Ario Bayu: Rebel With a Cause

 

Coming home to Indonesia after 10 years in New Zealand, up-and-coming actor Ario Bayu admits that he’s having hard time fitting in.

“I came home at the age of 19, and for the next three years, what I did the most was complain,” the 27-year-old told The Jakarta Post.

Dubbed one of the world’s cleanest countries, both environmentally and governmentally, New Zealand offered Ario
an ideal life.

Arriving back home, and was faced with all these troubles, he was blown away.

“I just cannot comprehend how people get by,” says Ario, referring to corruption, bureaucracy, traffic jams and pollution, to name just a few of the nation’s ills.

“In the fourth year, I began to take things easy, despite strongly opposing the situation. I believe that all this was done by people. I don’t believe that it’s Indonesia’s destiny to be in this kind of mess.”

Ario’s main reason for returning home was to pursue an acting career.

“I’m the black sheep of the family for not having a bachelor’s degree. My father has a master’s degree in business, my mother in economics and my sister is a lawyer now at the second-best law firm in Wellington,” he says of his family, who still reside in New Zealand, where they run a food business

“I only survived a year in a university. I was in business major, but then I had the idea to get a job, instead of studying to get one. And that was it, I packed up, left my band and flew home,” says Ario, who was more into arts and music when he was in school in Hamilton.

His seriousness in acting earned him a two-month theater scholarship at The Globe Theater in London.

In Jakarta, Ario began his career from scratch, finding work as a model.

“Modeling is definitely not my thing, but I had to start somewhere,” says Ario. His first acting appearance was as an extra in a local soap opera (sinetron) that earned him a fee of Rp 20,000 (US$2.08).

“It was probably in 2004 or 2005. I was still in my early 20s and I was very open-minded to anything. I thought, ‘OK, it’s just the beginning’, and I was certain that I would get more opportunities ahead,” Ario said, adding that he took an “analog” approach to finding work, meeting talent scouts with his resume and piles of photos in his hands, instead of joining an artist management agency.

 In 2005, Ario made his screen debut in a film titled Bangsal 13 (Ward 13).

Later, hard work, persistence and some luck brought him to various roles in a host of movies, most notably in the films Kala (Time) in 2007, Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) in 2008, Pintu Terlarang (Forbidden Door) and Rumah Dara (Dara’s House) in 2009 and Catatan Harian Si Boy (Boy’s Diary) in 2011. His latest films include Dead Mine and Java Heat.

Ario says that he likes to work, and has also taken roles in local made-for-television movies (FTV).

“I’m not an idealist, as I was when I was younger age. I’m more of a realist now. I like the characters I did in Kala and Java Heat, where I played police officers with unique complexities. But, hey, I’m open to any roles.

“The more roles I do, the better resume I will have,” says Ario. “However, I don’t really think the FTV work meets my expectations for artful acting. But TV is where the money is. I’ve got a life to live, right?”

Despite his straightforward statements, Ario is a fine and friendly gentlemen who’s trying his best to make connections with people.

“I realize that you need to do everything when you are an actor in Indonesia. You have to be your own publicist, marketer and analyst. You have to talk with people. It’s not really pleasant for me, because I think that as an actor you can’t have anything else in your mind that may shake your focus,” he says.

Despite some things that have irritated him, Ario says that he’s giving himself three years to expand his career in
Indonesia.

“I’m going to take any suitable role that anyone offers for about the next three years. And after that, I want to take a leave for a year to refresh my mind before going back to the work,” he says.

He said that he still feels a need to go back to school and is thinking about taking an acting course for a year or so in Australia, where most of his childhood friends are.

“The best part of my plan is that I’m going to have a normal life for a while with my friends. I really need it,” he says.

And to reach his goal, Ario says that he’s planning to be more of a stubborn guy in the industry.

“I just figured it out that you’ll get dragged down by so many things unimportant if you’re not stubborn. You also have to be proactive in creating opportunities for yourself. I think it’s the best gesture to survive in this world.”

Source: The Jakarta Post