Reza Rahadian

Biography

Rahadian was born in Bogor on 5 March 1987 to an Iranian father and a "movie-loving, French-speaking, art-loving" mother. He took up acting while still in senior high school, performing in several stage productions. In a 2012 interview he cited actors Slamet Rahardjo and Deddy Mizwar as his influence in acting, noting that neither was typecast.

In 2004 he was crowned Top Guest, an award for models, by the Indonesian variety magazine Aneka, although he was never a professional model. Instead, he considered modelling as a way to help him become an actor. Through the coverage he received from his modelling career, Rahadian was cast in several sinetron (Indonesian soap operas), including Culunnya Pacarku and Idola. He made his film debut in 2007, with the horror-comedy Film Horor; the following year he acted in another horror film, Ghost Island 2.

Rahadian made his first critically acclaimed film in 2009, when he acted in Hanung Bramantyo's Woman with a Turban; he had become weary of acting in horror films. Although he had initially auditioned for a minor character, Bramantyo chose Rahadian for a larger role – of Samsuddin, the main character Anissa (Revalina S. Temat)'s abusive, polygamous husband. He acted in another four films that year, including three comedies.

The following year Rahadian acted in four films, including 3 Hati Dua Dunia, Satu Cinta and How Funny (This Country Is). The former film, which dealt with interfaith romance, won a Citra Award for Best Film at the 2010 Indonesian Film Festival, while the latter was Indonesia's nomination to the 83rd Academy Awards.

In 2011 Rahadian acted in four films. This included the role of Tudo, a dolphin expert, in Kamila Andini's directorial debut The Mirror Never Lies; for the role he had to study about dolphins at Ancol in North Jakarta. Aside from acting he directed a short film, entitled Sebelah (A Side).

Rahadian played in six films in 2012. For BrokenHearts, in which he played as an anorexic, he lost 10 kilograms (22 lb) to prepare for his role. Later he acted in Perahu Kertas and its sequel, adapted from the novel of the same name by Dewi Lestari; Rahadian played Remi, a businessman who becomes romantic foil for the leading character. Writing for The Jakarta Post, Niken Prathivi found that Rahadian had performed well "as expected", showing a mental struggle between love and business.

Towards the end of the year Rahadian played former president B.J. Habibie in Faozan Rizal's biopic Habibie & Ainun, which followed the romance between Habibie and his future wife Ainun (played by Bunga Citra Lestari). In a review, Prathivi wrote that Rahadian had given a "flawless" representation of the former president and his mannerisms.