Iko Uwais (born Uwais Qorny; February 12, 1983) is an Indonesian actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and martial artist. He is best known for starring in the action films Merantau (2009), The Raid: Redemption (2012), and The Raid 2 (2014).
Career
In 2007, Iko was discovered by Welsh director Gareth Evans, who was filming a documentary about silat in Iko's training hall. Iko's natural charisma and great camera presence encouraged Evans to cast him as the leading role for his first martial art movie, Merantau. After signing a five year contract with Gareth Evans and his production company, Iko resigned from his daytime job as an operational driver in a telecom company, Esia.
In his first acting experience in Merantau, Iko played the role of a young Minang (West-Sumateran), which led him to learn the Minang style of silat harimau (tiger style) from Master Edwel Datuk Rajo Gampo Alam. Merantau was released in Indonesia on 6 August 2009. The film was featured in Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea and South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas with highly positive reviews. Merantau won the Best Film award at ActionFest 2010.
Risingsuntokusatsu.com movie reviewer Inui Takumi said of Iko's performance in Merantau: "...he brings a bit of innocent charm that adds a lot to his performance. Apparently the director, Gareth Evans, was drawn to this quality as well as his enthusiasm when he encountered Iko years before while shooting a documentary on the art of Silat. He says that he saw a star quality in him and immediately worked to get him working on his first film. Granted, he may not have done too much as far as intense acting in this movie, but he shows sparks of something more in his talent that once honed, I think his talent and personality could definitely raise him to martial arts legend status".
Iko's second collaboration with Gareth Evans was The Raid (known as The Raid: Redemption internationally), which began filming in mid-March 2011 and was released in mid-2012. The movie has been hailed by critics and audiences in various festivals as one of the best martial art movies in years.
Iko collaborated on a third movie with Evans, The Raid 2.
Personal life
On June 25, 2012, at the Hotel Gran Mahakam in Jakarta, Uwais married Audy Item. The couple have one daughter named Atreya Syahla Putri Uwais.
Filmography
