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Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Iko Uwais

Iko Uwais is a well-known television Indonesian star who gives his best in the characters he portrays and because of that, he has a multitude of fans. He鈥檚 well-known for his martial arts abilities, stunt work and so much more. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Maisyaroh and Mustapha Kamaluddin. His grandfather, H. Achmad Bunawar, was a master of silat, an Indonesian traditional martial art and founded a silat school.

He is multi-talented and made a name for himself in the entertainment industry with roles in shows like Netflix鈥檚 鈥淲u Assassins,鈥� which has been on the network since 2019. Despite having a fairly good body of work many people out of Indonesia know very little about him. So take a look at these top 10 remarkable facts about Iko Uwais.

1.  Iko Uwais  is Martial Arts Master

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His  grandfather Achmad Bunawar was a master of silat, an Indonesian traditional martial art, and founded a silat school. Iko received more training the martial art Silat, Betawi at his uncle鈥檚 Pencak silat training hall, 鈥淭iga Berantai鈥� since he was ten years old. He became National Champion in 2005 in the Silat Demonstration category.

Further in his first acting experience in Merantau, Uwais played the role which required him to learn the Minang style of silat, harimau (tiger style) from Master Edwel Datuk Rajo Gampo Alam.

Uwais is arguably one of the best martial artists currently making movies, standing out in films like The Raid series and on TV in Netflix’s Wu Assasins (and its recently released feature film followup Fistful of Vengeance) with his mastery of Silat, a class of martial arts that originated in Southeast Asia.

2. He Was Discovered by Director Gareth Evans

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He might not be a supermodel but he was still discovered. A director by the name of Gareth Evans found him while he was filming his own documentary about the martial arts form that Uwais and his grandfather practised and he encouraged the young man to be part of his martial arts movie as an actor.

The actor-director pair put their chemistry to test in the 2009 action film Merantau, where Iko starred as the lead hero. They linked up again in 2011 for The Raid, a gritty Indonesian version of Assault on Precinct 13, which catapulted Iko’s name as the next martial art star. Its sequel, The Raid 2, was released in 2014.

3.     Iko Uwais Played Soccer

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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.

Iko was a midfielder in an Indonesian B-League soccer club when his club went bankrupt, and his dream of becoming a soccer star was dashed. And we are so grateful that everything worked out the way it did.

Association football is the most popular sport in Indonesia, in terms of annual attendance, participation and revenue. It is played on all levels, from children to middle-aged men. Liga 1, the Indonesian domestic league is popular. The national body is the Football Association of Indonesia

4.  Iko Filmed has with Mark Wahlberg

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In 2018, Uwais co-starred in the espionage thriller 鈥楳ile 22鈥� with Mark Wahlberg. The film was shot in Indonesia and consolidated the relationship between Uwais and Hollywood filmmakers. Mile 22 is a 2018 American action thriller film directed by Peter Berg and screenplay by Lea Carpenter, from a story by Carpenter and Graham Roland.

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg, former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, businessman and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, nine Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

5.  Iko Uwais has a Strange Food Phobia

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He has a phobia to a popular Indonesian food snack named Kerupuk Putih. Krupuk (Javanese), kerupuk (Indonesian), keropok (Malay), kroepoek (Dutch) or kropek (Tagalog) is a cracker made from starch or animal skin and other ingredients that serve as flavouring. Most krupuk is deep fried, while some others are grilled or hot sand fried.

They are a popular snack in maritime Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines), and are most closely associated with the culinary traditions of Indonesia, in particular Javanese cuisine. It is a staple in its country of origin and has spread to other countries either via the migration of diaspora populations or exports.

6.   He Worked as a Driver Before Fame

Before he became a talented actor, he worked a regular day job like everyone else. He practised martial arts in his spare time. He did, however, work as an operational driver for a company called Esia. It鈥檚 an Indonesian telecommunications company, and he enjoys doing it.

Esia is the main product of PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk.  The telecom company uses CDMA 2000 1x technology with limited mobility services, which means a wireless network mobility service that is limited to a single area code. Esia users can make all calls, starting with local, long-distance and international calls.

7. Iko Uwais Does his own Stunts

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The actor, like Jackie Chan, does all his own stunts. 鈥淚 really hate the movies where you can see the stunt double. You can tell we are out there, that it’s us getting hurt,鈥� he says. The scenes were punishing to shoot.

Iko Uwais is more than just an actor – he’s a stuntman, fight choreographer and martial artist. In an age where an extravagant amount of CGI and overly-touched pictures are blatantly used in films, Uwais’ presence is like an antidote for those who long for real action sequences.

8. Iko Uwais had a Cameo Appearance in the film Star Wars

While Iko Uwais is famous in his home country and among neighbouring countries, Iko found it hard to break into the hearts of the Western audience. He and his talented Raid cast mates, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, were cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but the cameo was a disappointing waste of talent.

People were expecting a few epic battle sequences, as the Indonesians would be playing members of an intergalactic criminal gang, but that wasn’t the case. Iko’s talent was heavily underused, and his screen time was too limited.

9.  Iko is often confused for being a Minang

Many Indonesians still mistakenly assume that Iko is a Minang (native West Sumateran) because of his role in Merantau. In real life, Iko is native Jakartan. Hailing from a humble beginning in Jakarta, Indonesia, Iko Uwais has starred in some of the biggest action films in his home country, as he’s now slowly focusing on Western market.

Minangkabau people (Minangkabau: Urang Minang; Indonesian or Malay: Minangkabau or Minangkabo), also known as Minang, are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia.

10.  Iko Turned his Passion into a Job

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As an actor, Iko has been able to achieve a lot. Not only has he been cast in major high-paying projects he鈥檚 managed to turn something he enjoys doing 鈥� martial arts 鈥� into a career. He gets to wake up each morning and do what he loves to do, and he鈥檚 not required to even call it a job. It鈥檚 his passion project.

Iko Uwais secured the lead role of Netflix’s martial arts hit Wu Assassins back in 2019. As San Francisco Chinatown chef-turned-assassin Kai Jin, the actor unleashed his martial art skill to its full potential throughout its ten episodes.

The actor initially signed up for the project as a fight choreographer, but showrunner John Wirth extended Iko’s scope of responsibilities after learning about his acting career in Indonesia.

His Instagram following alone is astounding. He has more than 1.2 million followers on the platform, which is a huge number for anyone, not just an actor. He shares his work and what he has going on with the different projects he鈥檚 got lined up.