The actor opens up about moving to Indonesia, raising two boys (with a third on the way), and why his latest role felt like a second chance.

PHOTOGRAPHY Jan Mayo
CREATIVE DIRECTION AND STYLING Markarvin

Two months (or even less) after uprooting his family to move back to Indonesia, Yoshi Sudarso was on a plane to New York to film Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series. The Netflix prequel to the hit 2021 film became a way for the actor to reconnect with the very things he once pushed away. &ldquo;The role was healing,&rdquo; he says of his character, Bisma, a restaurant owner who creates a community for the Indonesian diaspora. &ldquo;He clung to his roots, created a community by creating a watering hole for the weary Indonesia diaspora to connect.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a fitting role for Sudarso, who&rsquo;s been on his own journey of rediscovery. Since moving back to Jakarta, he&rsquo;s leaned into new opportunities, from streaming series to local films, all while raising two boys (and preparing for a third child this November). &ldquo;Every time I feel like something feels scary and I don&rsquo;t know if I should do it, I&rsquo;ve gone and just done it,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;[God] has guided me through every one of those decisions.&rdquo;
Here, Sudarso opens up about finding his rhythm in Jakarta, staying grounded through fatherhood and fitness, and what&rsquo;s next as he steps into this new chapter.

Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series just dropped. How did it feel to join the cast and crew?
[The] vibe on set was super warm. I had just moved back to Indonesia, not two months, before having to fly back Stateside for this project. Most of the cast and crew knew each other from the hit Netflix movie Ali &amp; Ratu Ratu Queens, so I had my reservations coming into a well-knit family. But they were so welcoming and kind, I had nothing to worry about. The queens welcomed me with open arms, and we explored the city together. It was an absolute blast working with them and just hanging out on our days off.
How personal did this story feel for you?
This particular project has been so important to me because of the story it&rsquo;s centered on. These ladies represent my own parents and the struggles they&rsquo;ve had to overcome when immigrating to the U.S. Bisma, my character, is actually my second chance. I pushed my culture, my language, everything that made me &ldquo;foreign,&rdquo; away for fear of being bullied and seen as a freak. Bisma did no such thing, he clung to his roots, created a community by creating a watering hole for the weary Indonesia diaspora to connect. At the same time, spreading our cultures to those who don&rsquo;t know it, through the food he serves at the restaurant. The role was healing.

When it comes to projects, what is your favorite genre, and which genre do you prefer to act in?
I don&rsquo;t really have a favorite genre. I&rsquo;ve done most at this point: action, thriller, romance, drama, horror, comedy, etc. I honestly just love acting so much. I&rsquo;m just looking forward to how acting will surprise me next, how it&rsquo;ll challenge me, and where it&rsquo;ll take me. Action has been my forte for a long time, but mostly because America only sees me that way. But, Indonesia is different. I have been able to jump into so many more different types of roles here, and it has been such a wonderful journey. And, at the same time, I&rsquo;m learning more and more about my culture and language. There&rsquo;s not a day that goes by that I don&rsquo;t learn something new about my motherland.
This year feels stacked for you. Do you feel like you&rsquo;re in a new &ldquo;era&rdquo; of your career?
I think I am. It&rsquo;s funny, I don&rsquo;t ever really see it that way because I just kind of keep chugging along as much as possible. So, to me, it&rsquo;s all the same, keep pushing through and see what comes my way. But you&rsquo;re right, it has been a wonderful year. Moving back to Indonesia and uprooting my whole family was a scary thought. I wouldn&rsquo;t have done it if it weren&rsquo;t for my wife. She asked me how important it was for me that the kids grow up, &ldquo;Indonesian.&rdquo; To which I answered, &ldquo;Very,&rdquo; and she followed up with, &ldquo;Then you know we have to move to Indo.&rdquo; So, we trusted that God had a plan, and we were so right. Every time I feel like something feels scary and I don&rsquo;t know if I should do it, I&rsquo;ve gone and just done it, and He has guided me through every one of those decisions.&nbsp;

How would you describe your personal style when you&rsquo;re not working?
Relaxed. [My go-tos are] T-shirts, jeans, and cargo pants. Then, the occasional dad hat. Basics.
Jakarta has its own fashion energy. Has living there changed how you dress or shop?
I&rsquo;ve kind of still kept to my own style. When I first started coming back to Indonesia, in 2018, there was definitely a more stark difference in fashion between the West and here. But it&rsquo;s more so evened out, I think, because, partly, due to social media, mainstream media, and also the availability of brands here.
Fitness is such a big part of your life. What&rsquo;s your training routine like right now, and how do you stay consistent when you&rsquo;re on set for months?
I try to get three to five days of lifting in a week, around 30 minutes to an hour. I only have that window after I put the kids down for a nap to go do that, but sometimes I&rsquo;ll try to bring them to the gym at my apartment. On some days they last the whole workout, other times, my lift is cut short and I was only able to do one full exercise or a half of two. When I&rsquo;m on set on location, I&rsquo;m way more consistent, like when I was filming in the Philippines, it was easier to be consistent. Honestly, once you&rsquo;ve made it a lifestyle, you don&rsquo;t have to make excuses to not go, you just know it&rsquo;s something you&rsquo;re gonna do, so you carve out time for it. I just don&rsquo;t feel like myself if I don&rsquo;t keep consistent, it&rsquo;s essentially a part of me now.&nbsp;

When you&rsquo;re not filming or training, what&rsquo;s your ideal way to spend a day off in Jakarta?
My day-offs are just spent being with the kids and enjoying our time together. Swimming, going to the gym, running, scootering, cooking or baking, dancing, drawing, whatever it is. But, again, day-offs just mean I&rsquo;m in dad mode. So it&rsquo;s business as usual, get the kids moving outside, get them fed and clothed, then get them to bed. Me time is during nap or after bedtime. I&rsquo;m actually writing this all after I&rsquo;ve put them down for bed. Right now, my mom and dad are in town, so Sarah and I have been finding more time to go on dates, and that has been so lovely. We put them down for a nap, leave grandparents to watch them, and grab a quick bite to eat without having to split up a fight between the boys or answer yet another, &ldquo;Why?&rdquo; question. I said this to her earlier today, &ldquo;Gosh, I miss the days when it was just you and me, but at the same time I wouldn&rsquo;t give up those crazy little munchkins for the world!&rdquo; She just nodded and kissed me. I knew right there that I&rsquo;ve won, I already have the world.

What&rsquo;s next for Yoshi Sudarso?
This month I have Ratu Ratu Queens: The Series releasing on Netflix, a Vidio original series Open BO: I Am Campus releasing on the 20th, another show called Still Single coming out next month, and looking forward to the movie I did in the Philippines, Shadow Transit, to come out early next year. Hoping we get to see a trailer soon! But really, what&rsquo;s next is we&rsquo;re expecting our third child, a girl this time, at the end of November, so that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re mostly planning for. Because I am both so scared and so excited. Yet another new chapter that I&rsquo;m not ready for, but with the people around me, I know that I&rsquo;ll face it with peace of mind.&nbsp;

GROOMING Luis Bu&ntilde;ag
PHOTOGRAPHER&rsquo;S ASSISTANT Xavier Yu
STUDIO ASSISTANTS Hallvard Cano and Robyn Josue
LOCATION Espacio Creativo Escolta

Yoshi Sudarso’s Next Chapter Looks Pretty Good

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