(Kawanku/Wahyu)Becoming an actor wasn’t at all the plan for Vino Giovani Bastian, but once he entered the entertainment world he found that the sky was the limit.

Vino made his presence noticeable in Indonesian film industry following roles in Catatan Akhir Sekolah (After School Notes), Realita, Cinta & Rock n’ Roll (Reality, Love and Rock n’ Roll), Radit & Jani and Serigala Terakhir (The Last Wolf).

“[Being in the entertainment business] wasn’t intentional, really. It started when someone from a teen magazine saw me playing for a band. At that time, I got an offer to do a photo shoot for the magazine,” says Vino.

He then received offers to model for musical video clips as well as some roles in movies. He has now been involved in around 19 movies, three drama series and at least 20 films for television.

As a child, Vino dreamed of becoming a pilot or astronaut. But he could not resist the calling of the art and entertainment industry. His novel writing father, Bastian Tito, is already known for his bestselling Wiro Sableng series.

“My father is more like an off-camera kind of guy,” says the 30-year-old, “however, I can’t avoid the fact that I inherited his artistic gift. He played a part in making me love movies.”

Vino said that in his childhood, his father used to take him to watch movies, either in theaters or on video. They usually had long discussions about the movies afterward.

Vino’s favorite characters were the protagonists from The Six Million Dollar Man and CHIPS.

“And he also introduced me to rock n’ roll music and its legends, including The Beatles and Elvis Presley,” he says, adding that The Doors and Incubus are also his musical idols.

Vino is very passionate about acting and has proven to be among the best actors in the country. He won a Citra Award from the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) as best actor and an Indonesian Movie Award as most favorite actor in 2008, both for his performance in Radit & Jani.

From his point of view, Indonesia’s film industry is “unique” in that it makes actors struggle.

Vino and wife Marsha Timothy on their wedding day last October. (Kapanlagi.com/Bambang E. Ros)“Indonesia has a lot of good actors while most of our films have monotone types and themes, so opportunity to play roles that are good, strong, unique and different is quite rare,” says Vino, who was nominated as best actor for his role in the Calon Bini (Future Wife) soap opera at the Bandung Film Festival last year.

According to him, Indonesia has few movies with diverse plots and characters. “The situation is a real challenge for actors to develop and show their skills in the national film industry,” he says.

Vino acknowledges that Indonesian films offer various genres to the audience. “But again, it doesn’t mean that those films carry strong characters. This happens perhaps because we only have several good screenplay writers,” he goes on.

Vino realizes that he has to work harder and smarter to keep his name in the industry.

“It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to be in my position. And it’s never simple to preserve it. I prefer to look into details of roles that I’m going to play — starting from script and director to the filmmakers who build the movie,” he says.

“And when I get the role, I must respect the character that I’m playing just like I respect myself. If I do that, I won’t find a problem changing myself in order to be totally into the character, just as how the director wants me to be.”

Having such a work ethic, Vino says he considers all his movies his favorites, and that each of them gave a unique challenge during production.

Some say that at the end of the day, the actor’s uphill battle pays off with professional acknowledgement, which among other things is receiving awards.

“Those awards are a motivation for me to do better in the future, a point where I have to improve myself.  Yet on another hand, I don’t think too much about what I have to do. I just do it well, with honesty and sincerity — this is all that matters,” says Vino, who looks up to Daniel Day Lewis, Robert de Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Didi Petet and the late Ryan Hidayat for their work in motion pictures.

Looking at the blossoming film industry in the country, Vino believes that Indonesian actors have bright futures in the business as some of them have international quality.

As for himself, Vino says he will take any opportunity to expand his career overseas.

Having married actress Marsha Timothy in October last year, Vino is enjoying his new life.

“My wife is a person that I can share everything with, a partner in experiencing the sweetness and bitterness of life. My wife is my other half,” he says, complimenting Marsha as a laudable, smart and professional actress.

Prior to the marriage, Vino had paired with Marsha in several films on television, as well as in the Calon Bini series.

Currently, Vino is promoting his latest film, Mika. Upcoming movies that he stars in include Madre, Tampan Tailor (Handsome Tailor), Rumah dan Musim Hujan (A House and Rainy Season), Cinta/Mati (Love/Die) and Air Mata Terakhir Bunda (Mother’s Last Teardrop).