Iko Uwais

Uwais Qorny, professionally known as Iko Uwais, was born on February 12, 1983. He is an Indonesian actor, martial artist, stunt performer, and fight choreographer. He gained widespread international recognition for his performances in feature action films such as Merantau, The Raid, and its direct sequel, as well as several Hollywood releases and television series.

Raised in Jakarta, Uwais is the son of Musthafa and Maisyaroh Kamaluddin. He was named after the seventh-century Islamic figure Owais al-Qarani. His family shared a strong connection to traditional martial arts, as his grandfather, H. Achmad Bunawar, was a silat master who established a dedicated training facility.

In 2007, Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans discovered Uwais while filming a silat documentary at his training hall. Impressed by his natural camera presence, Evans selected him for the main role in his 2009 action movie Merantau. Prior to this acting opportunity, Uwais was employed as an operational driver for the Indonesian telecommunications provider Esia. He left his regular job after signing a five-year agreement with Evans's production company. To prepare for his debut role, he studied the tiger style of silat harimau under Master Edwel Datuk Rajo Gampo Alam. Merantau debuted in August 2009, receiving international festival exposure and winning the Best Film honor at ActionFest 2010.

Uwais reteamed with Evans for the 2011 action feature The Raid, which was released widely in 2012 to immense critical acclaim. After a minor appearance in Keanu Reeves's directorial debut Man of Tai Chi, he returned for The Raid 2 in 2014. He also made a brief appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside his co-stars from The Raid 2. Although director J. J. Abrams requested that Uwais choreograph a lightsaber battle for the movie, the scene was ultimately excluded due to its high level of violence. Uwais subsequently led the 2016 martial arts film Headshot and joined an ensemble cast for the martial arts project Triple Threat.

During 2018, Uwais appeared in major action features including Mile 22 and The Night Comes for Us. He was also cast in the central role of Kai Jin in the Netflix series Wu Assassins, which premiered in August 2019, and later reprised the character in the 2022 feature film Fistful of Vengeance. His other screen appearances include the 2019 action comedy Stuber, the role of Hard Master in the 2021 release Snake Eyes, and a role in the 2023 film Expend4bles.

Uwais married singer Audy Item in Jakarta on June 25, 2012, and the couple has two daughters, Atreya Syahla Putri Uwais and Aneska Layla Putri Uwais. In addition to attached projects such as Chinatown Express, The Bellhop, and the science-fiction thriller Ash, Uwais launched his own production house, Uwais Pictures, in January 2025. Through his company, he announced his directorial debut with the film Timur, a historical dramatization of the Mapenduma hostage crisis in which he also stars.