Iko Uwais, Hollywood's Indonesian fighting star

Iko Uwais is a rising star in the world of martial arts. In July 2019, after seeing his performance in the action comedy 'Stuber,' 'Men's Health' dubbed him "Hollywood's next martial arts star." And if you don't believe us, the magazine added, "just ask Keanu Reeves and Mark Wahlberg."

A muscular though modest and friendly man, Uwais is also the choreographer of cinema's most brutal fighting scenes. According to 'Men's Health,' it's his refreshing look at action scenes that excites Hollywood stars and producers.

The Indonesian national is already a big name in the Asian film scene. Born in Jakarta on February 12, 1983, the actor is sometimes mistaken for a Minang, an inhabitant of West Sumatra, because he excellently portrayed a Sumatra native in the film 'Merantau' (2009).

Born with the name Iko Qorny, Uwais is the son of Maisyaroh and Mustapha Kamaluddin. His grandfather, H. Achmad Bunawar, was a master in the martial arts form of Pencak Silat.

At a very young age, Uwais was quite a good football player in the local club of Jakarta. Soon enough, however, he discovered that silat was his favourite sport.

Uwais was already practicing silat at the age of 10. He had excellent skills in the martial art specialty of his grandfather.

Before becoming famous, Uwais worked as a driver for a telecommunications company.

In 2005, at 22 years old, Uwais won the Silat Demonstration national championship of Indonesia. It would be a turning point in his life. The American director Gareth Evans, who happened to be shooting a documentary about 'The Mystic Arts of Indonesia: Pencak Silat,' took an interest in the young star.

With Gareth Evans he had an immediate connection and the two shot 'Merantau' and 'The Raid' together. This is how Iko Uwais became a star of action films.

In 2018, Uwais co-starred in the espionage thriller 'Mile 22' with Mark Wahlberg. The film was shot in Indonesia and consolidated the relationship between Uwais and Hollywood film makers.

A year later, Iko Uwais became a Netflix star. In 'Wu Assassins' he was the lead actor. Critics evaluated the series positively and praise the great choreographic quality of the action scenes.

The rise of martial arts stars like Iko Uwais has to do with the recent success of films like the 'John Wick' series, 'Men's Health' argues. Keanu Reeves, protagonist of these movies - and experienced in martial arts scenes from the start of his 'Matrix' performances - admires the Indonesian actor and even cast him in one of his films.

Yet, the larger Hollywood audience may know Iko Uwais first and foremost for his appearance in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'. Along with Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman (his companions in 'The Raid 2') he formed an Indonesian representation in the immortal galactic saga.

Iko Uwais is married to singer Audey Item. Their wedding was at the Grand Mahakam Hotel in Jakarta in the summer of 2012, when Uwais was 29 years old. They have two daughters: Atreya Syahla Putri Uwais and Aneska Layla Putri Uwais.

For Uwais, his family is very important. He told 'The Hollywood News' that "it's pretty hard to leave your family and go shoot abroad for months."

In that same 'Hollywood News' interview, he talked about his ideas about film work: "I focus on simply making the best action movie you can see, working hard and going all the way." In that sense, Uwais is much like his long-time idol, Jackie Chan.

There's one difference between Uwais and Chan: the young Indonesian portrays villains as well as heroes, while Chan has always wanted to have the good-guy part. In the film 'Stuber' (2019), Uwais plays a dangerous killer targeted by a detective (Dave Bautista) and his uncommon companion, an Uber driver (Kumail Nanjiani).

With projects that include a G.I. Joe film and a production with Sylvester Stallone, Iko Uwais has an amazing international future ahead of him. As many projects are based in the United States, the price of his fame will be much time away from his beloved family. But it doesn't matter: Iko Uwais always returns to Indonesia, his home.