Ria Irawan: ‘I’m not too proud to say I’m sorry’

Your first memory?
Trying to remember my elementary school class roster every time I woke up in the morning. Because I was the kid who always brought the wrong books and would get into trouble.

If you hadn’t gone into acting, what would you like to have been?
A fish! I was thinking reincarnation! I wanted to have an island and become a writer.

Describe yourself in a sentence?
Someone who looks straight ahead, takes things step by step and is under God’s care.

What is the worst thing about getting older?
Still single! I don’t have any children, don’t have a husband and so I fear I might end up alone. I think it is time for me to start a foundation or an orphanage, so I will be surrounded by people in my old age.

And the best?
More patient and wiser.

Your best trait?
I’m not too proud to say sorry, and always try to say thank you. Is that a habit or characteristic?

And worst?
I’m easily influenced by the power of suggestion. But it can be a good thing. When I was shooting Berbagi Suami (Shared Love), I hurt my hand and it swelled up so much that the nurse couldn’t get a needle into my vein. But she said, “Just believe in me.” And I did, and she was able to give me an injection. It may be good for me to study hypnotherapy. They say that people born in 1969, the year of the rooster, have supernatural tendencies, and it’s also something from my mother’s side of the family.

Happiest moment of your life?
When I can walk among many people without feeling uneasy and people don’t know me. I can just sit down on a bench and relax. It often happens, most recently in Hong Kong.

And saddest?
When people accuse me of acting when I’m actually explaining something. For me, we have to be able to distinguish between when someone is acting and when someone is lying. Acting is a profession, that’s fine, but you have to have a director and a script to do it. But the two things of acting and being are not the same.

Who or what has been your most important teacher?
Everybody – is that too many? Because I don’t just learn from the cleverness of people, but also from other people’s mistakes. I’ve become an observer. When I see a thief, I don’t learn how to steal, but think about what drove them to do it.

What is the craziest thing you’ve done?
Which one? There are so many crazy things. Next question, please.

What would people be surprised to know about you?
That I’m a person who likes to go to the salon. When people see me there, they’ll say, “So you actually like to go to the salon?” I feel like slapping them (laughs). Are you surprised, too?

Your favorite, hands-down winning culinary dish?
I just have two descriptions for food, delicious and really delicious. The only foods that I don’t like are those that are haram and … what? Oh, fried tempeh, although I like tempeh bacem (tempeh stewed in soy and palm sugar). For fried tempeh, I probably would like it, but I just think about the way it is cooked, in all that oil, so I can’t bring myself to eat it.

The love of your life?
Superman! I could fly with him, and he’s a journalist, so I think he wouldn’t have to take the bus, he could just soar to his next assignment. Handsome? That’s relative. But I don’t know if Tukul was a journalist and became Superman whether I would like him!

The piece of music you love the most?
The first album I bought was Michael Frank, and the second was the Rolling Stones, so I don’t know if they reflect my tastes in music. From nature, I’ve heard the sound of the tide ebbing and flowing over coral, going back and forth breaking over the reefs. And that creates its own harmony.

I always carry with me …
Baby oil. Why? I don’t know why. It’s a secret, or I don’t know the answer? But I can go without taking a bath and just put on some baby oil, and I’m fine.

Who inspires you?
Superman and Donald Duck. Because from Superman I learned something good, but from Donald Duck and all his friends I learned a lot from the different characters, about making money, the compactness of being part of a group. Donald actually isn’t evil, but his voice is so annoying.

What makes you angry?
Seeing stupidity. I also get mad at myself when I do something stupid.

Any regrets?
Not really. At one point I was someone who was impatient and from that I studied the process of becoming patient. You actually learn from the process, that is the important thing.

+ Bruce Emond
Illustration by Martin Dima

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