Often referring to himself by his nickname "Uncle Ad", Sombati was apparently inspired by the action hero turned politician.

Asked if he would flex his muscles against the bad guys in the Senate, Sombati replied, "No! No! We will talk things out peacefully."

Like Schwarzenegger, Sombati, who still looks very athletic, has often played the good-hearted leading man or a righteous action hero in his career spanning five decades and more than 600 feature films.

Tens of thousands of Bangkok voters on Wednesday chose Sombati to be one of Bangkok's 18 senators. "I'm ready for this. In fact, I have planned for this for a long time," he said.

In 2002, Sombati decided at the age of 62 to go back to school to get a college degree to qualify for the Senate election. He went on to get a master's degree in political science and is currently studying for a doctorate in political science at Eastern Asia University.

"I believe the knowledge I obtained from university will enable me to fulfil my new assignment as a senator," he said.

Sombati is not only a likeable celebrity but is also adored by legions of fans because he's among few "real" movie stars. He always dressed properly in public, never cursed (in public) and referred to himself as "Uncle Ad" to show intimacy with his fans. He has never been caught up in any scandal.

"I believe people voted for me because they think I am a good person. I was never involved in a scandal. I have a good family. I have been faithful to my wife of more than 40 years," he said.

Sombati said he started walking about to introduce himself to voters two weeks before the election. "I couldn't say much [because of the law] except hand over my pamphlets and introduce myself. And people tended to respond to that. 'Khun Sombati, you don't have to introduce yourself. We know you!'"

Sombati said he had always greeted people with a wai to show his humble gratitude to his fans, but this nearly got him in trouble on election day.

"When I walked to the election booth and people smiled at me, I almost put my hands up to wai them back. Then a friend whispered, 'don't do that, it's against the law'. So I had to force myself to only nod back to my fans," he said.

Jeerawat Na Thalang

The Nation