2002–2004: Breakthrough and Citra Award win Saputra started his career in fashion industry as a
runway model and has appeared in magazine's covers when he was in high school. He was scouted by a teen magazine while playing baseball in
Gelora Bung Karno Stadium when he was fifteen. An inexperienced actor without any history in the entertainment industry, Saputra landed the lead role at his very first audition at age 17, to play in
Rudy Soedjarwo's
cult classic romance blockbuster Ada Apa dengan Cinta? opposite actress
Dian Sastrowardoyo, which was released in 2002. For his performance in the film as Rangga, an indifferent and aloof student who caught up in romance with the most popular girl in high school, he earned his first
Citra (the Indonesian equivalent to the
Oscars) nomination in
Indonesian Film Festival for Best Leading Actor. The film also catapulted him to stardom in both Indonesia and Malaysia. Saputra recalls of his career beginnings: '''' In 2003, Saputra was cast as a
violinist in
Biola Tak Berdawai, written and directed by
Sekar Ayu Asmara. The film had its world premiere at the
Cairo International Film Festival, where it secured the Best New Director award and
Naguib Mahfouz prize for Best Screenplay. It was also Indonesia's submission to the
76th Academy Awards for
Best Foreign Language Film. For his performance in the film, Saputra was awarded Best Actor at the 2003 Bali International Film Festival. Saputra landed another lead role in
Joko Anwar's 2005
romantic comedy Janji Joni as a
roll film delivery man, playing opposite
Mariana Renata, which won him Most Favorite Actor award at the 2005
MTV Indonesia Movie Awards and Best Actor award at the 2007
Indonesian Movie Awards. The film was screened in the
Sydney Film Festival and
Pusan International Film Festival. That same year, he starred as a
Chinese Indonesian activist
Soe Hok Gie in the biographical film
Gie, directed by
Riri Riza. His performance as Soe Hok Gie was critically acclaimed; Thus, he won
Citra Award for Best Leading Actor at the 2005
Indonesian Film Festival, two Best Actor awards at the 2005
Indonesian Movie Awards and 2006 Bandung Film Festival, and Most Favorite Actor award at the 2006
MTV Indonesia Movie Awards. The film was Indonesia's submission to the
79th Academy Awards for
Best Foreign Language Film. Saputra made his first television appearances on
Channel V Asia, hosting such segments as
The Ticket and
Screentime in 2007, and became the co-presenter at the
2007 Asian Film Awards alongside
Lee Byung Hun and
Daniel Wu. He played in Riri Riza's
3 Hari Untuk Selamanya in the same year. The film won Best Direction at the 2008
Brussels International Independent Film Festival and Best Indonesian Film Award at the
2007 Jakarta International Film Festival, while Saputra was nominated for Best Actor award at the 2008
Indonesian Film Festival and won Best Leading Actor at the 2009 Guardians e-Awards.
2008–2018: Further critical and commercial success In 2008, Saputra starred in
omnibus film Cinta Setaman, and reunited with Dian Sastrowardoyo in two films; a short
musical film adapted from the epic
Mahabharata Drupadi, and
3 Doa 3 Cinta, respectively. He was appointed as a jury member of the Best Asian Film competition in the 2008
Singapore International Film Festival, and as French Film Ambassador for the 2009
French Film Festival in Indonesia. He once again became co-presenter at the
2009 Asian Film Awards alongside
Chie Tanaka. Saputra became a sportcaster for Malaysian TV station
TV3 in 2011. That same year, he starred in director Riri Riza's environmental
documentary The Magic Kakaban. He next starred in two
indies in 2012 and 2013, respectively;
Edwin's
Postcards from the Zoo which had its premiere at the
62nd Berlin International Film Festival, and
Mouly Surya's ''
What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love'' as a deaf man who falls in love with a blind girl. The latter became the first Indonesian title that notched a nomination for World Cinematic Drama in the
2013 Sundance Film Festival, and it received
NETPAC Award at the 2013
International Film Festival Rotterdam. Saputra embarked on the
film production for the first time as an executive producer alongside director Riri Riza in 2013 for
Sokola Rimba, which tells the story of activist
Butet Manurung who teaches
Orang Rimba people, based on a book with the same title. It won Best Film at the
2013 Maya Awards. That same year, Saputra co-founded production company
Tanakhir Films focusing on
documentaries and environmental films, and next co-starred in his first production
Cinta Dari Wamena, a story about an
HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in
Wamena. Eight years after
Janji Joni, Saputra reunited with co-star
Mariana Renata in a South Korean-Indonesian joint production film
