Words Sebastian Partogi Illustration Mufty Fairuz

Fachri Albar’s acting career started in 2005 when he played one of the main protagonists in the 2005 romantic drama Alexandria alongside Julie Estelle and Marcel Chandrawinata. Another landmark film in his career is the thriller Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door), directed by Joko Anwar in 2009, in which he played a sculptor known for his works of pregnant women; his normal life is disrupted when a twisted woman forces him to insert an aborted fetus into one. Son of Ahmad Albar, vocalist of the iconic1970s rock band God Bless, he returns to romantic drama, playing the male lead in Richard Oh’s unconventional love story Terpana (Transfixed), released on Nov. 3. While watching the 73-minute movie, it is hard not to be transfixed by the strikingly good-looking actor as he convincingly plays a charming bookish (he reportedly loves reading) hopeless romantic well-versed in physics formulas and principles as he pursues the skeptical female protagonist played by Raline Shah.

What makes me happy …

My wife and kids.

A great leisure time for me …

Watching any kinds of interesting films or playing with my kids.

My favorite spot in Jakarta …

My home.

My favorite cuisine …

Japanese.

And least favorite …

That’s tricky to answer because I can eat pretty much anything.

My favorite type of adventure …

Everywhere I go, I will find some dishes I’ve never tried before. The possibility might be as extreme as trying rat meat [served as cuisine in North Sulawesi] or whatever. I will just bite into them first. Whether I like the taste or not, it’s a different matter.

My biggest regret …

Alhamdulillah (Praise God), I have no regrets.

The place I really want to visit …

Provence, France.

I am bored by …

Things that stay the same all the time. I do believe that we live to constantly learn new things.

My greatest achievement …

Graduating cum laude from university; there were only 15 of us who are able to achieve that out of approximately 1,500 graduating students.

My bad habit …

Spending too much time in the bathroom. The bathroom is my sanctuary: I do lots of things inside it, from conversing on the phone, pondering seriously about my work and many more.

Who I look up to …

My father.

The most recent movie I’ve watched (not including the evening’s premiere of Terpana) …

Black Swan.

My dream role …

I want to be cast in a very strong drama, where I play as a protagonist alongside a young child.

My dream film collaboration …

Natalie Portman. Emily Blunt.

My dream film remake …

[1977 Indonesian film] Duo Kribo (Two Afro-heads). Not necessarily because my father played a leading role in it; recently I watched the film again, which tells us about [the rivalry between] two prominent 1970s rock bands [AKA fronted by Ucok Harahap and God Bless fronted by Ahmad Albar] and I realized the film is quite iconic. The songs are cool. Nowadays, where can we find music-themed films like that in Indonesia?

The dream I still need to achieve …

Lots of things, actually, but most importantly, one day I will get an Oscar!

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