-
8/9/2019 What's eating Nicholas Saputra?
1/3
-
8/9/2019 What's eating Nicholas Saputra?
2/3
TUESDAY30 October
2007
COVERSTORY
2
icholas Saputra is the
test VJ addition to theamorous Channel [V]mily, but his pastxperiences, and closeends, are what keep himrounded.
ORIES BY NIKI CHEONG
FIRST glance, Indonesian actor-cum-modelholas Saputra is everything you would have
agined him to be. The 22-year-old celebrityall, dark and handsome.
Walk a few inches closer though and youdve a few more words to describe him. Howout aloof, brooding and cold? Seems harsh?rdly. Since he first made headlines in hisme country, and around the Asia region at
age of 17 with hit movieAda Apa Denganta?, lots has been said about Nicholasstude and public persona.
ust perform a quick search on the InternetNicholas and youre bound to come acrosscles and forums discussing this aloofness.st refer to an incident early in his careerere he was reported to have made arnalist cry he simply refused to answertain personal questions, and told the personfor asking such things too.
Nicholas is aware of this reputation, but isck to brush it off.It comes from journalists, the charming
ung man explained. But its alright.Of course, he is saying this almost six yearser, when his celebrity status has grownnsiderably thanks to several starring rolesfilms likeJanji Joniand Gie.Apart from that, Nicholas has also obtainedarchitectural degree from the University of
Indonesia. And his latest venture? Guest pre-senting on Channel [V].
He explained, in retrospect, that the saidincident could be due to the sort of charactershe portrays in his movies. InAda Apa, hisbreakout movie, Nicholas played a cold,stubborn and disagreeable character. Becauseof the films massive response, Nicholas hasconstantly remained associated with it, and by
default, the character he played.Its also when I go around promoting the
shows, he added. You cant have anythingyou want. You have to be connected to thecharacter.
But thats okay. You cant blame anyonebecause theres nothing to be blamed.
Still, you cant really blame the actor forhaving a less-than-approachable public per-sona. Fans have commented that he seldom
smiles in pictures, and that he appearsunapproachable. Then again, you cant blamehim considering the sort of attention hereceived at a young age.
Unapologetically, he explained that one ofthe reasons could be the trauma he experi-enced whenAda Apa was first released.
I had trauma because of my first film ... itwas too big for a high school boy, Nicholas
said. I remember thinking to myself so manytimes, Oh my God, this is too much.
It is hard to blame him. At one of his firstmeet-and-greet sessions to promote the film,Nicholas walked into the shopping mall greet-ed by about 25,000 screaming fans.
You could not see the floor, he recalled. Itwas packed, all five floors. The elevatorsstopped.
(The fans) grab you, they touch you, pulling
at you and then you start bleeding.But was there any part of him that enjoyed
the attention?No, I didnt enjoy it, but you have to do it.That was Nicholas commitment to his
career, and an indication of his professional-ism.
In my early age, 16 to 17, I was already inthe film industry, he said. I quickly learnt tounderstand (the industry), about professional-ism, how to manage yourself.
These days however, Nicholas is having abetter time. The attention on him hasdecreased, something he attribute to the factthat fans can see me anytime ... and there areso many new actors now.
He is able to go out in public on his ownthese days, but he is still cautious of the small-er cities in Indonesia, where celebrity sightingsmight be less common than in cities such asJakarta.
If I got to the mall, there might be two tothree girls giggling, he said when asked to
describe an average day out. There is rarelychasing, not like before.
He said that things have been this way acouple of years after he came under the lime-like.
(Nowadays), people prefer to come up andask, How are you? Some ask for autographsbut they are not yelling, or screaming.
He also doesnt anticipate any of this chang-ing even with a regional job at Channel [V]where he hosts Screentime on The Ticket andPopparazzi. He is still based in Indonesia, but
regularly flies into Kuala Lumpur now to shootfor the shows.
By the end of the interview, it was hard toimagine that the award-winning actor wasever difficult, let alone cause a journalist tocry. In fact, after talking to him and watchinghim mess around with his colleagues, onecould find a few more words to describe
young Nicholas Saputra witty, playful andcasual.
! The Ticketairs at 8pmon Wednesdays, whilePopparazziis on everyMonday to Friday at6pm. Channel [V] is nowavailable on AstroChannel 714.
NicholasSaputrainthehitteen
blockbuster,AdaApaDenganC
inta?,
thefilmwhichpropelledhimt
ostardom.
Whats eating Nicholas Saputra?
Nicholas with co-star Rachel
Maryam Sayidina in Janji Joni.With veteran actor Gita
Rollies in Janji Joni.
-
8/9/2019 What's eating Nicholas Saputra?
3/3
WHILE his reputation for being unapproachable mayprecede him, Nicholas could not be anymore differentin person. As he was getting his hair and makeup donein preparation for the photoshoot, the young man waslively and energetic, joking around with his colleagues.
Dressed in a crumpled shirt, knee-length pants andflip-flops, Nicholas hardly looked like the celebratedIndonesian film star that he is. When his colleaguesstarted playing a game of Name the capital city ofthis country, Nicholas was quick to join in, bothshowing off his geographical knowledge and playful-ness at the same time he threw in a few gaganswers every now and then.
Later, looking at some printouts from the Internet
that I had brought along with me, Nicholas was ani-mated, especially when he started looking at old pho-tos of himself and explaining where they were shot.
When was this taken? he suddenly exclaimedwhen he saw a photo he had taken with a fan. Ohgosh, look at my hair! he said, pointing at anotherpicture. In moments like those, you see a differentfacet of his personality the fun, boisterous andcheeky side of him shines.
As an actor, he explained. I have so many layersso I am able to put myself in the right position in dif-ferent situations.
That has been his approach to life, particularly afterstarting his movie career and also the reason why hesattempted to venture into so many different things from his hobbies, to work and even his studies.
It is important for actors to have many layers, andpull it out (when necessary).
This is also a significant trait for Nicholas, consider-ing the many different situations he finds himself in by choice, of course.
I like it. Sometimes you get bored with the one situ-ation only working on a movie, or high school, or justuniversity, he said.
Even during at the interview, you could see themany different sides to him. With his colleagues, he iseasy-going. With the photographer, he is accommo-dating and during the interview, he was a profession-al. Most of all, however, he comes across as down toearth.
Nicholas is quick to admit that hes changed as aperson since his first movie Ada Apa was really big! but he doesnt indulge too much in his ego. Perhaps
this comes from him not taking everything people sayabout him the good and the bad too seriously, orto heart. He rarely read articles about himself, or lookhimself up on the Internet.
I havent checked it out, he said. Im not interest-ed. I just focus on (work).
But I get feedback from my friends, closest friends.
TUESDAY30 October
2007
COVERSTORY
3
Different layers
CREDITS
Outfit: Armani Exchange,Esprit, EnergieVenue: The Attic KL, JalanBangkung, BangsarPictures by: CHAN TAK KONG
