S

enior actor Donny Damara has made a comeback, after being declared the best lead actor -- not just in Indonesia, but the whole of Asia.

The former model, who was famous for his good-guy roles during Indonesia’s movie heyday in the late 1980s, was named best actor for his role in the film Lovely Man at the prestigious Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong earlier this week, beating local multitalented star, Andy Lau.

Donny told The Jakarta Post he was very happy and proud to have won.

“I am proud because I carry an Indonesian name … and it is my duty and responsibility to have Indonesian cinema seen and discussed in the international film forums,” he wrote in an email sent from Hong Kong.

“Ultimately, I dedicate this award to Indonesian cinema,” he added.

He confessed that he never expected to win, recognizing that he was up against other heavyweight actors in the same category. His competitors included veteran Japanese actor Yakusho Koji, and Andy, who was favored to win the award for his brilliant performance in the much-acclaimed A Simple Life.

However, the judges finally gave the award to Donny in what was an unexpected move as the award has traditionally been given to actors from South Korea, China, Japan or Hong Kong.

The 45-year-old received the award for his all-out acting in Lovely Man, a film directed by Teddy Soeriaatmadja.

In the movie, the actor shook off his usual manly, charming persona for the role of Syaiful, a transvestite sex worker, who reunites with his long-lost daughter.

Donny admitted that playing Syaiful was not easy.

“Playing a transvestite required me to embody two personalities that contradicted each other, with one or other sometimes emerging subconsciously,” he explained.

He attributed his win to the movie’s director Teddy, who managed to control his emotion throughout and was the consummate professional. Donny also praised his co-star Raihanun for her performance as his daughter.

The movie also saw Teddy nominated as best director, but he lost out to the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, who directed the award-winning film, A Separation.

Sadly, Lovely Man is virtually unknown among Indonesian moviegoers, a result primarily due to the film’s controversial content preventing mass distribution.

The BBC reported that the first screening of Lovely Man took place at the gay-themed Q! Film Festival in 2011, a year after hard-liners staged protests against the event.

Apart from Donny, another Indonesian who shone at this year’s Asian Film Awards was filmmaker Edwin, who received the Edward Yang New Talent Award. The committee acknowledged Edwin as the continent’s most promising young director for his film Kebun Binatang or Postcards from the Zoo, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in early February.