Iko Uwais (born Uwais Qorny) is an Indonesian actor, stuntman, fight choreographer, and martial artist. He is best known as the leading star of the action films Merantau (2009), The Raid: Redemption (2012), and The Raid 2: Berandal (2014).

Early life

Born in Jakarta, Indonesia on 12 February 1983, Uwais Qorny (nickname: Iko) is of Betawi (native Jakartan) descent. He is named after the Muslim mystic Uwais Qarni, founder of the Uwaisi tradition. He has been learning silat Betawi since he was 10 years old at his uncle's pencak silat training hall, Tiga Berantai. In 2003, Iko won third place at the Jakarta Provincial Tournament. In 2005, he won first place at the National Pencak Silat Championship as the best performer in the demonstration category.

Apart from silat, his main interest was soccer. Once a midfielder in an Indonesian B-League soccer club, Iko has stopped his dream of becoming a soccer star after his club went bankrupt. Meanwhile his silat skill has given him chances to travel abroad in several exhibitions in the United Kingdom, Russia, Laos, Cambodia and France.

Career

In 2007, Iko's talent 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.

Personal life

On 25 June 2012, at the Hotel Gran Mahakam, Jakarta, Uwais married Audy Item. The couple have one daughter named Atreya Syahla Putri Uwais.

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