Someone’s Wife in the Boat of Someone’s Husband; a part of
Jeonju International Film Festival's
Jeonju Digital Project. The film was screening at the 2013
Locarno Film Festival, as well. Saputra acted in his first
action film Pendekar Tongkat Emas in 2014 alongside
Christine Hakim, where he played a mysterious warrior, Elang, a role that also involved heavily choreographed fight sequences. He next returned playing the character Rangga in
Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2014 one-episode drama, a
spin-off of the 2002 original title which was initiated by
LINE and released through
YouTube channel in November 2014. The following year, Saputra reunited for the third time with Mariana Renata in a web series
Nic and Mar. A story about rekindled lovers, it was released in March 2015 and aired weekly on Thursday and Friday through mobile phone. Following
Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2014 success, Saputra reprised the role of Rangga in
Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2, a
film sequel that was premiered in 2016. The film was critically acclaimed and became one of the highest-grossing films in Indonesia. It has gathered more than one million audience in Malaysia and Brunei. This was followed by a Malaysian
fantasy thriller Interchange, which debuted at the 2016
Locarno International Film Festival and
Toronto International Film Festival. Saputra next co-produced, narrated and appeared in
Save Our Forest Giants, a short
documentary film to raise awareness about elephant conservation, in collaboration with the
European Union Delegation to Indonesia. The film was launched at the French cultural center in Jakarta, in June 2016.
2018–present: Second Citra Award win and expanded activism In early 2018, Saputra was appointed as the jury member for
South-east Asian film maker competition in the 2nd HOOQ Filmmakers Guild. That same year, he returned to acting by co-starring in
Aruna & Lidahnya as a
chef, a film adapted from
Laksmi Pamuntjak's 2014 novel “The Bird Woman’s Palate,” which secured him
Citra Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2018
Indonesian Film Festival. The film was screening in the Culinary Cinema Section at the 2019
Berlin Film Festival, and won ABC Award at the 2019
Osaka Asian Film Festival. Saputra closed the 2018 by leading in all three omnibus episodes of
Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: The Journey (
The Sea,
Hekishu, and
Variable No.3), directed by Japan’s Daichi Matsunaga, Indonesia’s Edwin and China’s Degena Yun. The film was co-produced by
Tokyo International Film Festival and Japan Foundation Asian Center, a part of biannual Asian Three-Fold Mirror Project. It had its world premiere at the
31st Tokyo International Film Festival on October 26, 2018. The following year, Saputra co-starred in the Filipino-Malaysian joint production
horror film Motel Acacia. The film had its world premiere at the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival in November 2019. Allan Hunter of
Screen Daily wrote, "[c]harismatic Nicholas Saputra making the biggest impression as a former accountant trying to survive his ordeal in the cursed motel." In November 2019, Saputra was chosen to become the
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Saputra said about his appointment, "I feel honoured that UNICEF in Indonesia has trusted me with this role. Activism has always been my passion because I care about this nation’s future. I believe we should start from the very beginning, ensuring that Indonesian children’s rights are fulfilled so we can build a better world for children." In December 2019, he joined UNICEF campaigns to drive awareness of the need to improve water and sanitation services, as well as basic hygiene practices. He also joined the
Leuser ecosystem foundation campaign to raise public awareness about the
ecosystem conservation located in
Mount Leuser National Park. With his production company Tanakhir Films, Saputra produced their first feature
documentary film Semesta (
Islands of Faith) that tells a story of seven Indonesian
environmental activists. The film had its world premiere at the Suncine International Environmental Film Festival in Barcelona in November 2019 prior to the local release in February 2020. It was nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the 2020
Indonesian Film Festival. It was released on
Netflix in August, 2020. Saputra next is set to portray
Aquanus in the
Bumilangit Cinematic Universe based on the comic book superhero character created by
Wid N. S. in 1968. In November 2020, he was also cast to star in
Riri Riza's upcoming film
Paranoia. In 2024, Saputra starred with Filipino actor
Julia Barretto and South Korean actor
Sang Heon Lee in
Viu Philippines’ romantic miniseries
Secret Ingredient. == Personal life ==