JP/Jerry Adiguna

Actor Dion Wiyoko shows that the stereotypes regarding sinetron (soap opera) actors, especially from minority backgrounds, need not be a hindrance to achieving success.

Usually, soap opera stars tend to attract ridicule and underestimation when they try to venture into the world of serious film. Sometimes, this is because of the roles they play or their off-camera demeanor, or frequently, because of their simplistic thoughts on real societal issues.

But people can say what they like about actor Dion, who started his acting career in sinetron, because in essence, Dion, as an actor, portrays great dignity in his performances, bringing a distinct kind of life to the characters that he plays and color to the films he stars in.

His best-known roles have put him square into predicaments of love.

In films such as Perahu Kertas (Paper Boat), London Love Story, Winter in Tokyo, Cek Toko Sebelah (Check the Store Next Door) and his most recent film, The Gift, he typically plays attractive and desirable young men.

Through these romantic parts he appears as charming in real life as he is on screen and he has gained a reputation not just for his acting skills and his looks, but also for his intellect and observational skills.

One notable exception to this bevy of romance films is his role as a struggling Chinese-Indonesian small businessman from Tarakan in the 2018 film Terbang: Menembus Langit (Soar: Through the Sky). In that role, Dion depicted the Indonesian spirit through the struggle of a member of a minority community in a small town.

As a child, Dion grew up in what he describes as a conventional Chinese-Indonesian family in Surabaya, East Java, where “the template of life in one’s childhood is being encouraged to grow up to become a doctor, manager or banker”.

However, after throwing himself into the world of showbiz via modeling, television acting and eventually films, he discovered a form of racial harmony in its open, tolerant and diverse working environment.

The ugly and racist nature of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election worried him as it would any member of society who wishes for everyone to just get along.

“In my case, the only thing I can do now is just to live my life, doing what I do best. What happens to this country if it continues to spiral down this unfortunate road, we’ll just have to wait and see,” he commented.

He credits his flexible and open mind to the environments and the people that he chose to hang out with during his teenage and his adult years, which attracted him to the idea of living harmoniously with anyone and everyone.

Being in the entertainment industry has put him in diverse environments where it does not matter what background you come from as long as you can express yourself well.

This kind of environment contrasts a lot with what he observes as the sort of invisible-but-visible “cultural barriers” that both Chinese-Indonesians and other Indonesians put up between each other in certain areas in cities.

“My peers of Chinese descent today think the discrimination toward the Chinese is not as severe as it is played out in politics. It’s fairer for us now than it was before 1998.”

This is also demonstrated in the film industry’s current attitudes toward actors and actresses of Chinese descent, explains the 34-year-old Dion, as he has seen his peers succeed greatly as actors, actresses, producers and directors.

“I feel like now I’m luckier to work in the industry today because I feel that now it is possible for me to play a Chinese role without pointing out the fact that the character is Chinese. Indonesians are Indonesians, regardless of your background.”

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