Arifin Putra

Early life

Putra was born on May 1, 1987 in Mainz, Germany, the son of Joyce Sunandar and Axel Scheunemann. He has an older sister, Sari. His father is an exporter of dried flowers and landscaping specialist in Jakarta, Indonesia, while his mother runs her own catering business. The couple divorced when Arifin was 13 years old.

Arifin spent the earliest years of his life in Germany before migrating to his mother’s homeland, Indonesia, at the age of three – albeit reluctantly. In the first year of living in Indonesia, for instance, he insisted on speaking in his native German tongue rather than in Bahasa Indonesia. As a teenager, though, he eventually decided to turn in his German citizenship and take on Indonesian citizenship.

Quiet and shy, Arifin often kept to himself, and would sometimes spend hours drawing or playing in his room as a small child.

Arifin completed his primary and secondary education at the German International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. While he consistently achieved good grades, he was never top of the class. He graduated in 2006 with a German Abitur, the German equivalent of a high school diploma.

Complications at birth resulted in Arifin’s arm being immobilized with a less than 50% chance of full recovery. Thankfully, his mother’s initiative to enroll the infant for three months of rigorous physiotherapy allowed him to regain mobility in his arm. Having overcome this obstacle, Arifin readily embraced the challenge of performing his stunts in Berandal without a double.

Acting career

Although he initially did not intend to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, Arifin showed interest in acting from an early age, often reenacting scenes from films he saw on television at home for his family.

In 2000, Arifin tagged along with his sister to a television commercial shoot and was offered to be an extra, which he accepted on this occasion. At the end of the shoot, Arifin found himself motivated by the fact that he could earn a bit of extra pocket money while having fun. In the same year, he was a finalist in a cover boy competition hosted by a popular Indonesian teen magazine.

Arifin was also in the running for MTV Indonesia’s VJ Hunt in 2003. Despite being unsuccessful in that particular competition, one thing led to another for Arifin, and so began his acting career.

Television (2000 – 2007)

After landing his first major television role as a nerdy high school student on the national TV series "Kisah Kasih di Sekolah" (lit. High School Love Story) in 2004, Arifin was catapulted into fame. Weekends were dedicated to promoting the series in different parts of the country, and he soon became an instantly recognizable face. He has described this initial exposure to fame as “surreal and flattering, but very odd”. Deciding that he could pursue this as a career, Arifin enrolled at notable local acting school Sakti Aktor Studio to receive formal training. He juggled a rigorous schedule of school, shooting and refining his acting skills for one-and-a-half years.

Film (2008 - present)

Arifin’s venture onto the silver screen began in 2008 with Lost in Love, the sequel to teen romance flick Eiffel I’m in Love (2003). In Lost in Love, his character was required to speak in French, English and Indonesian interchangeably. This came fairly easy to Arifin, as he actively learned the languages during his school years.

His first antagonist role as Adam, a psychopathic cold-blooded cannibal in Macabre (2009), was a departure from the characters he portrayed in previous works. Arifin’s performance in the thriller caught the attention of moviegoers and film critics alike, and earned him a number of nominations and awards including Best Supporting Actor from KUFI (Kaskus Film Awards).

In short, Arifin could be summed up as a highly curious individual. This is apparent in his deliberate choice of film roles. He is particularly drawn to roles that challenge his comfort zone, as first seen in Macabre and subsequently in Berandal.

In Berandal, Arifin portrays the son of Jakarta’s most notorious mob boss who is engulfed in his ambitions. He was first offered the part in 2009, but production of the film was delayed until 2012 due to financial issues. He endured three months of intense training in preparation for the physically demanding role and combed through various mafia movies to gain a deep understanding of his character in the film.

Picking up from the success of Berandal, Arifin is concentrating on film from here on out. His next big project, Supernova: Ksatria, Putri dan Bintang Jatuh premiered in December 2014. The film adaptation of Dewi ‘Dee’ Lestari’s bestselling novel of the same title is based on the first installation of the Supernova series.

Personal life

An avid reader, Arifin consumes two business magazines each month, on top of four newspapers a day. The self-professed nerd takes a keen interest in the field of finance and infrastructure.

Arifin also enjoys various water sports, swimming, go-karting, cycling, writing scripts and sampling new cuisine. He counts Indonesian dishes like Soto Betawi and Sate Ayam among his favorite foods.

Outside of acting, Arifin is concerned about nature conservation. He hopes one day to be able to help raise awareness about renewable energy, for Indonesia’s potential in this area is huge but remains mostly untapped.

From a career standpoint one of Arifin’s dearest ambitions is to put the Indonesian movie industry on par with other global players.