TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Is actor Chicco Kurniawan Indonesia’s next hearthrob?
Humble beginnings, industry recognition and YouTube-approved charm — Chicco Kurniawan has not let his abusive childhood stop him from rising in the ranks of local movie stars.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Award winner: Chicco Kurniawan poses with his Citra Best Actor Award at the 2021 Indonesian Film Festival. (Courtesy of Nusa Kalimasada) (Courtesy of Nusa Kalimasada/Courtesy of Nusa Kalimasada)
H
umble beginnings, industry recognition and YouTube-approved charm — Chicco Kurniawan has not let his abusive childhood stop him from rising in the ranks of local movie stars.
Chicco Kurniawan has been many things for the past several years: a self-taught actor, a promising neophyte, an international festival darling and just recently, a recipient of the prestigious Citra Award. Nevertheless, he never imagined there would come a time when he would be considered a recognized leading man, let alone the nation's latest heartthrob. Thanks to his acclaimed turn in the 2021 film Penyalin Cahaya (Photocopier) and heartbreaking chemistry with pop-R&B singer Ziva Magnolya in her viral music video for "Peri Cintaku" (My Fairy of Love) in April, the 27-year-old thespian found himself in an exciting, albeit unfamiliar chapter of his career.
Asked whether he now considers himself one of Indonesia's most admired dreamboats, Chicco could not hide his blush and nervous beam.
"I don't think so. I don't know. Um, I think this is the toughest question [of them all]!" he told The Jakarta Post with a laugh during a one-on-one sit-down on April 22.
The sardonic ingenue
First and foremost, Chicco refused to romanticize his vocation as an actor; the Jakarta native openly acknowledged that his initial motivation was to score "easy money" to make ends meet. Moreover, he was not hesitant when he said that he had never been a consummate cinephile.
