My family members are as fond of acting as I am, but I don’t want to force them to be me. I’m sure my children learn much from my life. They don’t need formal education in acting.

Up to now Indonesian movies are amazing in terms of the stories, values and conflicts which make them unique from other (countries). It doesn’t matter how people compare local films with Hollywood movies. People are entitled to their own opinions.

My hope is that film enthusiasts, especially young people and film students, who are assets to our country, continue making films, as it benefits our country.

Surely, it is a necessity to involve my family in my acting career. We work together to perfect my performance. For example, I receive a great deal of input from my children.

Family plays a significant role in my performance and I’m fortunate to having my family supporting me. They understand who I am and what I am doing.

I act whoever I want to be. Nobody can oppose me; not even the President! I play a role of my liking, and that’s by my choice. To me it’s about expressing myself.

I didn’t come to acting in search of anything. I did it because I want to express what’s inside me and present it to the audience – that’s it. Just like a painter expresses himself through his paintings, I find that in theater, including movies and pantomime.

Acting gives a lesson for one to be expressive, as they mimic a character. It’s a complex method that you wouldn’t understand unless you learn drama yourself. However, acting covers everything about life, because you learn it within yourself.

Lessons, such as self-confidence, are all covered when learning acting. Hence, you gain an understanding of life values, which is an important lesson at any age.

This learning method is not all about playing a character in a movie, but is also about how one can impersonate a different self into his own personality by knowing his background, motives and everything else.

Every single role that’s ever been handed down to me is the greatest one because I get to discover another self that’s not my own. I’m confronted with who my character is; what’s his role, what are his motives and what is his background.

An interesting moment for me was when I put effort into reflecting upon my role. There is no matter in concerning [the role] a protagonist or antagonist, but it’s how I can reflect on that role.

My greatest moment throughout my career is every single time I’m shooting on set, simply because I become someone else. I find huge excitement when exploring another character.

However, when it comes to selecting a role, I only single ones of my particular liking. When I don’t feel it’s [the right role] I won’t accept it. Which roles I look for are just for me to know. Just watch my movies and you can see.

There’s no certain place or person that I come to in search of inspiration. Learning, acting, it’s all a study of life itself. I find inspiration in life as a whole. I look to my left, to my right and everything that I’ve observed throughout my life as a token for my roles.”

—  As told to Wibisono Notodirdjo

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