Yayan Ruhian
| Yayan Ruhian | |
|---|---|
| Born |
19 October 1968 Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Notable work | |
Yayan Ruhian (born 19 October 1968) is an Indonesian martial artist and film actor, known for co-starring in Gareth Evans' films The Raid: Redemption (2011), as Mad Dog, The Raid 2 (2014), as Prakoso, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Tasu Leech.
Yayan was born in Tasikmalaya, West Java, on 19 October 1968. By the age of 13, hoping to "show his masculinity", he began studying the traditional martial art pencak silat; his father had practiced karate. Yayan trained with what later became Pencak Silat Tenaga Dasar, eventually becoming a trainer and referee – although he later learned that this disqualified him from participating in tournaments. By the mid-2000s Yayan had taught pencak silat in countries such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, and also learned several further martial arts techniques, such as aikido.
In 2008, Yayan was asked by Gareth Evans to help with the choreography for his film Merantau. He also auditioned for the role of Eric, later stating that he did not care if he was cast, so long as he did his best. He received the part, and Merantau was released in 2009. In the film, his character, an antagonistic and diminutive martial artist, is capable of overcoming a considerably larger man in moments. Afterwards, he had several people approach him and ask to study silat, although some called him Eric.
Yayan played Mad Dog in Evans' 2011 film The Raid: Redemption, and handled the fight choreography together with costar Iko Uwais. Evans described the character as "such an unrelenting, cold, irredeemable psychopath that when he kills someone, he wants to feel it", such that he would rather kill a man bare-handed than shoot him.Manohla Dargis of The New York Times described the character as the film's stand-out, "a commanding physical presence".
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