Yayan Ruhian
Yayan Ruhian interviewed onIni Talkshow in May 2017
Born	(1968-10-19)19 October 1968 (age 57) Tasikmalaya,West Java, Indonesia
Nationality	Indonesian
Occupation(s)	Martial artist, actor
Years active	2008–present
Notable work	The Raid The Raid 2
Spouse	Wawa Suwartini ​ (m. 1997)​ [1]
Children	3[1]
Signature

Yayan Ruhian (born 19 October 1968) is an Indonesian martial artist and actor. He is known for co-starring inGareth Evans' filmsThe Raid (2011) as Mad Dog,The Raid 2 (2014) as Prakoso,Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) as Tasu Leech,^[2] andBeyond Skyline (2017) as the police chief.^[3] He reprised this role inSkylines (2020).

Yayan Ruhian was born inTasikmalaya,West Java, Indonesia on 19 October 1968. By the age of 13, hoping to "show his masculinity", he began studying the traditional martial artpencak silat;^[4] his father had practicedkarate. Yayan Ruhian 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.^[5] By the mid-2000s Yayan Ruhian had taught pencak silat in countries such as Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, and also learned several further martial arts techniques, such asaikido.^[2][6] He also worked as a hand-to-hand instructor for theIndonesian National Police.^[7]

In 2008, Yayan Ruhian was asked byGareth Evans to help with the choreography for his filmMerantau. 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, andMerantau was released in 2009.^[4] In the film, his character, an antagonistic and diminutive martial artist, is capable of overcoming a considerably larger man in moments.^[8] Afterwards, he had several people approach him and ask to study silat, although some called him Eric.^[6]

Yayan Ruhian played Mad Dog in Evans' 2011 filmThe Raid,^[4] and handled the fight choreography together with costarIko Uwais.^[6] 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.^[9]Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times described the character as the film's stand-out, "a commanding physical presence".^[10]

After this performance, Yayan's likeness and the termgereget (used by his character) became amemeticimage macro on the internet. In a 2014 interview, Yayan Ruhian stated that he did not mind the memes, as the individuals posting them could not create such macros if they had not seen the film.^[6] The magazineTempo reported in June 2012 that Yayan and Iko had gone toHollywood to handle choreography for an Americanremake of the film.^[11]

Evans' 2014 release,The Raid 2, cast Yayan Ruhian as Prakoso, an assassin and confidant of mafia kingpin Bangun (Tio Pakusadewo).^[4][12] Recognising that Yayan Ruhian had already been identified with Mad Dog, Evans emphasized that Prakoso was a new character: a failed father and husband, aged sixty, who is nevertheless a faithful employee.^[13] As with the earlier film, Yayan worked withIko Uwais on choreography.^[12] Charlotte O'Sullivan of theLondon Evening Standard found Yayan's portrayal of Prakoso "sublime", writing that "when his body starts flying through the air, you feel as if you're reading his life story".^[14]

In mid-2014, it was announced that Yayan Ruhian would appear inTakashi Miike'sYakuza Apocalypse: The Great War of the Underworld, playing alongsideHayato Ichihara as Kyoken. In this film, penned by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, aYakuza member is caught in international intrigue after discovering that his boss is a vampire.^[15]

In December 2014 it was reported Yayan Ruhian would appear in the Indonesian heist action sequelComic 8: Casino Kings^[16]

He appeared inStar Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) as Tasu Leech, alongside his co-stars fromThe Raid andThe Raid 2Iko Uwais andCecep Arif Rahman.^[17]

In 2017, he appeared in the alien invasion movieBeyond Skyline where he played a police chief in Laos credited only as the Chief in the movie. In 2020, he reprised this role inSkylines where his character was given the name Huana.

In 2019, he appeared inJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum as Shinobi #2, one of Zero's students, alongside Cecep Arif Rahman as Shinobi #1.^[18] He also appeared in the 2019 Malaysian filmWira as Ifrit.

Yayan Ruhian speaks fluentSundanese andIndonesian. He also speaks a little conversational English. As of 2017^[update], Yayan Ruhian has three children, who live with his wife inTasikmalaya; Yayan Ruhian, because of his work, must live inJakarta.^[1][4] Aside from his acting, he teachespencak silat.^[4][5] He is also a teacher of innerbreathing techniques developed in the Perguruan Silat Tenaga Dasar Indonesia.^[7]

On screen, Yayan Ruhian is often cast in antagonistic roles, portraying characters who speak little but have great endurance, stamina and fighting skills.^[4]

• Yayan Ruhian atIMDb
• Yayan Ruhian atRotten Tomatoes

• 1968 births
• 21st-century Indonesian male actors
• Indonesian male film actors
• Indonesian martial artists
• Indonesian Muslims
• Living people
• People from Tasikmalaya
• Sundanese people
• Silat practitioners

• CS1 Indonesian-language sources (id)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2025
• Biography with signature
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• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017
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