Iko Uwais Recalls His International Debut, Now Successful In Hollywood With A Paycheck Of IDR 15 Billion Per Film

Iko Uwais (Foto: IG @ iko.uwais)

JAKARTA - Iko Uwais' career journey is interesting to observe. Iko, whose real name is Uwais Qorny, has a successful career in Hollywood. This trip was not easily obtained by Audy's husband.

The man who was born in Jakarta on February 12, 1983, initially only acted for a documentary directed by Gareth Evans about silat. He grew up in a family of Betawi descent, and studied the martial art of Pencak Silat, from the age of 10 at his uncle's silat school, Tiga Berantai.

Having worked as a driver, Iko then made his acting debut seriously by playing the character Yuda, a Minangkabau immigrant in the 2009 film Merantau.

Still with Gareth Evans, Iko then starred in a film called The Raid which started filming in mid-March 2011 and was released internationally, namely on March 22, 2012, in Australia and New Zealand; 23 March 2012 in Indonesia and North America, and 18 May 2012 in the UK international title The Raid: Redemption.

10 years later, Iko uploaded a photo of her memories with Gareth Evans and Joe Taslim. "It's the 10th year anniversary of the project that changed my life. Happy anniversary," Iko wrote on Instagram quoted Tuesday, May 31.

This film further catapulted Iko's name into the world cinema scene after being acclaimed by critics and audiences at various festivals as one of the best martial arts films over a period of years.

In this film, Iko also serves as a choreographer with Yayan Ruhian. Iko Uwais then debuted as a film choreographer in Hollywood. His first job did not provide much income.

“The first role as a choreographer is only 21 million (rupiah). It took four months to complete. But that's because I'm new," said Iko Uwais on the AH YouTube channel which was uploaded on Sunday, May 22.

When detailed, his income in a month is only around IDR 5 million. However, Iko's role later grew. He has starred in a number of films and series, starting from Mile 22 to Snake Eyes.

While living in the United States and its surroundings, Iko Uwais often appeared with top actors such as Mark Wahlberg to Jason Statham. He even starred in Wu Assassins, a Hollywood series released on the Netflix platform.

The struggle that took years in the Hollywood industry, has made Iko Uwais' income now in accordance with his worldwide popularity.

At that time Iko Uwais became a stunt double for actors in action scenes. But he made it a passion to become an actor without shortcuts.

"That's why I share it with my friends. Don't when you play or work in this world, it's as instant as you think," explained Iko Uwais.

Now Iko Uwais' payment has reached billions of rupiah. “Thank God, I can pay for electricity. It is above one million dollars (United States)," said Iko Uwais. If converted, Iko Uwais' honorarium is almost IDR 14.5 billion or almost IDR 15 billion.