Risking Life While Filming 'MYSTERY OF MOUNT MERAPI', Aris Kurniawan Once Got Hit by a Sword

"The doctor said this might not necessarily be a normal two years. Wow, if you were in my position, what would be the first thing you think about? Game over, it's done, the career is over," said Aris Kurniawan during a conversation with Kapanlagi.com on Monday (4/8/2025).

The sword incident was just one of many accidents he has experienced. This senior actor has also faced other fatal incidents, such as falling from a sling attached to a big tree, which he said was only an inch from the ground.

"The first thing, we fell from the sling, fell onto a big tree. Just an inch from the ground like that. So, if it's pulled by a person, what if there's a human error? It would definitely break, and that's it," he explained.

Not only that, another dangerous experience was when he was thrown off a horse that was running fast. He explained that the horse slipped on muddy ground that had been intentionally covered with leaves by the crew for camera visual purposes.

"That horse didn't see that the leaves there were actually under the mud. It slid there, the horse reflexively ran fast, I crashed into a tree," he said.

The biggest challenge for Aris at that time was not only the dangerous scenes but also the mental pressure of acting alongside legendary senior actors. He recalled the most tense moment when he had to perform a scene slapping and pushing the senior actress, the late Mrs. Farida Pasha.

"There was one situation where we had to slap, push, and drop the lady, right? She was already elderly and a legend," he said.

For that crucial scene, the director, Om Opung (Edi Pesta Sirait), even had to 'lock him' in a room for two hours to build emotion. After that very intense scene, Aris felt very guilty, but he unexpectedly received treatment from the senior actress.

"The next day, he embraced me, he cared for me. So that was something, wow," he said.

Aris's journey in the colossal world is indeed not easy, especially since he came as a newcomer with a strong Javanese accent and without a formal arts education background. He admitted that he often faced ridicule because of his accent and sometimes felt inferior.

"Back then, when I graduated from college, I still spoke very thickly, really thick. 'Hey Jawir, hey Jawir, there goes Jawir'. Well, we are Javanese, right," he said.

However, all the hard training on set, both physically and mentally, actually shaped him into a tough actor. Those experiences are what kept him in the entertainment industry for 25 years, and now he shares his knowledge through the acting studio he founded.

"Learning doesn’t have to be in front of a screen. Working also doesn’t have to be in front of a screen. If you want to be entertained, learn everything behind the scenes. One day, we might elevate your status among others," he emphasized.