Arifin Putra

Arifin was born on May 1, 1987, in Mainz, Germany. His father Axel Scheunemann is German, his mother Joyce Sunandar is Indonesian of Chinese descent. He has an older sister, Sari. His father is an exporter of dried flowers and landscaping specialist in Jakarta, Indonesia, while his mother runs her own catering business.[1] The couple divorced when Arifin was 13 years old.

Arifin spent the earliest years of his life in Germany before migrating to his mother's homeland, Indonesia, at the age of three – albeit reluctantly. In the first year of living in Indonesia, for instance, he insisted on speaking in his native German tongue rather than in Bahasa Indonesia. As a teenager, though, he eventually decided to turn in his German citizenship and take on Indonesian citizenship.

Quiet and shy, Arifin often kept to himself, and would sometimes spend hours drawing or playing in his room as a small child.

Arifin completed his primary and secondary education at the German International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. While he consistently achieved good grades, he was never top of the class. He graduated in 2006 with a German Abitur, the German equivalent of a high school diploma.

Complications at birth resulted in Arifin's arm being immobilized with a less than 50% chance of full recovery. Thankfully, his mother's initiative to enroll the infant for three months of rigorous physiotherapy allowed him to regain mobility in his arm. Having overcome this obstacle, Arifin readily embraced the challenge of performing his stunts in Berandal without a double.

Although he initially did not intend to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, Arifin showed interest in acting from an early age, often reenacting scenes from films he saw on television at home for his family.[2]

In 2000, Arifin tagged along with his sister to a television commercial shoot and was offered to be an extra, which he accepted on this occasion. At the end of the shoot, Arifin found himself motivated by the fact that he could earn a bit of extra pocket money while having fun. In the same year, he was a finalist in a cover boy competition hosted by a popular Indonesian teen magazine.

Arifin was also in the running for MTV Indonesia’s VJ Hunt in 2003. Despite being unsuccessful in that particular competition, one thing led to another for Arifin, and so began his acting career.

An avid reader, Arifin consumes two business magazines each month, on top of four newspapers a day. The self-professed nerd takes a keen interest in the field of finance and infrastructure.

Arifin also enjoys various water sports, swimming, go-karting, cycling, writing scripts and sampling new cuisine. He counts Indonesian dishes like Soto Betawi and Sate Ayam among his favorite foods.

Outside of acting, Arifin is concerned about nature conservation. He hopes one day to be able to help raise awareness about renewable energy, for Indonesia’s potential in this area is huge but remains mostly untapped.

From a career standpoint one of Arifin’s dearest ambitions is to put the Indonesian movie industry on par with other global players.[2]