Actor Ario Bayu’s star is rising. After “Dead Mine,” he will again grace the silver screen in the April release of “Java Heat.” He is also scheduled to appear as a Malaysian cop in “Serangoon Road,” an HBO Asia original series set to launch in August. The actor, who attended film school in New Zealand and studied theater in London, says he is embracing the opportunity to play in projects with a wider audience.
The Jakarta Globe chatted with the 28-year-old Ario about his latest work.
After playing a man of the law in ‘Kala,’ ‘Dead Mine’ and now ‘Java Heat,’ are you worried that you will be typecast into similar roles?
No, I think it’s an opportunity. I don’t feel contained or anything. I will be playing a Malaysian cop again in ‘Serangoon Road,’ which will be out in August. After graduating from film school, my friends in LA are still waiting tables, so it’s alright for me. ‘Java Heat’ is a cool, buddy cop type of film, but in a cultural setting. I think it makes the movie richer.
Do you think it’s an exploitation of our culture?
It’s not, it’s more of an exhibition. It is a spectrum of Indonesian culture and a good chance to showcase our country. My friends in New Zealand still think I live in a jungle. They don’t realize Jakarta is metropolitan. I think it’s a good way to promote Indonesia. It’s cool.
How did it feel working with Mickey Rourke and Kellan Lutz in ‘Java Heat’?
Mickey Rourke is the man! He’s the coolest. I’ve admired him for a long time and it was really fun on the set. I only had a few scenes with Mickey, though. I mostly share my scenes with Kellan.
There is an explosion during a scene in ‘Java Heat’ in which your character, Hashim, jumps off a roof. Can you talk about the stunt work in the film?
Yes. It wasn’t me who jumped off the roof, it was a stunt man named Anom. Great stunt man. ‘Java Heat’ is not overly action packed like ‘The Raid,’ so there weren’t many stunts. Hashim is a methodist policeman. He thinks of every step. He’s the spiritual, more careful embodiment of Jake [played by Lutz], an ex-Army man who is very reactive.
Would you prefer to do the stunt work yourself?
Having a stunt man is good. We need stunt men because they are more experienced than us actors. They know their corridors and if you’ve heard that they are willing to break bones, it’s true. It’s for safety and for the best. When I was shooting ‘Serangoon Road,’ our lead actor injured his shoulder and we had to postpone production for a month and a half. That’s time and money. It was very difficult to reschedule.
What’s the biggest difference between local and international productions?
In terms of creativity and competence, I would say it’s very much the same. It’s just Hollywood has established its own system and everything is very organized. So we can work better. In local productions, we usually have to shoot until late at night and be back on set at six in the morning. Very exhausting and not time efficient.
Your English sounded different on ‘Dead Mine’ and ‘Java Heat.’ Did the director have a request about your accent?
In ‘Java Heat,’ we discussed how Hashim should sound. Because if Hashim spoke like this [Ario speaking in an American accent], it would not make any sense. So yes, we have to speak in a local accent. Hashim is a captain in Densus 88, he has never traveled overseas but has worked with foreigners and reads English books. I do hope he [Hashim] sounds like an Indonesian! We know about Singlish [colloquial Singaporean English], but I have no idea how Indonesian-English should sound.
Source: The Jakarta Globe
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