in supporting roles in many films and soon gained recognition by the audiences. He also acted in some music videos. In 2011, he entered into a five-year contract with Mahogany Film and Video Production and made his acting debut in the film A-Mi Me Tha (Motherless son) and changed his name from Thura Linn to Thuriya. In 2013, Thuriya was in a dispute with Mahogany due to the very heavy indemnity, he was deterred from making any films or performing any acts with any other productions during the contract period with Mahogany film production. At that time, he was also not in good terms with his family and had disappeared from his home and the film industry for a period of two years.

=== 2016–present: Breaking into the big screen === In 2016, Thuriya starred in the Big screen feature film Facebook Ywa (Facebook Village). The film was produced by Aung Thiri Production, and screened in Myanmar cinemas in 2016, and was considered a big success, with full houses in the movie theatres.